Billy Joiner (10 May 1938 – June 2019), was an American professional boxer from Cincinnati, U.S.
Early life
Joiner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 10 May 1938. His father was a former professional boxer, as was his uncle who had once knocked out Freddie Miller in a bout.
Amateur career
Joiner was the 1962 National Golden Gloves and National AAU Light-Heavyweight Champion and compiled an Amateur record of 86–6 (The Ring, March 1964), and won the National Golden Gloves with a win over Gerald McClure of Toledo, Ohio. He also fought Cassius Clay twice as an amateur between 1960–61. He made his professional debut in August 1962, stopping Jukius Dickins in two rounds.. Training in the Reading Hill Gym. Sparing partner. Rocky Susshine. Was training for his first bought in the Grater Cincinnati Golden Gloves. Greater Cincinnati included Cincinnati. Kentucky and Indiana. In the first year Rocky Susshine won 38 fights by TKO. Rocky going from Sub-Novice to Open Division in the first year. Soon after Rocky was sent to Vietnam.
Professional career
He was a promising heavyweight prospect in the 1960s who failed to live up to his promise. A slick boxer with little punch, Joiner is best remembered for lasting the distance with former world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston on March 28, 1969, during Liston's comeback. This was in fact their second fight. They'd fought in May the year before with Liston winning a seventh round stoppage.
He also fought (and lost) to top heavyweight contenders Zora Folley, Oscar Bonavena, Mac Foster, Alfredo Evangelista and Larry Holmes.
Later life
After retiring from the ring Joiner worked for thirty years with the Ohio State Highway Maintenance Department, finishing as a Superintendent. He was also employed as an amateur boxing coach.
Death
Joiner died at the age of 81 in June 2019.
Professional boxing record
| 12 Wins (5 knockouts, 7 decisions), 13 Losses (5 knockouts, 8 decisions), 3 Draws | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | 12-13-3 |  Young Louis
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PTS | 10 | 13/11/1981 | Northwest Activities Center, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
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| Loss | 11-13-3 |  Alfredo Evangelista
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KO | 1 | 27/05/1978 |  León, Spain
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| Win | 11-12-3 | "King" Jim Fletcher
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TKO | 5 | 19/08/1976 | Washoe Fairgrounds Pavilion, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
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| Loss | 10-12-3 |  Oscar Bonavena
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UD | 10 | 26/02/1976 | Reno, Nevada, U.S.
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| Loss | 10-11-3 | Larry Holmes
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TKO | 3 | 20/12/1975 |  Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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Referee stopped the bout at 2:29 of the third round. |
| Loss | 10-10-3 |  Bernd August
|
PTS | 8 | 28/09/1973 | Berlin, Germany
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| Loss | 10-9-3 | Mac Foster
|
KO | 5 | 29/07/1971 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
|
Joiner knocked out at 2:55 of the fifth round. |
| Loss | 10-8-3 | Juergen Blin
|
PTS | 10 | 09/10/1970 | Hamburg, Germany
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| Loss | 10-7-3 | Alvin Lewis
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UD | 10 | 15/07/1970 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
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| Loss | 10-6-3 | Zora Folley
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UD | 10 | 05/11/1969 | Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
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| Win | 10-5-3 |  Bob Cleroux
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SD | 10 | 31/07/1969 | Paul Sauve Arena, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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| Loss | 9-5-3 | Sonny Liston
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UD | 10 | 28/03/1969 | Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.
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| Loss | 9-4-3 | Sonny Liston
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RTD | 7 | 23/05/1968 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Draw | 9-3-3 | Chuck Leslie
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PTS | 10 | 27/03/1968 | Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
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| Draw | 9-3-2 |  Dante Cane
|
PTS | 10 | 12/02/1968 | Bologna, Italy
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| Draw | 9-3-1 | Piero Tomasoni
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PTS | 10 | 26/12/1967 | Brescia, Italy
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| Loss | 9-3 | "King" Jim Fletcher
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PTS | 10 | 04/12/1967 | Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
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| Loss | 9-2 | Hubert Hilton
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TKO | 9 | 08/09/1966 | Freeport Stadium, Freeport, New York
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| Win | 9-1 | Mert Brownfield
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KO | 2 | 13/06/1966 | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
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| Win | 8-1 | Lee Wallace Carr
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UD | 10 | 13/11/1964 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
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| Loss | 7-1 | Amos Johnson
|
SD | 10 | 11/09/1964 | Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
|
Ohio Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 7-0 | Oron Johnson
|
TKO | 8 | 22/05/1964 | Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
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Referee stopped the bout at 2:50 of the eighth round. |
| Win | 6-0 | Harvey C. Jones
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UD | 8 | 17/04/1964 | Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
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| Win | 5-0 | Lloyd Washington
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UD | 10 | 11/03/1964 | Painesville Armory, Painesville, Ohio, U.S.
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| Win | 4-0 | Lou Bailey
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PTS | 10 | 17/01/1964 | Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
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| Win | 3-0 | Amos Johnson
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PTS | 10 | 19/11/1963 | Akron, Ohio, U.S.
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| Win | 2-0 | Marion Connor
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TKO | 5 | 06/02/1963 | Canton Auditorium, Canton, Ohio, U.S.
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Referee stopped the bout at 2:05 of the fifth round. |
| Win | 1-0 | Julius Dickens
|
KO | 2 | 25/08/1962 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
|
Dickens knocked out at 1:24 of the second round. |
References
- ^ "Billy Joiner". BoxRec.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-07.
- ^ 'The man who fought Liston and Cassius Clay four times', 'Boxing.com', 28 July 2016. http://www.boxing.com/the_man_who_fought_liston_and_cassius_clayfour_times.html Archived 2019-06-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Obituary for Joiner, 'Boxing 247.com', 14 June 2019. https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/r-i-p-billy-joiner-1938-2019/120566
External links
- Boxing record for Billy Joiner from BoxRec (registration required)
- Billy Joiner embodies city's boxing legacy