Quick Facts
Biography
Kevin “K-Smoove” Rivers, Jr. is an American featherweight professional boxer from Palmer Park, MD.
Family
River’s grandfather was a street knockout artist, his father and three uncles trained in Palmer Park boxing gyms.
Career
Rivers was a decorated amateur national champion with a 150–15 record. He was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in 2009 and represented the country in numerous international amateur boxing competitions. As an amateur, he won the Ringside World Championship, National PAL Tournament and Jr. Golden Gloves—where he was named the tournament's “Outstanding Boxer”. Kevin competed and won in virtually every major amateur boxing tournament, including the National Silver Gloves, National Golden Gloves, US Future Stars, Under-19 National Championships, AIBA Youth World Championship, World Championships, US Nationals, and in Italy, where he boxed the Italian National Team to a draw.
Rivers fought professionally for the first time at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. on September 29, 2012, winning a unanimous decision over David Warren Huffman of Cincinnati. Rivers scored a first-round, one-punch knockout in his second professional fight on November 3, 2012 against Bobby Wooten of Wilson, N.C at the same venue. Rivers dropped Wooten with a vicious left hook, the only punch he needed to win the fight. Rivers won his next five fights by stoppage, starting with a win over Alan Beeman in December 2012, followed by a knockout of Giovanni Vasquez at Rosecroft Raceway on January 15, 2013, again powered by deadly left hooks.
After scoring six stoppages in a row, Rivers took on the tough Jason Rorie on May 18, 2013 at UDC on the undercard of a show headlined by Dusty Hernandez Harrison. Rorie provided a solid test, but Rivers passed easily, and Stiff Jab declared him ready for bigger challenges. His next fight came against Rasool Shakoor of Jackson, Michigan on June 15, 2013 back at the Convention Center. Rivers crumpled Shakoor with a right hand to his liver in the 2nd round, earning a traditional knockout when Shakoor was unable to rise.
As of October 2016, Rivers' professional record was 13 Wins and 1 losses, with 10 wins coming by way of knockout.