David Bey

David Bey (March 11, 1957 – September 13, 2017) was an American heavyweight boxer who held the USBA title. He unsuccessfully challenged Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title in 1985.

Bey was an outstanding amateur boxer who had taken up the sport to lose weight and eventually competed on the U.S. All Army Boxing Team. He made his professional debut in 1981, defeating future undisputed world heavyweight champion James "Buster" Douglas by a second-round knockout. He built up a record of 14–0, becoming the first man to stop the durable veteran contender George Chaplin (TKO4) as well as defeating future WBA heavyweight champion Greg Page (W12) to capture the United States Boxing Association heavyweight championship.

In March 1985 Bey was given a title shot by IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes. After a strong start, Holmes knocked Bey down twice in the 8th round and the referee stopped the fight in the 10th round.

Bey never regained his confidence, losing his USBA title by 11th-round TKO to Trevor Berbick in his comeback fight, then being relegated to 'opponent' status for the remainder of his career, matched against the likes of James "Bonecrusher" Smith, Joe Bugner in Australia, Tyrell Biggs, and Johnny DuPlooy in South Africa. He retired in 1987 after losing to DuPlooy, but made a comeback in 1990 in which he went 3-5-1. In 1994 in his final fight he knocked out David Jaco in China. He lived in China for a time before returning to the States and his old construction job.

Bey died in a construction accident in Camden in 2017.

Professional boxing record 18 Wins (14 knockouts, 4 decisions), 11 Losses (4 knockouts, 3 decisions), 1 Draw Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Win 18–11–1 David Jaco TKO 8 1994-09-17 Macao, China Loss 17–11–1 Zeljko Mavrovic TKO 4 1993-10-16 Koblenz, Germany Loss 17–10–1 Terry Davis UD 12 1993-02-27 Beijing, China Loss 17–9–1 Derek Williams TKO 6 1991-09-30 London, England Draw 17–8–1 David Jaco PTS 10 1991-09-07 Sarasota, Florida, U.S. Loss 17–8 Joe Hipp TKO 7 1991-02-26 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Loss 17–7 Bruce Seldon TKO 10 1990-11-01 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win 17–6 Terry Miller KO 2 1990-08-21 Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. Win 16–6 Paul Bradshaw TKO 3 1990-02-17 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Loss 15–6 Johnny DuPlooy KO 9 1987-04-27 Johannesburg, South Africa Loss 15–5 Tyrell Biggs TKO 6 1987-03-07 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Loss 15–4 Joe Bugner UD 10 1986-11-14 Sydney, Australia Loss 15–3 James Smith UD 10 1986-08-23 Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. Win 15–2 Wesley Smith SD 10Jan 17, 1986 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Loss 14–2 Trevor Berbick TKO 11 1985-06-15 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Loss 14–1 Larry Holmes TKO 10 1985-03-15 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win 14–0 Greg Page UD 12 Aug 31, 1984 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win 13–0 Leroy Caldwell PTS 10Mar 9, 1984 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win 12–0 Alf Coffin KO 2 1983-08-17 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win 11–0 Grady Daniels KO 1 1983-07-16 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win 10–0 Chuck Johnson TKO 3 1983-02-12 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Win 9–0 George Chaplin TKO 4 1982-11-26 Houston, Texas, U.S. Win 8–0 Larry Beilfuss TKO 1 1982-10-02 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win 7–0 Jack Watkins KO 2 1982-08-14 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Win 6–0 Larry Sims PTS 6 1982-06-27 Highland Heights, Ohio, U.S. Win 5–0 Laverne Bumpers TKO 1 1982-05-02 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win 4–0 D.B. Johnson KO 1 1982-04-09 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Win 3–0 Steve Flemester TKO 2 1982-03-20 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win 2–0 Larry Ham TKO 1 1982-02-24 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win 1–0 James Douglas TKO 2 1981-11-06 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.