Ricky Womack

Ricky Womack (May 7, 1961 in Detroit, Michigan – January 19, 2002 at St. John Oakland Hospital, Madison Heights, Michigan) was a professional boxer from the United States.

Womack jumped into heavyweight already in 1982, winning the AAU Nationals, and proving he's comfortable in that weight class, but he soon came back into light heavyweight, reportedly to prove to his long-lasting nemesis, Holyfield, that he was the better man.

As Holyfield later recalled:

— I fought Ricky Womack six times.

Ricky Womack was current amateur heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, and he whooped the Cuban, knocked out the Russian, and he was the one that supposed to make the Olympic team.

And just so happened I fought him when he was ranked number one as a heavyweight, but he came down to light heavy because he wanted to prove to somebody from Georgia that ain't nobody from Georgia can whoop him.

So that mean that he had to fight me.

When he came back fought me, I beat him four times, and before he beat me twice, but I beat him four.

— Did you guys ever become friends after that?

— We never had no problem it's just the fact of the matter is that after amateur he ended up going to jail.

Then he came out, then he eventually killed himself.

He was one of them guys that came up in a bad neighborhood, but he could be warm and bright at times, and sometimes he could just be vicious.

— He was talented though.

— Definitely.

Each and every time you fought him, you can probably take a coin to flip it up and say who won it because that's how close it would each and every time.

It's not like he stopped me, and not like I stopped him.

We had six fights that we went the distance and I remember the last two times to make an Olympic team, in the last fifteen second of the fight he took a breath and I hit him six or seven unanswered punches and I win.

Boxing at the Ohio State Fair (178 lbs), Columbus, Ohio, August 1982:

United States National Championships (201 lbs), Indianapolis, Indiana, December 1982:

USA–USSR Duals (178 lbs), Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 1983:

National Golden Gloves (178 lbs), Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 1983:

AIBA International World Championships Challenge (178 lbs), Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, May 1983:

National Sports Festival (178 lbs), Colorado Springs, Colorado, June 1983:

Pan Am Box-Offs (178 lbs), St. Louis, Missouri, August 1983:

North American Championships (178 lbs), Houston, Texas, September 1983:

World Cup (178 lbs), Palazzo dello Sport, Rome, Italy, October 1983:

United States National Championships (178 lbs), Colorado Springs, Colorado, November 1983:

USA–GDR Duals (178 lbs), Biloxi, Mississippi, November 1983:

USA–Combined Team of GBR & Canada Duals (178 lbs), Reno, Nevada, November 1983:

Known primarily for his amateur career, during which he already earned his nickname "Wonderful," coming to attention of Howard Cosell, who predicted his bright future as a most likely U.S. Olympic Team light heavyweight for the 1984 Olympics, and a successful professional career afterwards, but both predictions proved unfulfilled, as Womack lost the Olympic qualifiers to Evander Holyfield, and his up-and-coming professional career crumbled after a criminal conviction.

Womack had a physically abusive father, and neglecting mother.

Eventually social services took Ricky along with his seven brothers and sisters away from his mother to a foster care.

He started boxing at the age of thirteen with the Kronk Gym, being trained by Emanuel Steward.

But troubled childhood deeply affected his personality, he became a staunch kleptomaniac and had frequent brushes with the law enforcement authorities.

At that time his teammate, another Kronk's young talent Mark Breland came under Womack's destructive influence.

Womack's criminal habits eventually led him to a long term prison sentence.

Womack had a remarkable amateur career, defeating future legend Evander Holyfield several times (one by walkover,) with two of the losses being avenged by Evander at the Olympic Box-offs, and cutting Ricky's way to the 1984 Summer Olympics.

AIBA International World Championships Challenge (178 lbs), Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, April 1984:

National Olympic Trials (178 lbs), Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, June 1984:

Olympic Box-offs (178 lbs), Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, July 1984: