O'Neil Bell

O'Neil Bell (29 December 1974 – 25 November 2015) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2011. He held the undisputed cruiserweight title in 2006 and the lineal cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2007.

O'Neil Bell
Statistics
Nickname(s)
  • Supernova
  • Give 'em Hell
Weight(s)Cruiserweight
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Reach75 in (191 cm)
NationalityJamaican
Born(1974-12-29)29 December 1974
Jamaica
Died25 November 2015(2015-11-25) (aged 40)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights32
Wins27
Wins by KO25
Losses4
Draws1

Professional career

Bell lost his second fight against Algerian amateur star (M.Benguesima) but kept winning for years after that. He defeated former IBF champion Arthur Williams twice by KO and climbed the rankings.

He defeated Canadian Dale Brown in a controversial but unanimous decision on May 20, 2005, on Friday Night Fights to capture the vacant IBF title.

He unified the title by beating Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck on January 7, 2006, for his WBA and WBC belts, making Bell the second undisputed champion of the division, with Evander Holyfield being the first.[1]

The IBF later stripped Bell in April 2006 for pulling out of a mandatory bout against Steve Cunningham because of a tooth problem. After nearly 11 months of inactivity, Bell was due to take part in the postponed Superfighter Tournament at heavyweight on December 1 of that year.

Bell lost the WBA, WBC and lineal cruiserweight titles to Jean-Marc Mormeck on March 17, 2007 in the Frenchman's backyard in Levallois, France via a close but unanimous decision.

On April 19, 2008, in Poland, Bell fought former WBC light heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek. Bell was dropped in the first round and quit after the end of round seven, complaining of feeling dizzy and sick.

After the Adamek fight, Bell announced his move to the heavyweight division, saying that making the cruiserweight limit sapped his strength for his last two fights.[2] Bell's first heavyweight bout was scheduled to be against Willie Palms on January 14, 2009,[3] but that fight never occurred.

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
32 fights 27 wins 4 losses
By knockout 25 3
By decision 2 1
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
32 Win 27–4–1 Rico Cason TKO 1, 0:58 17 Dec 2011 Smith Gymnasium at Henderson Hall, Arlington, Virginia, US
31 Loss 26–4–1 Richard Hall TKO 2 (10), 1:58 4 Jun 2011 Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, US
30 Loss 26–3–1 Tomasz Adamek TKO 8 (12) 19 Apr 2008 Spodek, Katowice, Poland
29 Loss 26–2–1 Jean-Marc Mormeck UD 12 17 Mar 2007 Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France Lost WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles
28 Win 26–1–1 Jean-Marc Mormeck KO 10 (12), 2:50 7 Jan 2006 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US Retained IBF cruiserweight title;
Won WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles
27 Win 25–1–1 Sebastiaan Rothmann KO 11 (12), 2:09 26 Aug 2005 Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, US Retained IBF cruiserweight title
26 Win 24–1–1 Dale Brown UD 12 20 May 2005 Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, US Won vacant IBF cruiserweight title
25 Win 23–1–1 Ezra Sellers KO 2 (12), 2:04 4 Sep 2004 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, US
24 Win 22–1–1 Derrick Harmon TKO 8 (12), 1:41 19 Dec 2003 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, Illinois, US Retained NABF cruiserweight title
23 Win 21–1–1 Kelvin Davis TKO 11 (12), 1:03 23 May 2003 Lucky Star Casino, Concho, Oklahoma, US Retained NABF and USBA cruiserweight titles
22 Win 20–1–1 Arthur Williams TKO 9 (12), 2:06 8 Nov 2002 Stratosphere, Las Vegas, Nevada, US Retained NABF cruiserweight title;
Won vacant USBA cruiserweight title
21 Win 19–1–1 Eric Davis TKO 3 (6) 28 Jun 2002 Roxy Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, US
20 Draw 18–1–1 Ernest Mateen TD 3 (10) 26 Apr 2002 Ramada O'Hare, Rosemont, Illinois, US TD after Mateen was cut from an accidental head clash
19 Win 18–1 Ka-Dy King TKO 3 (10) 9 Apr 2002 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, Illinois, US
18 Win 17–1 Arthur Williams TKO 11 (12), 2:30 7 Sep 2001 Dakota Magic Casino, Hankinson, North Dakota, US Retained NABF cruiserweight title
17 Win 16–1 Jason Robinson UD 10 3 Jul 2001 Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, US
16 Win 15–1 Jose Luis Rivera TKO 11 (12) 10 May 2001 Casino Queen, East St. Louis, Illinois, US Retained NABF cruiserweight title
15 Win 14–1 James Walton TKO 10 (12), 1:38 18 Jan 2001 Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, US Won vacant NABF cruiserweight title
14 Win 13–1 Michael Rush KO 5 (12) 19 Oct 2000 Columbus, Georgia, US Won NBA cruiserweight title
13 Win 12–1 Eric Davis TKO 2 (10) 13 Oct 2000 Stone Mountain, Georgia, US
12 Win 11–1 Jose Hiram Torres TKO 3 2 Jun 2000 Roxy Nightclub, Boston, Massachusetts, US
11 Win 10–1 John Moore TKO 3 22 Apr 2000 Atlanta, Georgia, US
10 Win 9–1 Wes Taylor TKO 3 27 Jan 2000 Atlanta, Georgia, US
9 Win 8–1 George Holder TKO 2 (6), 2:47 3 Sep 1999 Harrah's, Cherokee, North Carolina, US
8 Win 7–1 Carl Handy TKO 4 11 Aug 1999 New Orleans, Louisiana, US
7 Win 6–1 John Battle KO 2 3 Mar 1999 Atlanta, Georgia, US
6 Win 5–1 Cliff Nellon TKO 4 (6), 1:57 22 Jan 1999 Horseshoe Casino, Tunica, Mississippi, US
5 Win 4–1 John Carter TKO 1 (4), 2:10 13 Nov 1998 Harrah's, Cherokee, North Carolina, US
4 Win 3–1 Larry Donnell TKO 2 30 Jul 1998 Roxy Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, US
3 Win 2–1 James Sealey KO 1 26 Jun 1998 Doraville, Georgia, US
2 Loss 1–1 Mahamed Benguesmia KO 4 (6) 11 Apr 1998 Township Auditorium, Columbia, South Carolina, US
1 Win 1–0 William Holyfield TKO 1 (4) 19 Feb 1998 World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia, US

Outside the ring

On February 5, 2007, Bell allegedly threw an axe at his sparring partner, Larry Slayton, while training in the woods of Big Bear, California. He was subsequently arrested for assault with a deadly weapon but was released.[4]

2007 disappearance

According to ESPN's Wednesday Night Fights on August 8, 2007, Bell, who was originally scheduled to appear, was unavailable to fight and could not be contacted in any way. He was scheduled to appear against Louis Azille on the fight card, but his promoter pulled him from the fight three weeks prior because he could not be located.

Death

Bell was shot and killed while being robbed in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 25, 2015.[5]

See also

References
  1. "O'Neil Bell - Lineal Cruiserweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  2. "O'Neil Bell Looks To Become The Heavyweight Savior".
  3. "O'Neil "Super Nova" Bell Stepping In The Ring at Heavyweight"".
  4. "Cruiserweight champ Bell arrested on assault charge". ESPN.com. 6 February 2007.
  5. Chaykovsky, Edward (November 25, 2015). "O'Neil Bell Shot and Killed By Robbers in Atlanta". BoxingScene. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
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