Maurice Harris

Wilbur Maurice Harris (born February 21, 1976), nicknamed "Sugar Moe", is the former United States Boxing Association heavyweight champion. A professional competitor since 1992, he holds notable victories over Siarhei Liakhovich, David Izon, James Thunder, and Jeremy Williams. As a professional, Harris also faced world champions and contenders Larry Holmes, Vaughn Bean, Derrick Jefferson, Chris Byrd, Henry Akinwande, Fres Oquendo, Tony Thompson, Kubrat Pulev, Amir Mansour, Alexander Ustinov, and Albert Sosnowski.

For the American football player, see Maurice Harris (American football).
Maurice Harris
Maurice "Sugar Moe" Harris
Statistics
Real nameWilbur Maurice Harris
Nickname(s)Mo Bettah
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Light Heavyweight
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Reach80 in (203 cm)
Nationality United States
Born (1976-02-21) February 21, 1976
East Orange, New Jersey
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights52
Wins26
Wins by KO11
Losses22
Draws3
No contests1

Professional career

Maurice Harris turned pro at 16 as a light heavyweight in 1992, and faced many up-and-coming prospects and comebacking champions. In his early professional years, he lost to future number one contender Vaughn Bean, and defeated 18-0-0 David Izon.

In 1992, Harris lost a 12-round decision in his first attempt to win the vacant United States Boxing Association (USBA) heavyweight title against future world heavyweight champion Chris Byrd.

In 1997 he lost a disputed split decision to former champion Larry Holmes. He followed the Holmes bout with a seven fight winning streak in 1998-99. This included defeating former number one heavyweight contender Jeremy Williams, and culminated in a fight on HBO with Derrick Jefferson. In what was labeled as the 1999 Ring Magazine knockout of the year, Harris was brutally knocked out by a vicious left hook.

In 1998 Harris was the chief sparring partner for heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis and maintained this position for several years.

In 2002, Harris knocked out future heavyweight champion 19-0 Siarhei Liakhovich in the 9th round. Later that year, Harris won the Thunderbox Heavyweight Tournament "Fistful of Dollars" in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The round-robin exhibition event consisted of eight heavyweights doing battle in three, three-minute rounds. Harris outpointed Gerald Nobles, future number one contender Tony Thompson and Israel Garcia in the same evening to win the $100,000 purse.[1]

Comeback

After a three-year layoff, Harris made a comeback in 2010 in the heavyweight division. Under the guidance of promoter Mario Yagobi of Boxing360, Harris returned to the ring. Harris won the vacant United States Boxing Association heavyweight title in his second opportunity with a 12-round unanimous decision over Nagy Aguilera at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota. However, on May 27, 2011, Harris lost an eliminator bout for the IBF # 2 position at Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. On July 16, 2011, Harris defended his USBA heavyweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 16, 2011, with a 12th-round knockout over challenger Derric Rossy.

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
52 fights 26 wins 22 losses
By knockout 11 15
By decision 14 7
By disqualification 1 0
Draws 3
No contests 1
Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
Loss 26–22–3 (1) Ivan Dychko KO 1 (8), 1:39 06/07/2018 Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood
Loss 26–21–3 (1) Kubrat Pulev KO 1 (8), 1:59 05/12/2015 Inselparkhalle, Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg
Loss 26–20–3 (1) Alexander Ustinov KO 1 (10) 10/10/2015 El Poliedro, Caracas, Venezuela
Draw 26–19–3 (1) Grover Young SD 8 05/09/2015 Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood
Loss 26–19–2 (1) Andrey Fedosov KO 2 (8) 18/04/2014 Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Indiana
Loss 26–18–2 (1) Amir Mansour UD 12 23/08/2013 Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, Dover, Delaware For vacant USBA heavyweight and World Boxing Federation Intercontinental heavyweight title
Win 26–17–2 (1) Jason Bergman SD 6 03/05/2013 University of California of PA Convocation Center, California, Pennsylvania
Loss 25–17–2 (1) Albert Sosnowski SD 3 20/06/2012 London, England, United Kingdom
Loss 25–16–2 (1) Edmund Gerber UD 8 05/05/2012 Erfurt, Thüringen, Germany
Win 25–15–2 (1) Derric "The Shaolin Fist" Rossy TKO 12 16/07/2011 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States USBA Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:35 of the 12th round.
Loss 24–15–2 (1) Tony "The Tiger" Thompson TKO 3 27/05/2011 Reno, Nevada, United States IBF Heavyweight Title Eliminator.
Win 24–14–2 (1) Nagy "Dominican Dynamite" Aguilera UD 12 06/08/2010 Hinckley, Minnesota, United States USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win 23–14–2 (1) Robert Hawkins UD 8 15/04/2010 New York City, United States
Win 22–14–2 (1) Julius Long UD 6 26/03/2010 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win 21–14–2 (1) Billy Zumbrun UD 6 29/01/2010 Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
NC 20–14–2 (1) Rodney Wallace NC 4 17/11/2007 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
Loss 20-14-2 Tye Fields RTD 4 14/07/2006 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 20-13-2 Franklin Edmondson UD 8 26/01/2006 Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Loss 19-13-2 Fres "The Big O" Oquendo KO 10 01/03/2003 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 19-12-2 Siarhei Liakhovich KO 9 01/06/2002 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 18-12-2 Henry Akinwande KO 1 16/06/2001 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Loss 18-11-2 Chris "Rapid Fire" Byrd UD 12 12/05/2001 New York City, United States USBA Heavyweight Title.
Win 18-10-2 Harold Sconiers UD 8 16/12/2000 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 17-10-2 Bradley Rone UD 8 05/08/2000 Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Loss 16-10-2 Derrick Jefferson KO 6 06/11/1999 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 16-9-2 Israel Cole UD 10 11/09/1999 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 15-9-2 Jeremy "Half Man-Half Amazing" Williams UD 10 19/06/1999 New York City, United States
Win 14-9-2 Louis "The Facelifter" Monaco TKO 1 22/05/1999 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 13-9-2 Artis "The Mad Boxer" Pendergrass TKO 4 19/12/1998 Miami, Florida, United States
Win 12-9-2 Orion Sistrunk KO 1 01/10/1998 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 11-9-2 Danny Wofford DQ 6 27/06/1998 Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Win 10-9-2 Rashid Latif KO 1 18/04/1998 Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Loss 9-9-2 Larry "The Easton Assassin" Holmes SD 10 29/07/1997 New York City, United States 95-96, 94-96, 96-94.
Win 9-8-2 Jimmy Thunder KO 7 20/05/1997 Lyndhurst, New Jersey, United States Thunder knocked out at 2:44 of the seventh round.
Win 8-8-2 Sam Hampton TKO 4 26/04/1997 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 7-8-2 Gerald "The Jedi" Nobles KO 3 30/07/1996 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Harris knocked out at 1:20 of the third round.
Win 7-7-2 Terrell "Baby Bull" Nelson UD 6 16/07/1996 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 58-52, 57-50, 58-54.
Loss 6-7-2 Dayton Wheeler MD 6 19/06/1996 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 6-6-2 David Izon UD 8 15/03/1996 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 76-75, 76-75, 78-75.
Loss 5-6-2 "Cowboy" Dale Brown KO 3 16/08/1995 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Loss 5-5-2 Vaughn "Shake & Bake" Bean KO 3 29/10/1994 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 5-4-2 "The American Dream" John Andrade TKO 6 27/06/1994 Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Draw 5-3-2 Zuri Lawrence PTS 4 21/06/1994 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win 5-3-1 Richie Brown UD 4 23/04/1994 Schenectady, New York, United States
Win 4-3-1 Ettol Windham UD 4 22/03/1994 Pensacola, Florida, United States
Draw 3-3-1 Richie Brown PTS 4 21/01/1994 New York City, United States
Win 3-3 Tom Murray TKO 1 01/10/1993 New York City, United States
Loss 2-3 Scott Lopeck KO 3 07/05/1993 New York City, United States
Loss 2-2 Richard Frazier TKO 4 20/03/1993 New York City, United States
Win 2-1 Michael Taylor TKO 1 27/02/1993 Bushkill, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 1-1 Anthony Harris TKO 1 12/02/1993 Bushkill, Pennsylvania, United States
Loss 0-1 Joe Kenna UD 4 04/12/1992 Bushkill, Pennsylvania, United States

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-26. Retrieved 2010-08-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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