# Bobby Czyz

Robert Edward Czyz (/ˈtʃɛz/ CHEZ; born February 10, 1962) is an American retired boxer and commentator. Czyz was a two-division world titleholder at light heavyweight and cruiserweight.
Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey. He grew up in Wanaque, New Jersey and attended Lakeland Regional High School. He is three quarters Italian and one quarter Polish. His younger brother is avant-garde fiction writer Vincent Czyz.
Nicknamed "the Matinee Idol", Czyz was a member of the United States amateur boxing team whose other members died aboard LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 when it crashed in 1980. Czyz did not make the trip, as he was recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident.

## Amateur career

As an amateur, Czyz was doing his best to secure his spot at the U.S. Olympic team for the eventually missed 1980 Moscow Olympics. He was one of a few boxers (along with Sal Cenicola, Marvis Frazier and Tony Tucker) who survived the LOT Flight 7 crash by staying at home in the United States. He finished his amateur career having 26 fights under his belt, with a record of 24 wins, 2 losses.

## Professional career

Czyz had a quick start to his professional boxing career in the early 1980s, and he was soon in line for a shot against world middleweight champion Marvin Hagler. He had to start from scratch, however, after suffering a one-sided, 10-round loss at the hands of veteran Mustafa Hamsho on November 20, 1982 in a bout that was nationally televised.
Czyz went up in weight, put another string of wins together, and in September 1986, he finally found himself in a ring with an undefeated world champion, IBF light heavyweight champion Slobodan Kačar (Olympic Gold medallist of 1980). Czyz beat him in five rounds.
Czyz made three defenses: a one-round defeat of David Sears, a see-saw second-round KO of Willie Edwards, and a fifth-round TKO of Jim McDonald - before taking on 'Prince' Charles Williams in October 1987. Czyz scored an early knockdown of Williams, yet the challenger not only stayed in the fight, but also hammered shut Czyz' left eye en route to scoring a TKO victory and thus seizing the title after nine rounds of boxing.
Czyz then lost a decision to Dennis Andries in May 1988, followed by a couple of victories, in turn followed by two cracks at the world title in 1989. Czyz, despite truly good efforts on his part in both challenges, lost both of them - a 12-round decision to Virgil Hill in North Dakota for the WBA version in March, and a 10th-round TKO loss to Williams in an IBF title rematch in June.
Czyz went on to stop then-undefeated Andrew Maynard in seven rounds (the second undefeated Gold medallist he KO'd) in June 1990, then jumped up to cruiserweight. He challenged Robert Daniels for Daniels' WBA world cruiserweight championship in March 1991, and won a unanimous decision. Two defenses, against Bash Ali and Donny Lalonde, were made (both by unanimous decision) before Czyz vacated the title.
In 1994, Czyz became a television boxing analyst working alongside Steve Albert and Ferdie Pacheco whilst continuing his boxing career. The trio covered fights in many locations worldwide. In December 1994, he covered the first world title fight ever held in Ecuador as a member of Showtime's crew.
In 1996, he stepped up to the heavyweight division, but lost by knockout in five rounds to Evander Holyfield and quickly retired. Czyz fought one last time in 1998, losing by second-round TKO to South African Corrie Sanders. Czyz continued doing color commentary for Showtime, but was let go after pleading guilty to his fourth drunken-driving offense in six years after being caught speeding in Readington Township, New Jersey. Czyz's case received a lot of attention as he was a multiple repeat DUI case, and was a driver behind the NJ Assembly revisiting its legislation. Czyz, who was a Raritan Township, New Jersey resident at the time, was given a six-month license suspension for each of his three drunken driving convictions in 1998, 1999 and 2000. It was discovered that he was sentenced improperly as a first-time offender after his fourth arrest, which occurred in February 2003 in Readington Township, where he was caught driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 percent. The state limit at that time was 0.10 percent.

## Professional boxing record

| 52 fights | 44 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 28 | 5 |
| By decision | 15 | 3 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 52 | Loss | 44–8 | Corrie Sanders | TKO | 2 (12), 1:43 | 12 Jun 1998 | Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut | For WBU heavyweight title |
| 51 | Loss | 44–7 | Evander Holyfield | RTD | 5 (10), 3:00 | 10 May 1996 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York | |
| 50 | Win | 44–6 | Richard Jackson | TKO | 6 (12), 1:24 | 5 Dec 1995 | Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi | Won WBU super cruiserweight title |
| 49 | Win | 43–6 | Jeff Williams | UD | 10 | 22 Sep 1995 | South Mountain Arena, West Orange, New Jersey | |
| 48 | Win | 42–6 | Tim Tomashek | TKO | 5 (10), 1:24 | 24 Mar 1995 | South Mountain Arena, West Orange, New Jersey | |
| 47 | Loss | 41–6 | David Izeqwire | RTD | 4 (12), 3:00 | 4 Aug 1994 | Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut | For IBO cruiserweight title |
| 46 | Win | 41–5 | George O'Mara | UD | 10 | 19 Feb 1994 | Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina | |
| 45 | Win | 40–5 | Donny Lalonde | UD | 12 | 8 May 1992 | Riviera Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada | Retained WBA cruiserweight title |
| 44 | Win | 39–5 | Bash Ali | UD | 12 | 9 Aug 1991 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey | Retained WBA cruiserweight title |
| 43 | Win | 38–5 | Robert Daniels | SD | 12 | 8 Mar 1991 | Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey | Won WBA cruiserweight title |
| 42 | Win | 37–5 | Horacio Rene Brandan | TKO | 6 (10), 2:05 | 21 Sep 1990 | Taj Mahal's Mark G Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 41 | Win | 36–5 | Andrew Maynard | KO | 7 (10), 0:42 | 24 Jun 1990 | Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 40 | Win | 35–5 | Uriah Grant | UD | 10 | 23 Mar 1990 | Showboat Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 39 | Loss | 34–5 | Charles Williams | RTD | 10 (12), 3:00 | 25 Jun 1989 | Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey | For IBF light heavyweight title |
| 38 | Loss | 34–4 | Virgil Hill | UD | 12 | 4 Mar 1989 | Civic Center, Bismarck, North Dakota | For WBA light heavyweight title |
| 37 | Win | 34–3 | Mike DeVito | TKO | 7 (12), 1:18 | 27 Dec 1988 | Lee County Civic Center, Fort Myers, Florida | |
| 36 | Win | 33–3 | Leslie Stewart | SD | 10 | 25 Oct 1988 | Resorts International, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 35 | Loss | 32–3 | Dennis Andries | MD | 10 | 22 May 1988 | Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 34 | Loss | 32–2 | Charles Williams | RTD | 9 (12), 3:00 | 29 Oct 1987 | Las Vegas Hilton, Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada | Lost IBF light heavyweight title |
| 33 | Win | 32–1 | Jim MacDonald | TKO | 6 (12), 0:37 | 3 May 1987 | Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey | Retained IBF light heavyweight title |
| 32 | Win | 31–1 | Willie Edwards | KO | 2 (12), 2:16 | 21 Feb 1987 | Trump Plaza Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey | Retained IBF light heavyweight title |
| 31 | Win | 30–1 | David Sears | TKO | 1 (12), 1:01 | 26 Dec 1986 | South Mountain Arena, West Orange, New Jersey | Retained IBF light heavyweight title |
| 30 | Win | 29–1 | Slobodan Kačar | TKO | 5 (12), 1:10 | 6 Sep 1986 | Las Vegas Hilton, Hilton Center, Las Vegas, Nevada | Won IBF light heavyweight title |
| 29 | Win | 28–1 | Murray Sutherland | UD | 10 | 26 Jul 1985 | Atlantis Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Mike Fischer | UD | 10 | 9 May 1985 | South Mountain Arena, West Orange, New Jersey | |
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Tim Broady | TKO | 4 (10), 1:41 | 18 Jan 1985 | Summit, Houston, Texas | |
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Marvin Mack | UD | 10 | 23 Oct 1984 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Mark Frazie | UD | 10 | 30 May 1984 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Jimmy Baker | TKO | 1 (10), 0:30 | 15 Feb 1984 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Bill Medei | TKO | 4 (10), 2:04 | 25 Oct 1983 | Playboy Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Bert Lee | RTD | 2 (10), 3:00 | 9 Sep 1983 | Caesars Palace, Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| 21 | Loss | 20–1 | Mustafa Hamsho | UD | 10 | 20 Nov 1982 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Chris Linson | TKO | 2 (10) | 25 Sep 1982 | Great Gorge Playboy Club, McAfee, New Jersey | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Manuel Melon | TKO | 2 (10), 1:24 | 3 Jul 1982 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Bobby Coolidge | TKO | 4 (10), 3:00 | 23 Mar 1982 | Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Robbie Sims | UD | 10 | 17 Jan 1982 | Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Elisha Obed | DQ | 6 (10) | 12 Nov 1981 | Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey | Obed disqualified for holding |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Dan Snyder | TKO | 2 (10), 2:22 | 8 Nov 1981 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Rick Noggle | TKO | 7 (10), 1:59 | 26 Jun 1981 | Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Reggie Jones | RTD | 6 (10), 3:00 | 18 Jun 1981 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | Won New Jersey middleweight title |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Oscar Albarado | TKO | 3 (10), 2:30 | 21 May 1981 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Teddy Mann | UD | 8 | 23 Feb 1981 | Caesars Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Danny Long | TKO | 5 (10), 2:05 | 8 Feb 1981 | Playboy Club, McAfee, New Jersey | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Skipper Jones | TKO | 7 (10) | 18 Dec 1980 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Tommy Merola | TKO | 2 (10), 2:49 | 16 Oct 1980 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Johnny Davis | TKO | 1 (8), 1:40 | 18 Sep 1980 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Leo Ferro | UD | 8 | 21 Aug 1980 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Bruce Strauss | KO | 4 (8) | 17 Jul 1980 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Ronald Cousins | TKO | 1 | 19 Jun 1980 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Dalton Swift | KO | 2 | 22 May 1980 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Jamal Arbubakar | PTS | 4 | 8 May 1980 | Resorts International, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Hank Whitmore | KO | 1 (4) | 24 Apr 1980 | Ice World, Totowa, New Jersey | Professional debut |

## Outside the ring

Czyz married actress and photographer Kimberly Ross (October 8, 1959 – December 19, 2006) on October 27, 1992. Their daughter, Mercedes Czyz, was born September 27, 1993. They were divorced by the time Kimberly died, after a long battle with breast cancer, aged 47.
He has since been inducted into the Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
Czyz is a member of Mensa, the organization for people who have scored in the highest 2% of takers in an IQ test. He even wore a shirt with "MENSA" on it while walking to the ring to fight Evander Holyfield.