Joe Hipp

Joe Hipp
Born (1962-12-07) December 7, 1962
Browning, Montana
Other names The Boss
Residence Yakima, Washington
Nationality Blackfeet Nation
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 105.0 kg (231.5 lb; 16.53 st)
Division Heavyweight
Reach 73.0 in (185 cm)
Stance Southpaw
Years active 18 (1987-2005)
Professional boxing record
Total 50
Wins 43
By knockout 29
Losses 7
By knockout 6
Amateur boxing record
Total 128
Wins 119
Losses 9
Other information
Occupation All Nations Foundation, founder
Notable school(s) A.C. Davis High School
Boxing record from BoxRec
last updated on: October 17, 2009

Joe "The Boss" Hipp (born December 7, 1962) is a retired professional Native American heavyweight boxer. He, a member of Blackfeet Tribe became the first Native American to challenge for the world heavyweight championship of boxing on August 19, 1995 when he fought WBA champion Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. On May 2009, he was inducted into American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Hipp began his professional career with a 4-round decision victory over Steve Cortez at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon on August 29, 1987. For his second fight 2 months later, Hipp travelled to Carson City, Nevada to face Utah native Veti Katoa. The fight was stopped by the ringside doctor after Hipp suffered a broken jaw in the third round.

Hipp rebounded successfully from the defeat by notching up 3 consecutive first-round knockout victories before facing Katoa in a rematch at Gardnerville Park in Gardnerville, Nevada on July 2, 1988. Hipp dominated the action on the inside with his hard hitting, banging style to take a 5-round unanimous decision.

Hipp then took a year-long hiatus from boxing before returning to face Andrew Matthews on the 4th of July of the following year. Outweighing his opponent by over 30 pounds, Hipp punched his way to secure a first round stoppage of his foe. Exactly two weeks later, Hipp scored a unanimous four round decision over up-and-coming contender Cleveland Woods in what Ring Magazine referred to as "...the upset of the night" on the card for that evening.

Hipp began another winning streak (including a brutal third-round knockout of Katoa in their third and final meeting) before facing Bert Cooper in the bout Cooper fought in before facing Evander Holyfield for the world title one month later. Cooper matched Hipp's penchant for slugging with a flurry of punches of his own en route to a fifth round stoppage by referee Joe Cortez and a victory before his fight with Holyfield.

Hipp again rebounded by winning 3 consecutive contests before facing Tommy Morrison on June 27, 1992 in Reno, Nevada. In a slugfest that saw Morrison break his jaw and both of his hands, Hipp lost via 9th round stoppage after he, in turn, suffered a complete shattering of his cheekbones. Afterwards, Hipp fought once in 1993 scoring a ten-round decision victory over Kevin Ford, in a rematch with the fringe contender he'd scored a decision over just two fights prior to the Morrison fight.

Hipp came back in 1994 with a set of victories that saw him earn and defend the NABF heavyweight title. He began the following year by continuing his winning ways over Phillip Brown, a journeyman fighter who quickly retired after Hipp easily punched his way to a third round stoppage victory over him. This would lead to Hipp's most important fight, the fight that would land him in the history books as the first Native American to challenge for the Heavyweight Championship of the World.

First Native American Heavyweight Championship

On August 19, 1995 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on the undercard to the infamous Mike Tyson v. Peter McNeeley fight (Tyson's first fight after being released from prison for rape), Hipp squared off against Bruce Seldon for the WBA Heavyweight championship. The fight was stopped in the tenth round of the contest by referee Richard Steele after Hipp experienced massive swelling and bleeding on his face. In 1999 he became the first Native American Heavyweight boxing champion by winning the WBF heavyweight championship.[1]

Career Decline

Hipp's career was rather undistinguished afterwards. He fired off a series of victories over third rate competition before being knocked out by hard hitting journeyman Ross Puritty on June 15, 1997. Hipp had secured a comfortable lead on the scorecards before Puritty came out swinging for the tenth and final round of their bout. An exhausted Hipp was no match for the desperate Puritty as he suffered his first defeat by a clean knockout (as opposed to referee stoppage). He racked up three consecutive victories after the Puritty fight but then blew out his knee against Jeff Pegues on December 9, 1999. He attempted a comeback four years later, but that proved ill-fated two fights into it as he dropped a six-round decision to journeyman Billy Zumbrun on November 14, 2003.

Hipp, referred to as "The Boss" by his loyal fans, returned from another extended hiatus on August 13, 2005, to win a six-round decision over Ted Reiter. He has not fought since.

Professional boxing record

43 Wins (29 knockouts, 14 decisions), 7 Losses (6 knockouts, 1 decision)[2]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 43-7 United States Ted Reiter MD 6 13/08/2005 Idaho Lewiston, Idaho, United States 57-56, 57-56, 58-58.
Loss 42-7 United States Billy "The Kid" Zumbrun MD 6 14/11/2003 Washington (state) Seattle, Washington, United States 56-58, 56-58, 57-57.
Win 42-6 United States Chris Brown KO 2 22/08/2003 Washington (state) Spokane, Washington, United States Brown knocked out at 2:37 of the second round.
Loss 41-6 United States Jeff Pegues TKO 5 09/12/1999 Michigan Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States Hipp suffered a severe knee injury during the fight causing a stoppage.
Win 41-5 United States Everett Martin UD 12 25/06/1999 Missouri Saint Charles, Missouri, United States WBF World Heavyweight Title.
Win 40-5 United States Jack Basting UD 10 27/03/1998 Washington (state) Tacoma, Washington, United States
Win 39-5 Canada George McFall TKO 2 11/02/1998 Washington (state) Yakima, Washington, United States
Loss 38-5 United States Ross "The Boss" Puritty KO 10 15/06/1997 Mississippi Biloxi, Mississippi, United States
Win 38-4 United States Marcus "Big Tuna" Rhode TKO 1 29/03/1997 Washington (state) Bellevue, Washington, United States
Win 37-4 United States Lorenzo Boyd KO 1 10/03/1997 Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, United States Boyd knocked out at 2:45 of the first round.
Win 36-4 United States Will "Hammer" Hinton TKO 1 13/12/1996 Washington (state) Tacoma, Washington, United States Referee stopped the bout at 1:30 of the first round.
Win 35-4 Canada Troy Roberts KO 2 05/10/1996 Washington (state) Yakima, Washington, United States
Win 34-4 United States Fred Houpe TKO 1 23/09/1996 Washington (state) Bellevue, Washington, United States Referee stopped the bout at 1:55 of the first round.
Win 33-4 United States Bill Corrigan KO 1 04/08/1996 Washington (state) Sequim, Washington, United States Corrigan knocked out at 1:39 of the first round.
Win 32-4 United States Anthony "A.J." Moore TKO 5 17/07/1996 Idaho Worley, Idaho, United States Western States Heavyweight Title.
Win 31-4 Mexico Martin Jacques TKO 1 15/12/1995 Washington (state) Yakima, Washington, United States
Loss 30-4 United States Bruce "The Atlantic City Express" Seldon TKO 10 19/08/1995 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States WBA World Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:47 of the tenth round.
Win 30-3 United States Philipp Brown TKO 3 17/04/1995 Illinois Moline, Illinois, United States
Win 29-3 Puerto Rico Rodolfo Marin SD 10 01/11/1994 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 98-92, 96-94, 94-96.
Win 28-3 Cuba Jose "El Nino" Ribalta KO 2 10/05/1994 Connecticut Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States NABF Heavyweight Title. Ribalta knocked out at 1:53 of the second round.
Win 27-3 United States Alex Garcia UD 12 01/03/1994 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States NABF Heavyweight Title. 118-110, 120-108, 119-109.
Win 26-3 United States Keith "Sir Jabalot" McMurray KO 4 14/01/1994 Utah Saint George, Utah, United States McMurray knocked out at 2:52 of the fourth round.
Win 25-3 United States Kevin Ford UD 10 03/04/1993 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 99-91, 99-92, 98-93.
Loss 24-3 United States Tommy "The Duke" Morrison TKO 9 27/06/1992 Nevada Reno, Nevada, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:47 of the ninth round. Hipp suffered a broken cheekbone and Morrison suffered a broken hand and jaw.
Win 24-2 United States Jesse Shelby UD 10 28/02/1992 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 99-90, 97-93, 98-92.
Win 23-2 United States Kevin Ford UD 8 01/02/1992 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 80-72, 79-72, 80-71.
Win 22-2 United States John "Big Red" Morton KO 3 05/01/1992 Nevada Reno, Nevada, United States Morton knocked out at 3:00 of the third round.
Loss 21-2 United States "Smokin" Bert Cooper TKO 5 18/10/1991 New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Referee stopped the bout at 1:01 of the fifth round.
Win 21-1 United States Cleveland Woods KO 1 15/07/1991 California Irvine, California, United States Woods knocked out at 0:27 of the first round.
Win 20-1 United States Bill Duncan KO 1 02/07/1991 Arizona Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win 19-1 United States David "Hand Grenade" Bey TKO 7 26/02/1991 Alabama Birmingham, Alabama, United States Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the seventh round.
Win 18-1 United States Mike Cohen KO 4 14/01/1991 Washington (state) Fife, Washington, United States World Boxing Foundation (WBFo) Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Cohen knocked out at 2:30 of the fourth round.
Win 17-1 United States Richard Cade KO 2 16/11/1990 Washington (state) Fort Lewis, Washington, United States Cade knocked out at 0:52 of the second round.
Win 16-1 United States Harry Terrell KO 2 11/09/1990 Washington (state) Fife, Washington, United States Terrell knocked out at 2:14 of the second round.
Win 15-1 Mexico Gerardo "Rocky" Valero KO 1 26/07/1990 Washington (state) Yakima, Washington, United States Valero knocked out at 3:04 of the first round.
Win 14-1 United States Tracy Thomas UD 10 12/06/1990 Washington (state) Yakima, Washington, United States 100-88, 100-87, 99-89.
Win 13-1 United States Danny Wofford PTS 6 24/04/1990 California Reseda, California, United States
Win 12-1 United States Veti Katoa KO 3 16/03/1990 Montana Butte, Montana, United States
Win 11-1 United States Dan "The Boss" Ross KO 1 12/02/1990 Montana Butte, Montana, United States Ross knocked out at 2:09 of the first round.
Win 10-1 United States Marvin Camel TKO 6 02/12/1989 Washington (state) Lacey, Washington, United States
Win 9-1 United States "Irish" Sean McClain TKO 4 26/09/1989 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 8-1 United States Shaun Ayers UD 10 26/08/1989 Oregon Eugene, Oregon, United States 96-94, 98-93, 96-95.
Win 7-1 United States Cleveland Woods UD 4 18/07/1989 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6-1 United States Andrew Matthews TKO 1 04/07/1989 Nevada Gardnerville, Nevada, United States Referee stopped the bout at 0:34 of the first round.
Win 5-1 United States Veti Kotoa UD 5 02/07/1988 Nevada Gardnerville, Nevada, United States
Win 4-1 United States Steve Cortez TKO 1 18/06/1988 Washington (state) Vancouver, Washington, United States
Win 3-1 United States Paul Bradshaw TKO 1 04/06/1988 Oregon Albany, Oregon, United States
Win 2-1 United States John Elkins TKO 1 02/06/1988 Oregon Portland, Oregon, United States
Loss 1-1 United States Veti Katoa TKO 3 24/10/1987 Nevada Carson City, Nevada, United States Doctor stopped the bout due to a broken jaw.
Win 1-0 United States Steve Cortez UD 4 29/08/1987 Oregon Eugene, Oregon, United States

Outside the Ring

In 2004, Rocky Mountain Community College and the Billings Writer's Voice sponsored a poetry reading held by various Native American groups in tribute to him.

In December 2005, Hipp was a FEMA worker for the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Responding to the call, he joined his fellow Blackfeet members who were called upon due to their experience in wildfires and search and rescue missions.

By 2007 Hipp was working for his former manager Ray Frye at a Seattle area sweeping company. He also co-owned a small construction company.

References

  1. Frank, Ph.D., Kelvin. "The Toughest Indian in the World's Biggest Challenge". California Indian Education. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  2. "BoxRec - Joe Hipp".

External links

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