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) |
|
Weight(s) | Cruiserweight |
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
Reach | 75 in (191 cm) |
Nationality | Jamaican |
Born | Jamaica | 29 December 1974
Died | 25 November 2015 40) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | (aged
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 32 |
Wins | 27 |
Wins by KO | 25 |
Losses | 4 |
Draws | 1 |
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
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 | ![]() |
TKO | 1, 0:58 | 17 Dec 2011 | ![]() |
|
31 | Loss | 26–4–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (10), 1:58 | 4 Jun 2011 | ![]() |
|
30 | Loss | 26–3–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 8 (12) | 19 Apr 2008 | ![]() |
|
29 | Loss | 26–2–1 | ![]() |
UD | 12 | 17 Mar 2007 | ![]() |
Lost WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles |
28 | Win | 26–1–1 | ![]() |
KO | 10 (12), 2:50 | 7 Jan 2006 | ![]() |
Retained IBF cruiserweight title; Won WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles |
27 | Win | 25–1–1 | ![]() |
KO | 11 (12), 2:09 | 26 Aug 2005 | ![]() |
Retained IBF cruiserweight title |
26 | Win | 24–1–1 | ![]() |
UD | 12 | 20 May 2005 | ![]() |
Won vacant IBF cruiserweight title |
25 | Win | 23–1–1 | ![]() |
KO | 2 (12), 2:04 | 4 Sep 2004 | ![]() |
|
24 | Win | 22–1–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 8 (12), 1:41 | 19 Dec 2003 | ![]() |
Retained NABF cruiserweight title |
23 | Win | 21–1–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 11 (12), 1:03 | 23 May 2003 | ![]() |
Retained NABF and USBA cruiserweight titles |
22 | Win | 20–1–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 9 (12), 2:06 | 8 Nov 2002 | ![]() |
Retained NABF cruiserweight title; Won vacant USBA cruiserweight title |
21 | Win | 19–1–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 (6) | 28 Jun 2002 | ![]() |
|
20 | Draw | 18–1–1 | ![]() |
TD | 3 (10) | 26 Apr 2002 | ![]() |
TD after Mateen was cut from an accidental head clash |
19 | Win | 18–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 (10) | 9 Apr 2002 | ![]() |
|
18 | Win | 17–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 11 (12), 2:30 | 7 Sep 2001 | ![]() |
Retained NABF cruiserweight title |
17 | Win | 16–1 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 3 Jul 2001 | ![]() |
|
16 | Win | 15–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 11 (12) | 10 May 2001 | ![]() |
Retained NABF cruiserweight title |
15 | Win | 14–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 10 (12), 1:38 | 18 Jan 2001 | ![]() |
Won vacant NABF cruiserweight title |
14 | Win | 13–1 | ![]() |
KO | 5 (12) | 19 Oct 2000 | ![]() |
Won NBA cruiserweight title |
13 | Win | 12–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (10) | 13 Oct 2000 | ![]() |
|
12 | Win | 11–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 2 Jun 2000 | ![]() |
|
11 | Win | 10–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 22 Apr 2000 | ![]() |
|
10 | Win | 9–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 27 Jan 2000 | ![]() |
|
9 | Win | 8–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (6), 2:47 | 3 Sep 1999 | ![]() |
|
8 | Win | 7–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 | 11 Aug 1999 | ![]() |
|
7 | Win | 6–1 | ![]() |
KO | 2 | 3 Mar 1999 | ![]() |
|
6 | Win | 5–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 (6), 1:57 | 22 Jan 1999 | ![]() |
|
5 | Win | 4–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 1 (4), 2:10 | 13 Nov 1998 | ![]() |
|
4 | Win | 3–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 30 Jul 1998 | ![]() |
|
3 | Win | 2–1 | ![]() |
KO | 1 | 26 Jun 1998 | ![]() |
|
2 | Loss | 1–1 | ![]() |
KO | 4 (6) | 11 Apr 1998 | ![]() |
|
1 | Win | 1–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 1 (4) | 19 Feb 1998 | ![]() |
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
- "O'Neil Bell - Lineal Cruiserweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
- "O'Neil Bell Looks To Become The Heavyweight Savior".
- "O'Neil "Super Nova" Bell Stepping In The Ring at Heavyweight"".
- "Cruiserweight champ Bell arrested on assault charge". ESPN.com. 6 February 2007.
- Chaykovsky, Edward (November 25, 2015). "O'Neil Bell Shot and Killed By Robbers in Atlanta". BoxingScene. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
External links
- Boxing record for O'Neil Bell from BoxRec (registration required)
- Bell wins the IBF cruiserweight title at ESPN
- O'Neil Bell profile at Cyber Boxing Zone