Julian Jackson (born September
12, 1960) is a former professional boxer from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands. Known as "The Hawk", Jackson is regarded by many as pound
for pound the hardest puncher in boxing history and was ranked #25
by The Ring magazine in a 2003 list of "100 Greatest Punchers". He
is a former WBA light middleweight champion and two time WBC middleweight
champion.
In a career spanning 7 years, Jackson defeated four
world champions in Eddie Gazo, Baek In-Chul, Buster Drayton and Terry
Norris, as well as top contenders such as Herol Graham, Dennis Milton,
Thomas Tate and Agostino Cardamone.
He currently resides in Las
Vegas, Nevada.
Pro Career
Jackson turned professional in February
1981 and had many of his early fights in Puerto Rico, where he lived
for a short period of time and gained a shot at WBA light middleweight
champion Mike McCallum in August 1986. Jackson hurt the champion on
a couple occasions in the first round, but McCallum came storming
back with a barrage that forced the referee to stop matters in the
second round.
After McCallum moved up to middleweight, Jackson
got his second shot at the now vacant WBA title in November 1987 against
Korean In-Chul Baek, winning in three rounds. Baek would go on to
win the WBA super middleweight title a year later. Jackson made three
defenses of his crown, against former IBF title holders Buster Drayton
(TKO 3), Francisco DeJesus (KO8), and future three time champion Terry
Norris (TKO 2). All these defenses were won with a single knockout
punch.
Jackson then vacated his crown, moved up to 160 lb, and
was matched against Herol 'Bomber' Graham for the vacant WBC middleweight
title. Due to Jackson's retina damage which had required surgery,
the British Boxing Board of Control did not allow him to box in the
UK, so the bout was held at Torrequebrada Hotel & Casino, Benalmadena,
Andalucia, Spain on November 1990.
Graham was putting on his
typical savvy performance against Jackson: countering, slipping, and
dancing out of the way. After being consistently beaten to the punch
for three and a half rounds, Jackson unleashed one of the great right
hands of boxing. Unconscious before he hit the canvas, Graham was
revived only after five alarming minutes.
Defenses against Dennis
Milton (KO 1), Ismael Negron (KO 1), and Ron Collins (TKO 5) ended
quickly, but Thomas Tate would make Jackson work longer and harder
in their August 1992 encounter - Julian had to go to the scorecards
for the first time in a title bout in winning a 12 round unanimous
decision, scoring a knockdown along the way. At this point Jackson
was in the middle of the pound for pound rankings.
Life after
boxing
Julian Jackson joined the ministry, living in St. Thomas, Virgin
Islands. He continued his involvement in the local boxing field as
a trainer and coach. He has two sons who are also top ranked boxers.
Julius Jackson, a former Olympian, is currently professionally fighting
at super middleweight with a record of 19-1 (14 KOs) as of March 8,
2016. Julius previously held the WBC USNBC title and the WBA Fedebol
title. John Jackson, also a former Olympian, fights professionally
at light middleweight with a record of 20-2-0 (15 KOs) as of March
8, 2016, and was ranked 2nd by the WBC at light middleweight.