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Joe Hipp
Born (1962-12-07) December 7, 1962 (age 61)
Browning, Montana
Other namesThe Boss
Residence Yakima, Washington
Nationality American Blackfeet Nation
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight105.0 kg (231.5 lb; 16.53 st)
Division Heavyweight
Reach73 in (185 cm)
Stance Southpaw
Years active18 (1987-2005)
Professional boxing record
Total50
Wins43
By knockout29
Losses7
By knockout6
Amateur boxing record
Total128
Wins119
Losses9
Other information
OccupationAll Nations Foundation, founder
Notable school(s) A.C. Davis High School
Boxing record from BoxRec
Last updated on: October 17, 2009

Joe "The Boss" Hipp (born December 7, 1962) is a retired professional American heavyweight boxer. A member of the Blackfeet Tribe, he became the first Native American to challenge for a world heavyweight boxing championship on August 19, 1995 when he fought WBA champion Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In May 2009, he was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Hipp began his professional career with a 4-round decision over Steve Cortez at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon on August 29, 1987. For his second fight 2 months later, Hipp travelled to Carson City, Nevada to face Utah native Veti Katoa. The fight was stopped by the ringside doctor after Hipp suffered a broken jaw in the third round.

Hipp rebounded successfully from the defeat by notching 3 consecutive first-round knockout victories before facing Katoa in a rematch at Gardnerville Park in Gardnerville, Nevada on July 2, 1988. Hipp dominated the action on the inside with his hard-hitting, banging style to take a 5-round unanimous decision.

Hipp then took a year-long hiatus from boxing before returning to face Andrew Matthews on the 4th of July of the following year. Outweighing his opponent by over 30 pounds, Hipp punched his way to a first-round stoppage. Exactly two weeks later, Hipp scored a unanimous four-round decision over up-and-coming contender Cleveland Woods in what Ring Magazine referred to as "...the upset of the night" on the card for that evening.

Hipp began another winning streak (including a brutal third-round knockout of Katoa in their third and final meeting) before facing Bert Cooper in Cooper's final bout prior to his fight with Evander Holyfield for the world title one month later. Cooper outslugged Hipp en route to a fifth-round stoppage by referee Joe Cortez.

Hipp again rebounded by winning 3 consecutive contests before facing Tommy Morrison on June 27, 1992 in Reno, Nevada. In a slugfest that saw Morrison break his jaw and one of his hands, Hipp lost by a 9th-round TKO, resulting in broken cheekbones for Hipp. After recovering from his injuries, Hipp fought once in 1993, earning a victory with a ten-round decision in a rematch with Kevin Ford.

Hipp began 1994 with a victory over Alex Garcia for the fringe NABF heavyweight title and finished the year with two more wins. He began the following year by continuing his winning ways with a third-round TKO of journeyman Phillip Brown. This win would lead to Hipp's most important bout, the fight that would land him in the history books as the first Native American to challenge for one of the four recognized heavyweight title belts.

WBA Heavyweight Title Bout

On August 19, 1995 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on the undercard of the infamous Mike Tyson v. Peter McNeeley fight (Tyson's first fight after being released from prison for rape), Hipp squared off against Bruce Seldon for the WBA Heavyweight championship. With Seldon well ahead on all scorecards, the fight was stopped in the tenth round by referee Richard Steele after Hipp experienced massive swelling and bleeding on his face.

Career Decline

Hipp's career was rather undistinguished afterwards. He fired off a series of victories over third-rate competition before being knocked out by hard-hitting journeyman Ross Puritty on June 15, 1997. Hipp had secured a comfortable lead on the scorecards before Puritty came out swinging for the tenth and final round of their bout. An exhausted Hipp was no match for Puritty in the last round and he suffered his first KO defeat. Hipp racked up three consecutive victories against nondescript competition after the Puritty fight, but then blew out his knee against Jeff Pegues in a fifth-round TKO loss on December 9, 1999.

He attempted a comeback four years later, but that came to an abrupt end in his second fight as he dropped a six-round decision to journeyman Billy Zumbrun on November 14, 2003.

Hipp, referred to as "The Boss" by his loyal fans, returned from another extended layoff to win a six-round decision over Ted Reiter on August 13, 2005, in what was his final fight.

Professional boxing record

43 Wins (29 knockouts, 14 decisions), 7 Losses (6 knockouts, 1 decision) [1]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 43-7 United States Ted Reiter MD 6 13/08/2005 United States Lewiston, Idaho, U.S.
Loss 42-7 United States Billy Zumbrun MD 6 14/11/2003 United States Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Win 42-6 United States Chris Brown KO 2 22/08/2003 United States Spokane, Washington, U.S. Brown knocked out at 2:37 of the second round.
Loss 41-6 United States Jeff Pegues TKO 5 09/12/1999 United States Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S. Hipp suffered a severe knee injury during the fight causing a stoppage.
Win 41-5 United States Everett Martin UD 12 25/06/1999 United States Saint Charles, Missouri, U.S. WBF World heavyweight title.
Win 40-5 United States Jack Basting UD 10 27/03/1998 United States Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Win 39-5 Canada George McFall TKO 2 11/02/1998 United States Yakima, Washington, U.S.
Loss 38-5 United States Ross Puritty KO 10 15/06/1997 United States Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
Win 38-4 United States Marcus Rhode TKO 1 29/03/1997 United States Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
Win 37-4 United States Lorenzo Boyd KO 1 10/03/1997 United States Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Boyd knocked out at 2:45 of the first round.
Win 36-4 United States Will Hinton TKO 1 13/12/1996 United States Tacoma, Washington, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:30 of the first round.
Win 35-4 Canada Troy Roberts KO 2 05/10/1996 United States Yakima, Washington, U.S.
Win 34-4 United States Fred Houpe TKO 1 23/09/1996 United States Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:55 of the first round.
Win 33-4 United States Bill Corrigan KO 1 04/08/1996 United States Sequim, Washington, U.S. Corrigan knocked out at 1:39 of the first round.
Win 32-4 United States Anthony Moore TKO 5 17/07/1996 United States Worley, Idaho, U.S. Western States heavyweight title.
Win 31-4 Mexico Martin Jacques TKO 1 15/12/1995 United States Yakima, Washington, U.S.
Loss 30-4 United States Bruce Seldon TKO 10 19/08/1995 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. WBA World heavyweight title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:47 of the tenth round.
Win 30-3 United States Philipp Brown TKO 3 17/04/1995 United States Moline, Illinois, U.S.
Win 29-3 Puerto Rico Rodolfo Marin SD 10 01/11/1994 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 28-3 Cuba José Ribalta KO 2 10/05/1994 United States Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S. NABF heavyweight title. Ribalta knocked out at 1:53 of the second round.
Win 27-3 United States Alex Garcia UD 12 01/03/1994 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. NABF heavyweight title.
Win 26-3 United States Keith McMurray KO 4 14/01/1994 United States Saint George, Utah, U.S. McMurray knocked out at 2:52 of the fourth round.
Win 25-3 United States Kevin Ford UD 10 03/04/1993 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Loss 24-3 United States Tommy Morrison TKO 9 27/06/1992 United States Reno, Nevada, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:47 of the ninth round.
Win 24-2 United States Jesse Shelby UD 10 28/02/1992 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 23-2 United States Kevin Ford UD 8 01/02/1992 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 22-2 United States John Morton KO 3 05/01/1992 United States Reno, Nevada, U.S. Morton knocked out at 3:00 of the third round.
Loss 21-2 United States Bert Cooper TKO 5 18/10/1991 United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:01 of the fifth round.
Win 21-1 United States Cleveland Woods KO 1 15/07/1991 United States Irvine, California, U.S. Woods knocked out at 0:27 of the first round.
Win 20-1 United States Bill Duncan KO 1 02/07/1991 United States Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Win 19-1 United States David Bey TKO 7 26/02/1991 United States Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the seventh round.
Win 18-1 United States Mike Cohen KO 4 14/01/1991 United States Fife, Washington, U.S. World Boxing Foundation (WBFo) Intercontinental heavyweight title. Cohen knocked out at 2:30 of the fourth round.
Win 17-1 United States Richard Cade KO 2 16/11/1990 United States Fort Lewis, Washington, U.S. Cade knocked out at 0:52 of the second round.
Win 16-1 United States Harry Terrell KO 2 11/09/1990 United States Fife, Washington, U.S. Terrell knocked out at 2:14 of the second round.
Win 15-1 Mexico Gerardo Valero KO 1 26/07/1990 United States Yakima, Washington, U.S. Valero knocked out at 3:04 of the first round.
Win 14-1 United States Tracy Thomas UD 10 12/06/1990 United States Yakima, Washington, U.S.
Win 13-1 United States Danny Wofford PTS 6 24/04/1990 United States Reseda, California, U.S.
Win 12-1 United States Veti Katoa KO 3 16/03/1990 United States Butte, Montana, U.S.
Win 11-1 United States Dan Ross KO 1 12/02/1990 United States Butte, Montana, U.S. Ross knocked out at 2:09 of the first round.
Win 10-1 United States Marvin Camel TKO 6 02/12/1989 United States Lacey, Washington, U.S.
Win 9-1 United States Sean McClain TKO 4 26/09/1989 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 8-1 United States Shaun Ayers UD 10 26/08/1989 United States Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Win 7-1 United States Cleveland Woods UD 4 18/07/1989 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win 6-1 United States Andrew Matthews TKO 1 04/07/1989 United States Gardnerville, Nevada, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:34 of the first round.
Win 5-1 United States Veti Kotoa UD 5 02/07/1988 United States Gardnerville, Nevada, U.S.
Win 4-1 United States Steve Cortez TKO 1 18/06/1988 United States Vancouver, Washington, U.S.
Win 3-1 United States Paul Bradshaw TKO 1 04/06/1988 United States Albany, Oregon, U.S.
Win 2-1 United States John Elkins TKO 1 02/06/1988 United States Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Loss 1-1 United States Veti Katoa TKO 3 24/10/1987 United States Carson City, Nevada, U.S.
Win 1-0 United States Steve Cortez UD 4 29/08/1987 United States Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

Outside the Ring

In 2004, Rocky Mountain College and the Billings Writer's Voice sponsored a poetry reading held by various Native American groups in tribute to Hipp.

In December 2005, Hipp was a FEMA worker for the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Responding to the call, he joined his fellow Blackfeet members who were called upon due to their experience in wildfires and search and rescue missions.

By 2007 Hipp was working for his former manager Ray Frye at a Seattle area sweeping company. He also co-owned a small construction company.

References

  1. ^ "BoxRec - Joe Hipp".

External links