Terry McGroom

Terry McGroom
Born(1966-03-16)March 16, 1966
DiedApril 17, 2016(2016-04-17) (aged 50)
NationalityAmerican
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Reach77 in (196 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights31
Wins19
Wins by KO10
Losses9
Draws3
No contests0

Terry McGroom (March 16, 1966 – April 17, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2004. He challenged for the IBF cruiserweight title in 2001.

Early life

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McGroom attended Wells High School in Chicago, which was "full of gangbangers." Tom O'Shea, an English teacher at the school, said he was "an arrogant, nasty kid who was always in trouble with his teachers," apart from the fact that he did not earn a single credit in his freshman year. When O'Shea caught McGroom fighting in the hallways, he was given a choice: follow him to the principal's office or to the boxing gym. O'Shea became his coach, a position he held throughout McGroom's amateur career.[1]

He later graduated from Wells as an honor student, earning a boxing scholarship to Northern Michigan University.[1]

Amateur career

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McGroom had a stellar amateur career prior to turning professional, going 63-11.[1] He was a National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight champion in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1992 and a National Amateur Light Heavyweight Champion in 1991. McGroom also won a silver medal from the 1990 Goodwill Games in the 81 kg division.

He also competed at the 1989 World Championships in Moscow.[1]

Professional career

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McGroom turned pro in 1993 and started off his career going undefeated in his first 11 fights. He then faced Darrol Wilson, a heavy hitting heavyweight who would make a name for himself later on, in 1995, and battled his way to a 10-round draw. McGroom's next big fight was an 8th-round TKO loss to future contender Kirk Johnson. Johnson was much bigger than McGroom and slugged him to the canvas.

After the loss to Johnson, McGroom's impressive victory over Esteban Pizzarro in 1999 earned him the biggest fight of his career against James Toney in 2000. It was a close fight with Toney and some thought the decision should have been given to McGroom.[citation needed] In 2001 he challenged Vasily Jirov for his IBF Cruiserweight belt. The result was a shocking one-round KO for Jirov, the result from one well place body shot.

McGroom then moved up to Heavyweight and had little success. He lost to future contenders Dominick Guinn, Malik Scott, and Timor Ibragimov before retiring in 2004.

Personal life

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McGroom died from bone cancer on April 17, 2016.[2]

Professional boxing record

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19 Wins (10 knockouts, 9 decisions), 9 Losses (4 knockouts, 5 decisions), 3 Draws [1]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 19–9–3 Germany Cengiz Koc UD 6 24/07/2004 Germany Frankfurt, Germany
Loss 19–8–3 Uzbekistan Timur Ibragimov UD 8 22/04/2004 Russia Moscow, Russia
Loss 19–7–3 Denmark Johny Jensen SD 6 28/02/2004 Denmark Aalborg, Denmark
Draw 19–6–3 Denmark Johny Jensen PTS 6 24/10/2003 Denmark Copenhagen, Denmark
Loss 19–6–2 United States Steve Cunningham UD 8 20/09/2003 United States Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S.
Loss 19–5–2 United States Malik Scott TKO 2 01/02/2003 United States Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the second round.
Loss 19–4–2 United States Dominick Guinn TKO 7 08/09/2002 United States Lawton, Oklahoma, U.S.
Loss 19–3–2 Kazakhstan Vassiliy Jirov KO 1 24/03/2001 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. For IBF cruiserweight title. McGroom knocked out at 1:22 of the first round.
Win 19–2–2 United States Ed Strickland KO 1 21/02/2001 United States Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Strickland knocked out at 2:59 of the first round.
Loss 18–2–2 United States James Toney MD 10 21/01/2000 United States Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Win 18–1–2 Puerto Rico Esteban Pizzarro UD 12 26/06/1999 United States Cicero, Illinois, U.S. Won WBONABO cruiserweight title
Win 17–1–2 United States Jesse Corona UD 10 05/03/1999 United States Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Win 16–1–2 United States Vinson Durham UD 10 29/01/1999 United States Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Win 15–1–2 United States Mike Acklie TKO 2 13/11/1998 United States Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:50 of the second round.
Win 14–1–2 United States Brian Yates UD 6 01/10/1997 United States Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Loss 13–1–2 Canada Kirk Johnson TKO 8 16/11/1996 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Draw 13–0–2 United States Anthony Hembrick PTS 10 23/04/1996 United States Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Win 13–0–1 United States Arthur Saribekian UD 8 21/11/1995 United States Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Win 12–0–1 United States Ron Preston UD 8 03/10/1995 United States Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Draw 11–0–1 United States Darroll Wilson PTS 10 17/08/1995 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Win 11–0 United States Exum Speight TKO 2 28/03/1995 United States Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Win 10–0 United States Ken Jackson TKO 2 20/08/1994 United States Athens, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 9–0 United States Randy McGee UD 8 21/05/1994 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 8–0 United States Tim St Clair UD 8 05/02/1994 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 7–0 Morris Young TKO 4 18/12/1993 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 6–0 United States Aaron Green KO 4 13/11/1993 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 5–0 United States Leonard Lamar Long PTS 6 28/08/1993 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 4–0 United States Darren Jewell KO 2 17/07/1993 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 3–0 Ricardo Estrada TKO 3 12/06/1993 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 2–0 Donald Johnson TKO 2 27/03/1993 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Win 1–0 William Yates TKO 1 16/01/1993 United States Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Sakamoto, Bob (March 18, 1990). "3-time Gloves Champ Has Heart Set On Olympics". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  2. ^ "Terry McGroom R.I.P." FightNews.com. April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
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