Jimmy Young (November 16, 1948 – February 20, 2005) was a skilled Philadelphia heavyweight boxer who had his greatest success during the 1970s. Young was very hard to hit, had an effective left jab and straight right hand, and an equally effective body attack. His career record was 34-19-2 with 11 knockouts.

Professional career

Young made his name when he fought Muhammad Ali in Landover, Maryland in April 1976 for the world heavyweight title. The fight lasted for the full 15 rounds with the controversial decision going to Ali. Many journalists and boxing aficionados thought the fight was closer than the score cards suggested, and had the score equal (usually plus or minus one) where as the judges had Ali winning by a land slide. Ken Norton, a rival of Ali who was commenting at ringside, had the fight scored even on his own scorecard after the 15th round.

The common reason given for the result isn't that the judges were bias for Ali to win, but that Young seemed to want out of the fight. Young never advanced wanting to fight Ali, but rather waited until Ali came to him, and would often put his head down when he got near Ali to avoid getting hit (boxers aren't allowed to hit in the back of the head). He would often retreat very quickly every time Ali landed a punch, often putting his body out of the ring to avoid getting hit, which some have named "the coward's rope-a-dope". To the judges, a contender should want to take the belt of the champ; all the champ needs to do is survive, not vice versa.

In November 1976 Young beat top contender Ron Lyle in a 12-round bout, winning 11 of 12 rounds on one judge's card.

As a result of his loss to Ali, Young had to work hard to get another shot at the world title. He chose to fight one of the most feared boxers in the world at the time, George Foreman, who had begun a comeback after losing the title to Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle". In March 1976 Young beat Foreman, knocking him down in the final round and winning a 12-round decision. Ring Magazine named the Foreman-Young bout its 1977 "Fight of the Year."

Young's next major opponent was Norton, in November 1977; Norton was awarded a split decision.

Young faded in the late 1970s, but came back on the scene fiercely in 1981, beating several contenders and being named Ring Magazine comeback of the year for his successes.His lost to Greg Page in 1982 ended his run as a serious contender. He continued fighting with mixed results until 1988.
Source : Wikipedia