Percy Price Jr.

Percy Price Jr.

American boxer
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroAmerican boxer
PlacesUnited States of America
wasAthlete Boxer
Work fieldSports
Gender
Male
Birth19 May 1936, Salem, Salem County, New Jersey, USA
Death12 January 1989Jacksonville, Onslow County, North Carolina, USA (aged 52 years)
Star signTaurus
The details

Biography

Percy J. Price Jr. (May 19, 1936 – January 12, 1989) was an American amateur boxer. A United States Marine at the time, he competed in the men's heavyweight event at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He had gained his place on the U.S. team by defeating another young boxer then known as Cassius Clay. In his first Olympic bout, Price defeated Ron Taylor of Australia, but he lost to Josef Němec of Czechoslovakia in the quarter finals.

After seven-year hiatus, Marine Staff Sgt. Percy Price, age 33, returned to the ring to win the Armed Forces Boxing Championships at the Philadelphia Sports Arena. In front of a capacity crowd including world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, Price, 222, won a three-round decision over 20-years Duane Bobick, 199. After the bout, Price, father of six, announced he would never fight again.

Price turned down offers of a professional career and remained in the Marine Corps until he retired in 1976. However, he won numerous military boxing titles, and also completed two full combat tours of duty in South Vietnam as a Marine platoon leader.

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article on 02 Jan 2020. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.