Ronald Harris

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Ronald Woodson "Ronnie" Harris (born February 8, 1947 in Canton , Ohio ) is a former American boxer. He became Olympic lightweight champion in 1968 and was a world championship challenger to the WBA and WBC middleweight division in 1978 .

Amateur career

He became the US lightweight champion in 1966, 1967 and 1968 and also won the National Golden Gloves 1968 lightweight. In 1967 he reached the bronze medal at the 5th Pan American Games in Canada .

At the 19th Summer Olympics in Mexico City in 1968 , he defeated the South Korean Lee Chang-gil (5: 0), the British John Stracey (4: 1), Mohamed Muruli from Uganda (5: 0), Calistrat Cuțov from Romania ( 5: 0) and Józef Grudzień from Poland (5: 0) and won the gold medal in the lightweight.

Professional career

In 1971 he started his career as a professional boxer and won his first 28 fights in the USA, Canada and Great Britain. He defeated u. a. Ray Seales , Alan Minter and Gratien Tonna and qualified for a world championship fight for the titles of the WBA and WBC middleweight. The fight took place on August 5, 1978 in Buenos Aires against the reigning title holder Hugo Pastor Corro , but Harris was defeated over 15 rounds on points. This was his first loss since May 1967.

On May 13, 1980 he lost in the fight for the NABF title by knockout against Sammy NeSmith. In August 1982 he ended his professional career with 35 wins (14 knockout) and two defeats.

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personal data
SURNAME Harris, Ronald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mazel; Harris, Ronald Woodson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American boxer
DATE OF BIRTH February 8, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Canton , Ohio , United States