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Kennedy McKinney

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Kennedy McKinney
Born (1966-01-10) January 10, 1966 (age 58)
Other namesKing
Statistics
Weight(s)Super bantamweight
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Reach68 in (173 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights43
Wins36
Wins by KO19
Losses6
Draws1
Medal record
Men's boxing
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul Bantamweight

Kennedy McKinney (born January 10, 1966) is an American former professional boxer, who won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he won the IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles.

Military service

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McKinney took up boxing while serving in the U.S. Army, private first class stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

Amateur career

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  • 1985 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Flyweight, was stopped by Arthur Johnson
  • 1986 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Flyweight, losing by decision to Arthur Johnson
  • 1987 3rd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Bantamweight, losing by decision to Michael Collins
  • 1988 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Bantamweight, losing by decision to Jemal Hinton
  • Prior to the 1988 Olympics had several international duals where he fought Alexei Artemiev of the Soviet Union, Rene Breitbarth of East Germany, Aleksandar Hristov of Bulgaria and Byun Jung-il of South Korea, to whom he lost.[1]
  • 1988 qualified as a Bantamweight for the United States Olympic Team, avenging previous defeats versus Michael Collins, whom he beat three times and Jemal Hinton, all by decision.
  • Won the Bantamweight Olympic Gold Medal at the Seoul Olympic Games. Results were:

McKinney claimed an amateur record of 214 wins, 13 losses.

Professional career

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Known as "King", McKinney was a cautious yet exciting junior featherweight (super bantamweight) fighter who captured the IBF title by beating Welcome Ncita in 1992 in a spectacular bout that saw him staggered and taking a standing eight count before knocking the African cold with a perfect right hand.

After five defenses, among others a KO over Rudy Zavala and a points win over Ncita, he lost his belt to future star Vuyani Bungu, a fight which was deemed 1994 Upset of the Year by Ring Magazine.

Two years later he challenged undefeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the WBO super bantamweight title, a vicious battle in which he dropped Barrera in the 11th, but lost via TKO in the 12th. McKinney later took a rematch against Bungu, but lost a narrow split decision. Later that year, he did battle with Junior Jones who had upset Barrera in an exciting war, one which McKinney won via TKO.

McKinney then moved up a weight class to challenge Luisito Espinosa for the WBC featherweight title in 1998. Espinosa made quick work of McKinney, winning via a 2nd-round TKO.

After the loss to Espinosa, McKinney quickly lost steam. He would fight only five more times against scattered and limited opposition, three of which took place during a brief comeback run in 2002-03.

Life after boxing

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Kennedy now resides in Olive Branch, Mississippi, where he is simply known as "Coach McKinney". He is the Head Boxing Coach at the Prize Fight Gym in Southaven, Mississippi.

References

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  1. ^ Boxers Rise From Swamp By Dave Nightingale, St Louis Sporting News, October 10, 1988.
  • Boxing record for Kennedy McKinney from BoxRec (registration required)
  • Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kennedy McKinney". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by USBA super bantamweight champion
February 9 – December 2, 1992
Won IBF title
Vacant
Title next held by
Rudy Zavala
Vacant
Title last held by
Maui Diaz
USBA super bantamweight champion
May 5, 1996 – December 19, 1997
Won WBO title
Vacant
Title next held by
Jason Pires
Minor boxing titles
New title WBU super bantamweight champion
August 26, 1995 – 1996
Vacant
Title next held by
Max Gomez
World boxing titles
Preceded by IBF super bantamweight champion
December 2, 1992 – August 20, 1994
Succeeded by
Preceded by WBO super bantamweight champion
December 19, 1997 – May 30, 1998
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Marco Antonio Barrera