Virgil Hill

Olympic medal record
Men's Boxing
Silver	Los Angeles 1984	Middleweight

Virgil Hill
Personal information
Real name: Virgil Eugene Hill
Nickname(s): Quicksilver
Nationality: American
Date of birth: (1964-01-18) January 18, 1964
Place of birth: Clinton, Missouri
Personal Statistics
Weight: {{convert/numdisp/frac	Cruiserweight|||Cruiserweight}} ( kg)
Boxing career information

Virgil Eugene Hill (born January 18, 1964) is a Hall of Fame American boxer of partly Native American heritage, who forged a solid connection between the state of North Dakota and the sport of boxing. After winning the silver medal at middleweight in the 1984 Olympic Games, he went on as a professional to make twenty successful defences of the WBA World Light-Heavyweight Championship between 1987 and 1996, also annexing the lineal and IBF titles toward the end of his reign. In 2000 he won the WBA World Cruiserweight Championship, losing it in his first defence. In 2006/07 he regained the WBA Cruiserweight Championship, again losing it in his first defence.

Amateur career

In 1984 Hill, then age 20, won a silver medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics representing the United States as a Middleweight in Los Angeles in a close decision loss in the 165-lb. final (the USA's only loss on decision in Los Angeles). His results were:

• Defeated Edward Neblett RSC 2
• Defeated Brian Schumacher 5-0
• Defeated Damir Škaro 4-1
• Defeated Mohamed Zaoui 5-0
• Lost to Shin Joon-Sup 2-3

In addition, Hill was the 1984 National Golden Gloves champion at Middleweight .

Professional career

After going eighteen straight fights without a loss to start his pro career, 'Quicksilver' (his nickname) was a challenger to Leslie Stewart of Trinidad for the latter's WBA light heavyweight tile in September 1987 in Atlantic City. After an even match in the early going, Hill floored the defending title holder twice in the fourth round - first with a left hook and the second time with an uppercut - to take the title on a TKO win.

A series of ten successful defenses followed, eight of which took place in Bismarck, North Dakota. Offers were being made for Hill to fight in Las Vegas and other cities, but Virgil chose the place of his 'roots' and 'hometown fans' to be the place of the majority of his defenses. Opponents in his first run as champion included Bobby Czyz, James Kinchen, Joe Lasisi, and Ramzi Hassan. Then superstar Thomas Hearns would meet - and defeat - Hill in Las Vegas by decision in June 1991 to end Hill's first reign as champion.

After a couple of fights over the next year or so, it was Hill pitted against 1984 Olympic teammate Frank Tate in September 1992 for the vacant WBA 175-lb. title (the same title that Hearns won from Hill, but which was vacated after Iran Barkley dethroned Hearns afterward). It was a 'grudge match' between the two, and Hill won the decision (and the title) on his home turf of Bismarck. Another string of ten defenses would follow, including a rematch with Tate, a close decision over Lou Del Valle (who almost upset Hill), and a decision over IBF title holder Henry Maske to unify the belts, before German/Polish fighter & WBO title holder Dariusz Michalczewski scored a unanimous decision over Hill in June 1997 to unify the WBA, WBO & IBF titles.

Hill continued to fight, including against Roy Jones Jr. the following year, and was stopped in four. It was then on to the cruiserweights for the aging Hill, and he won a title at age 36 - the WBA cruiserweight title - by knocking down Fabrice Tiozzo three times to win the title in Villeurbanne, France by TKO in the first. He made his first defense, also in France, against Jean-Marc Mormeck, but would lose both match and title on cuts after nine rounds. He then decisioned Donny Lalonde in July 2003 in a North Dakota-Manitoba 'border fight', but later lost a disputed decision to Mormeck in a title rematch in South Africa in May 2004.

On Saturday January 27, 2006 Virgil Hill defeated previously undefeated Russian cruiserweight Valery Brudov by unanimous decision to win the 'regular' WBA World Cruiserweight championship. Despite being cut on the face in the sixth round, Hill was able to out hustle and out work his much younger opponent to capture his fifth world title at the age of 42.

His next to last fight was held in Germany on March 31, 2007. He faced Henry Maske, whom Hill had beaten in 1996 to unify the WBA and IBF light heavyweight titles. Maske had announced his retirement prior to that fight and was frustrated to end his career with a loss, the only loss in his professional career. When he heard about Hill capturing the world title again at the age of 42, he decided to challenge him for a rematch. Hill lost the Maske rematch, then lost to Firat Arslan in a 12 round title bout. Hill worked with his wife, Carla Hill, for their first ever boxing card and promotion at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on July 16, 2011.

Hall of Fame

On November 12, 2012 he was officially inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Class of 2013.

Professional boxing record

50 Wins (23 KOs), 7 Losses (2 KOs)
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	27-3-1	Firat Arslan	UD	12	24/11/2007	Dresden, Sachsen, Germany	Lost WBA cruiserweight title.
Loss	30-1	Henry Maske	UD	12	31/03/2007	Munich, Bayern, Germany
Win	30-0	Valery Brudov	UD	12	27/01/2006	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Won vacant WBA cruiserweight title.
Loss	29-2	Jean-Marc Mormeck	UD	12	22/05/2004	Brakpan, Gauteng, South Africa	For WBA cruiserweight title.
Win	41-4-1	Donny Lalonde	UD	10	05/07/2003	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Win	30-6	Joey DeGrandis	UD	12	17/11/2002	Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States
Win	29-16-1	Carlos Bates	TKO	1	23/08/2002	New Town, North Dakota, United States
Loss	26-2	Jean-Marc Mormeck	RTD	8	23/02/2002	Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhone, France	Lost WBA cruiserweight title.
Win	42-1	Fabrice Tiozzo	TKO	1	09/12/2000	Villeurbanne, Rhone, France	Won WBA cruiserweight title.
Win	27-5	Glenn Thomas	UD	10	09/05/1999	Minot, North Dakota, United States
Win	22-1	James Hayes	KO	2	07/11/1998	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States
Loss	35-1	Roy Jones, Jr.	KO	4	25/04/1998	Biloxi, Mississippi, United States
Loss	33-0	Dariusz Michalczewski	UD	12	13/06/1997	Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	Lost Lineal/WBA/IBF light heavyweight titles. For WBO light heavyweight title.
Win	30-0	Henry Maske	SD	12	23/11/1996	Munich, Bayern, Germany	Retained WBA light heavyweight title. Won IBF, & vacant Lineal light heavyweight titles.
Win	22-0	Lou Del Valle	UD	12	20/04/1996	Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	27-7-1	Drake "Nightmare" Thadzi	UD	12	02/09/1995	Wembley, London, United Kingdom	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	20-6-1	Crawford Ashley	UD	12	01/04/1995	Primm, Nevada, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	34-3	Frank Tate	UD	12	23/07/1994	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	15-2-1	Guy Waters	UD	12	17/12/1993	Minot, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	21-3	Saul Montana	TKO	10	09/11/1993	Fargo, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	28-4-3	Sergio Daniel Merani	UD	12	28/08/1993	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	25-0	Fabrice Tiozzo	SD	12	03/04/1993	Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	19-1-1	Adolpho Washington	TD	11	20/02/1993	Fargo, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	30-2	Frank Tate	UD	12	29/09/1992	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Won vacant WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	42-5	Lottie Mwale	KO	4	11/04/1992	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Won WBC International light heavyweight title.
Win	17-1	Aundrey Nelson	UD	10	01/03/1992	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Loss	49-3-1	Thomas Hearns	UD	12	03/06/1991	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Lost WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	9-3-2	Mike Peak	UD	12	06/01/1991	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	22-10-1	Frank Minton	TKO	9	27/10/1990	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States
Win	17-1-3	Tyrone Frazier	UD	12	07/07/1990	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	12-8-3	David Vedder	UD	12	25/02/1990	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	46-6-2	James Kinchen	TKO	1	24/10/1989	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	20-0	Joe Lasisi	TKO	7	27/05/1989	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	34-3	Bobby Czyz	UD	12	04/03/1989	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	19-3-1	Willie Featherstone	TKO	10	11/11/1988	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	25-3	Ramzi Hassan	UD	12	06/06/1988	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	25-4	Jean-Marie Emebe	TKO	11	03/04/1988	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	29-10-2	Rufino Angulo	UD	12	21/11/1987	Bercy, France	Retained WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	24-1	Leslie Stewart	TKO	4	05/09/1987	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Won WBA light heavyweight title.
Win	17-5-1	Junior Edmonds	UD	10	19/07/1987	Minot, North Dakota, United States
Win	65-23-1	Marcos Geraldo	KO	2	13/06/1987	Lake Tahoe, Nevada, United States
Win	43-7-3	Marvin Camel	KO	1	01/05/1987	Minot, North Dakota, United States
Win	24-35-2	James Williams	KO	4	06/03/1987	Fargo, North Dakota, United States
Win	13-7	Clarence Osby	UD	12	11/12/1986	New York City, United States	Won WBC Continental Americas light heavyweight title.
Win	14-11	Eric Winbush	UD	10	17/10/1986	Bismarck, North Dakota, United States
Win	26-6	Wayne Caplette	KO	1	04/10/1986	Williston, North Dakota, United States
Win	6-30-1	Marcus Dorsey	KO	2	14/08/1986	Lynnwood, Washington, United States
Win	5-3-1	Willie Mayberry	TKO	1	02/08/1986	Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, United States
Win	16-2	Mike Sedillo	UD	10	10/07/1986	Inglewood, California, United States
Win	16-8	Santiago Valdez	KO	1	30/06/1986	Everett, Washington, United States
Win	5-4	Abdul Hakim	TKO	4	30/04/1986	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	5-1	James "Hook" Williamson	TKO	6	02/03/1986	Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	1-5	Fred "Air" Jordan	TKO	4	22/01/1986	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	11-6	Dawud Shaw	UD	6	13/07/1985	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	1-0-1	David Vedder	UD	6	16/02/1985	Reno, Nevada, United States
Win	5-5	John Tyrell	TKO	1	05/01/1985	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	--	Arthur Wright	TKO	2	15/11/1984	New York City, United States	Professional debut.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Virgil Hill from BoxRec
• Virgil Hill's Amateur Boxing Record
• Carla and Virgil Hill's official promotional website

Preceded by Leslie Stewart	WBA light heavyweight champion September 5, 1987 – June 3, 1991	Succeeded by Thomas Hearns
Preceded by Iran Barkley Vacated	WBA light heavyweight champion September 29, 1992 – June 13, 1997	Succeeded by Dariusz Michalczewski
Preceded by Henry Maske	IBF light heavyweight champion November 23, 1996 – June 13, 1997
Preceded by Michael Spinks Vacated	Lineal light heavyweight champion November 23, 1996 – June 13, 1997
Preceded by Fabrice Tiozzo	WBA cruiserweight champion December 9, 2000 – February 23, 2002	Succeeded by Jean-Marc Mormeck
Preceded by Jean-Marc Mormeck Promoted from Champion to Super Champion	WBA cruiserweight champion Regular title January 27, 2006 – November 24, 2007	Succeeded by Firat Arslan