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Home » Heavyweight puncher with 90% KO ratio improves to 30-0 after long layoff

Heavyweight puncher with 90% KO ratio improves to 30-0 after long layoff

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  • 3 min read

John David Chapman is back, having improved to 30-0 with victory on Saturday night. The Heavyweight is back after a long hiatus of 13 years.

In a year of surprising boxing returns, nothing was more dramatic than the contender making a remarkable comeback.

Chapman did not fight as an amateur. Instead, he started fighting in Toughman Contest competitions before he turned pro in 2002.

He chose “The Natural” as Chapman hails from Arkansas, “The Natural State.”

JD did many of his early professional fights close to home, namely as part of the Slugout Series promoted by Stacy “Goodnight” Goodson. Goodson and Scott Hirsch, who was managing Chapman, built Chapman into a heavyweight contender.

In the process, Chapman accumulated 29 wins and 26 knockouts. He beat several notable contenders and gatekeepers.

His most notable opponents were Chicago-based Edward Gutierrez, who was 15-0-1 coming into the bout, New York veteran John Carlo who possessed a 14-1 record, and fellow undefeated Mid-West prospect Matt Hicks 7-0.

Chapman also captured several regional heavyweight titles, including the IBF Southern Regional title, the North American Boxing Council title, the WBC Latino title, and the Arkansas State title. But, then, just when it seemed that Chapman was at the cusp of stardom, he hung it all up and rode into the sunset.

At the time of his retirement, Chapman was an up-and-coming contender. A darling of the boxing press.

JD Chapman Heavyweight

He received excellent coverage and exposure in the boxing press as a heavyweight prospect and was featured on national television.

RANKED HEAVYWEIGHT

Furthermore, Chapman was rated by just about every significant sanctioning body, including the WBC lineal sanction body, which gave him a World Rating of 14.

On Saturday, Chapman fought and won on an untelevised club show. A fight close to where it all began in his home state of Arkansas.

He was called up as a last-minute replacement opponent to fight Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez at the Springdale Convention Center. But JD scored a long-awaited victory, Chapman had some high-profile train in his prime years, including Michael Moorer, Jeff Mayweather, and Norman Wilson.

Currently, he is trained by former MMA fighter Brian Foster, and Chapman’s return sees Edward Mendy of Lion Heart Boxing Productions take control.

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