Terry Wayne Norris (born June 17, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1998. He is a three time light middleweight champion, having held the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles.
Early years and amateur career A star baseball player during his high school years, Norris bypassed a career on the diamond for one in the ring, claiming an amateur record of 291–4, winning 4 Texas State Golden Gloves titles. Displaying a stunning combination of hand and foot speed as well as the ability to throw dizzying combos, Norris' athletic ability was an uncanny attribute in the ring.
Professional boxing career Norris turned professional in August 1986. He outpointed future middleweight title holder Quincy Taylor in August 1988. Norris beat future super-middleweight champion Steve Little to win the vacant NABF light-middleweight title in December 1988, and defended it against former IBF title holder Buster Drayton. Norris also picked up two losses; a unanimous decision to Derrick Kelley, and a disqualification loss to Joe Walker in the first round after Norris hit Walker when Walker was down.
In July 1989 at Atlantic City Convention Center, New Jersey, Norris challenged Julian Jackson for the WBA light-middleweight title. Norris won the first round with his speed and movement, but a big right cross from the champion knocked Norris down in round two. Norris made it to his feet before the count but was deemed unfit to continue by referee Joe Cortez.
First championship reign
After winning three comeback fights, including a victory over former welterweight champion Jorge Vaca, Norris traveled to Tampa, Florida, in March 1990 to challenge John Mugabi for the WBC light-middleweight title. Norris wasted no time in stopping the champion, flooring him twice in the first round - the second time for the full count - and thus starting what would be the first of three reigns as champion.
After defending his belt against Rene Jacquot, Norris faced the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard in Madison Square Garden in February 1991. Norris scored two knockdowns and easily beat the faded Sugar Ray via a 12-round unanimous verdict. His next defense, a June victory over another former undisputed welterweight champion - Donald Curry - further cemented Norris' place in the history of the 154-lb division as Norris wore down his foe and knocked him out in the eighth.
Other prominent foes in that first reign included the tough future middleweight titlist Jorge Castro, and two reigning welterweight champions; WBA title-holder Meldrick Taylor, and IBF title-holder Maurice Blocker.
Losing and regaining titles
In a shocking upset in December, 1993, Simon Brown, former WBC and IBF welterweight titlist, knocked out Norris in four rounds to win the title and halt Norris' defense streak at ten. Ring magazine named this fight as their "Upset of the Year" for 1993. In their rematch, Norris then regained the title by unanimous decision over Brown in May 1994.
His second reign proved short when he lost the title by disqualification to Luis Santana in November, 1994. The decision to disqualify Norris was controversial. Norris hit Santana in the back of the head and Santana went down, claiming he was unable to continue. Some at ringside, however, felt that Santana refused to get up in order to gain the disqualification win. Because of the controversial nature of the match, a rematch was ordered. Norris also lost the April, 1995, rematch by disqualification, this time for hitting Santana after the bell had sounded to end the round. Norris was given yet another shot at regaining the title, and in their third fight in August of that year, Norris knocked out Santana in two rounds.
Unification
In December 1995 Norris won a unanimous decision over San Diego rival Paul Vaden to add Vaden's IBF title to his WBC title, plus the vacant Lineal championship. Norris made defenses against former IBF champion Vincent Pettway, Nick Rupa, and Alex Rios, before being stripped of the IBF title in 1997.
Keith Mullings ended Norris's championship career by way of ninth-round stoppage in December 1997, which also ended plans for superfights with WBC welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya and with IBF Welterweight champion Felix Trinidad of Puerto Rico.
Post-championship career Norris fought twice more after losing his title. Dana Rosenblatt defeated him by unanimous decision in a middleweight bout and then WBA junior middleweight champion Laurent Boudouani ended his boxing career with a ninth-round knockout.
Norris was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005.
Norris suffers from pugilistic dementia and Parkinson's disease caused by his boxing career . This affects his speech and coordination.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes56Loss47–9Laurent BoudouaniTKO9 (12), Nov 30, 199855Loss47–8Dana RosenblattUD12Sep 25, 199854Loss47–7Keith MullingsTKO9 (12), Dec 6, 199753Win47–6Andres Arellano SandovalKO2 (10), Sep 10, 199752Win46–6Joaquin VelasquezKO2 (10), Aug 8, 199751Win45–6Nick RupaTKO10 (12), Jan 11, 199750Win44–6Alex RiosTKO5 (12), Sep 7, 199649Win43–6Vincent PettwayTKO8 (12), Feb 24, 199648Win42–6Jorge Luis VadoTKO2 (12), Jan 27, 199647Win41–6Paul VadenUD12Dec 16, 199546Win40–6David GonzalezTKO9 (12), Sep 16, 199545Win39–6Luis SantanaTKO2 (12), Aug 19, 199544Loss38–6Luis SantanaDQ3 (12), Apr 8, 199543Loss38–5Luis SantanaDQ5 (12), Nov 12, 199442Win38–4Simon BrownUD12May 7, 199441Win37–4Armando CampasKO4 (10), Mar 18, 199440Loss36–4Simon BrownKO4 (12), Dec 18, 199339Win36–3Joe GattiTKO1 (12), Sep 10, 199338Win35–3Troy WatersRTD3 (12)Jun 19, 199337Win34–3Maurice BlockerTKO2 (12), Feb 20, 199336Win33–3Pat LawlorRTD3 (10), Dec 13, 199235Win32–3Meldrick TaylorTKO4 (12), May 9, 199234Win31–3Carl DanielsTKO9 (12), Feb 22, 199233Win30–3Jorge Fernando CastroUD12Dec 13, 199132Win29–3Brett LallyTKO1 (12), Aug 17, 199131Win28–3Donald CurryKO8 (12), Jun 1, 199130Win27–3Sugar Ray LeonardUD12Feb 9, 199129Win26–3Rene JacquotUD12Jul 13, 199028Win25–3John MugabiKO1 (12), Mar 31, 199027Win24–3Tony MontgomeryUD12Nov 21, 198926Win23–3Jorge VacaSD10Oct 9, 198925Win22–3Nathan DryerTKO4 (10)Sep 21, 198924Loss21–3Julian JacksonTKO2 (12), Jul 30, 198923Win21–2Ralph WardUD10Mar 23, 198922Win20–2Buster DraytonUD12Mar 28, 198921Win19–2Steve LittleTKO6 (12), Dec 9, 198820Win18–2Gilbert BaptistUD10Oct 18, 198819Win17–2Quincy TaylorUD10Aug 12, 198818Win16–2Clayton HiresKO2 (10)Mar 28, 198817Win15–2Richard AguirreTKO3 (10)Feb 3, 198816Win14–2Roman NunezKO1 (10)Jan 21, 198815Loss13–2Joe WalkerDQ1 (6)Nov 25, 198714Win13–1Edward NeblettTKO6 (8), Sep 4, 198713Loss12–1Derrick KellyUD10Aug 13, 198712Win12–0Nathan DryerTKO3 (8), May 27, 198711Win11–0Sergio Nieto RayosTKO1 (6), Apr 3, 198710Win10–0Mauro VeronicaKO2 (6), Mar 26, 19879Win9–0Tino LeonKO1 (4), Mar 16, 19878Win8–0Dick GreenKO1 (6), Feb 26, 19877Win7–0Gilbert BaptistUD4Mar 5, 19876Win6–0Lang McGowanPTS4Dec 3, 19865Win5–0Carlos GutierrezUD6Nov 21, 19864Win4–0Daryl ColquittKO4 (4)Oct 7, 19863Win3–0George MurphyPTS4Sep 25, 19862Win2–0Carlos GutierrezUD4Aug 13, 19861Win1–0Jose Luis CordovaKO1 (?)Aug 2, 1986
Additional information Once entertaining scholarships to several schools, Norris quit baseball after a brawl on the field. "We were playing another team one day", Norris recalled, "and there were some racial comments made toward me. I was a little thrown off by it. I rushed the guy who said them, and their whole team jumped on me. I put three guys in the hospital, which was the bad thing of it. People said things like, 'Maybe this guy's a troublemaker,' so a lot of my scholarships fell through.A Champion Who's Fighting Obscurity - New York Times He settled a lawsuit out of court with Don King for a sum of $7.5 million in 2005. Brother of former WBA cruiserweight champion Orlin Norris. The speech of Terry Norris was noticeably slurred even in his early thirties and quite startling to anyone who remembered him from just a few years earlier. After his last defeat, the Nevada athletic commission turned him down for a new license, basing its decision on his impaired speech, which was indicative of his issues after boxing. Norris was known to spar 12 rounds every other day in preparation for fights. Some speculate that this intense training routine is a factor which may have ultimately led to his early expiration as a fighter. In preparation for his fight against John "The Beast" Mugabi, his strength trainer put Terry on a regimented weight training program. He went on to KO Mugabi and win the WBC super welterweight title. He continued his strength training for the duration of his career. A source close to the Norris camp is quoted as saying "The best boxing I ever watched live was sparring between the Norris brothers."BDPboxing Norris is married to Tanya E. Norris Norris and his wife founded his Foundation The Final Fight to assist former pro boxers who are ill, broke and homeless. Norris and his wife own World Champion Cardio Boxing, a popular workout program in Los Angeles, California.
References
External links
Terry Norris' Official Website. Terry Norris' Facebook Terry Norris' Twitter Terry Norris - Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia