# John David Jackson (boxer)

John David Jackson (born May 17, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1999, and has since worked as a boxing trainer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBO junior middleweight title twice between 1988 and 1993, and the WBA middleweight title from 1993 to 1994.

## Professional career

Jackson turned professional in 1984 and won his first 20 fights. He won the inaugural WBO junior middleweight title in 1988 with a win over Lupe Aquino. He defended the title six times before moving up to middleweight in 1993 to take on WBA middleweight champion Reggie Johnson, winning a close decision.
After being stripped of his WBA title in August 1994, Jackson lost in an attempt to regain the belt in December of that year to Jorge Castro via 9th-round TKO, in a fight that was named Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine. On the verge of forcing a referee's stoppage against the badly beaten up Castro, Jackson was caught and knocked down by a left hook, then stopped after two further knockdowns. The sudden change in fortunes was one of the greatest turnarounds ever seen in a boxing match.
In 1997 he took on Bernard Hopkins for the IBF middleweight title. In an ugly fight in which Jackson looked a faded fighter, Hopkins won via a 7th-round TKO. Jackson took a rematch with Castro in 1998, but again came up short in losing a decision. He retired in 1999.

## Professional boxing record

| 41 fights | 36 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 20 | 2 |
| By decision | 16 | 2 |
| No contests | 1 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 41 | Win | 36–4 (1) | Dave Boone | TKO | 2 | Sep 25, 1999 | Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S. | |
| 40 | Loss | 35–4 (1) | Jorge Castro | UD | 10 | Feb 20, 1998 | Cipolletti, Argentina | For vacant WBA Fedelatin super middleweight title |
| 39 | Loss | 35–3 (1) | Bernard Hopkins | TKO | 7 (12), 2:22 | Apr 19, 1997 | Municipal Memorial Auditorium, Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. | For IBF middleweight title |
| 38 | Loss | 35–2 (1) | Abdullah Ramadan | SD | 10 | Nov 20, 1996 | War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. | |
| 37 | Win | 35–1 (1) | Augustine Renteria | UD | 10 | Jun 29, 1996 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. | |
| 36 | Win | 34–1 (1) | Guy Stanford | UD | 10 | Dec 16, 1995 | CoreStates Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 35 | Win | 33–1 (1) | James Green | UD | 8 | Apr 29, 1995 | USAir Arena, Landover, Maryland, U.S. | |
| 34 | Loss | 32–1 (1) | Jorge Castro | TKO | 9 (12), 2:34 | Dec 10, 1994 | Estadio de Béisbol, Monterrey, Mexico | For WBA middleweight title |
| 33 | Win | 32–0 (1) | Danny Garcia | KO | 7 (10) | Sep 24, 1994 | Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 32 | Win | 31–0 (1) | Jeff Johnson | RTD | 7, 3:00 | May 6, 1994 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 31 | Win | 30–0 (1) | Reggie Johnson | UD | 12 | Oct 1, 1993 | Estadio Obras Sanitarias, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Won WBA middleweight title |
| 30 | Win | 29–0 (1) | Charles LaCour | TKO | 3 (10) | Sep 3, 1993 | Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | |
| 29 | Win | 28–0 (1) | Michele Mastrodonato | TKO | 10 (12), 1:14 | Dec 19, 1992 | Palasport comunale Falcone e Borsellino, San Severo, Italy | Retained WBO junior middleweight title |
| 28 | Win | 27–0 (1) | Sergio Medina | UD | 10 | Oct 22, 1992 | Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S. | |
| 27 | Win | 26–0 (1) | Eric Martin | UD | 10 | Sep 19, 1992 | Pacific Sports Center, Tacoma, Washington, U.S. | |
| 26 | Win | 25–0 (1) | Pat Lawlor | RTD | 9 (12), 3:00 | Jun 9, 1992 | Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, U.S. | Retained WBO junior middleweight title |
| 25 | Win | 24–0 (1) | Tyrone Trice | UD | 12 | Jul 21, 1991 | Race Course, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | Retained WBO junior middleweight title |
| 24 | Win | 23–0 (1) | Joaquin Velasquez | UD | 10 | May 10, 1991 | Central Civic Center, Lewiston, Maine, U.S. | |
| 23 | Win | 22–0 (1) | Chris Pyatt | UD | 12 | Oct 23, 1990 | Granby Halls, Leicester, England | Won vacant WBO junior middleweight title |
| 22 | Win | 21–0 (1) | Brinatty Maquilon | UD | 10 | Jul 24, 1990 | Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 21 | NC | 20–0 (1) | Martin Camara | NC | 11 (12) | Feb 17, 1990 | Hotel Deauville, Châtillon, France | WBO junior middleweight title at stake; NC after an incorrect referee call |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Ruben Villaman | KO | 2 (10) | Dec 1, 1989 | Ramada Inn, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Steve Little | TKO | 8 (12), 0:38 | Apr 22, 1989 | The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S. | Retained WBO junior middleweight title |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Lupe Aquino | RTD | 7 (12), 3:00 | Dec 8, 1988 | Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | Won inaugural WBO junior middleweight title |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Aniseto Ramos | TKO | 4 | Oct 7, 1988 | The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Davey Moore | UD | 10 | Jul 21, 1987 | Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Sidney Outlaw | TKO | 6 (12), 2:04 | Jan 13, 1987 | The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | Won vacant Pennsylvania junior middleweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Johnny Banks Walker | KO | 1 | Nov 25, 1986 | Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Tony Ojo | TKO | 3 (8), 1:13 | Oct 28, 1986 | Betsy Ross Inn, Pennsauken, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Milton Leaks | UD | 8 | Jul 31, 1986 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Mike Castronova | TKO | 1 | Jun 14, 1986 | Governor Mifflin Intermediate School Gym, Shillington, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Orlando Montalvo | KO | 2 (10), 0:52 | Feb 25, 1986 | Tropicana, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Vincent Mays | TKO | 5 (6), 2:15 | Sep 4, 1985 | Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Robert Thomas | UD | 8 | Jul 18, 1985 | Golden Eagle Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Billy Joe | TKO | 1 (8), 2:31 | Jun 13, 1985 | Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Gary Tibbs | TKO | 4, 0:45 | Mar 20, 1985 | Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Felipe Montellano | UD | 6 | Oct 17, 1984 | Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Louis Owens | UD | 6 | Jun 26, 1984 | Tropicana, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Robert Thomas | PTS | 6 | May 10, 1984 | J&A Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Keith Todd | KO | 3 | Apr 11, 1984 | Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Kimbrady Carriker | KO | 1 (6) | Mar 11, 1984 | Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |

## Training career

After his professional boxing career ended, Jackson has worked as a trainer. Boxers he has worked with include:
* Claressa Shields (starting with her bout with Hanna Gabriel)
* Sergey Kovalev
* Kimbo Slice (UFC fighter turned pro boxer)
* Allan Green (starting with his bout Anthony Bonsante)
* Bernard Hopkins (for his bout with Antonio Tarver)
* Shane Mosley (starting with his second bout with Winky Wright and ending after his first bout with Fernando Vargas)
* Nate Campbell (The first fighter Jackson led to a world title)
* Dyah Davis (Son of 1976 Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr.)
* Brad Solomon
* Khabib Allakhverdiev
* Magomed Abdusalamov
* Chris Algieri
* Curtis Stevens (currently)