Julian Jackson: Hard-Punching Hawk

Julian Jackson was born in the American Virgin Islands on September 12, 1960. He came from a distinguished boxing family. Among his ancestors were Peter "The Black Prince" Jackson, a famed heavyweight of the late 19th Century. That Jackson won the Australian Heavyweight Championship in 1886. In more modern times, Julian Jackson's sons Julius and John both went to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Jackson turned pro in 1981. Standing 5'11" tall with a 73" reach, he adopted the ring moniker of "the Hawk," and in the ring he was a veritable bird of prey, swooping in and wreaking havoc. Jackson was best known for his awesome one-punch knockout power, which he wielded in both hands. Splitting his early fights between venues across the United States and in fight-mad Puerto Rico, he racked up an explosive record of 28-0 with 28 knockouts prior to his first big fight.

That bout was against 26-0 Mike "The Bodysnatcher" McCallum in August 1986. McCallum had picked up the WBA 154 lbs. world title after none other than Roberto Duran dropped the belt rather than face him, and the Bodysnatcher was making his first defense of the title. This bout was an early meeting between two undefeated fighters who would go on to become defining fighters in the middleweight division. Both men were also scions of Caribbean boxing. It was a short contest. Jackson's talons rocked McCallum in the 1st round, only to see McCallum come thundering back in the 2nd, cracking Julian Jackson's chin and knocking him out.

Light Middleweight Champion
McCallum had soon vacated the WBA title, leaving it open for the still highly-regarded Julian Jackson to fight for it again. In November 1987 he met In-Chul Baek of South Korea, a fighter who would go on to win a 168 lbs. world title. The two top contenders slugged it out, with Jackson winning every round of the short fight and kayoing In-Chul in the 3rd Round.

The Hawk made his first defense against Buster Drayton, a former IBF champion and fringe contender. Drayton was crushed in a 3-Round slugfest. Next came the Brazilian champion Francisco de Jesus in February 1989, who was stopped in 8. In July 1989, Julian Jackson defended again against Terry Norris. Norris was a rising figure at the time, who would go on to become one of the best 154 lbs. fighters of the 1990s. Jackson drove him onto the ropes, hurt him with a chopping right-left hook combo, and finished him an instant later with a hard right.

Middleweight Warrior
The 28 year old Julian Jackson had enjoyed a sterling reign as light middleweight champion. In addition to his title defenses, he obliterated a string of journeymen in non-title bouts. But he was having trouble making weight and looking for bigger paydays.

He moved up to full middleweight, and by November 1990 was matched with Britain's master boxer, WBC champion Herol Graham. The Briton shuffled and moved, and was outboxing Jackson by a wide margin. Backed into a corner, Jackson turned the tide with one hard right. It was the kind of classic knockout was destined to become the stuff of instant-replay reels. 41-1 with 41 knockouts, Jackson was now a two-division champion.

Julian Jackson made three title defenses against sub-par opposition before he met another contender in Thomas Tate. Tate boxed well, but boxed mostly to survive. He was dropped in the 4th Round, but made it to the final bell. It was the first time Jackson had ever gone the distance as a professional.

In May 1993, two unstoppable forces met in Las Vegas when Jackson, a much-feared pound-for-pound entrant, defended his middleweight crown against Gerald "the G-Man" McClellan. It was a closely fought contest between two devastating punchers, but as is so often the case when two guys who pack a wallop collide, it is the guy with the toughest chin who prevails. That proved the be the G-Man. Jackson unquestionably hit harder, but McClellan took a punch better, so it was Jackson who went down and out in the 5th.

Jackson sought a rematch, which he got in May 1994. McClellan disposed of Jackson in the 1st Round.

Now in his mid-30s, a mixture of time and the pair of brutal knockouts at the hands of McClellan had broken the Hawk's beak. He still had his incredible punching power, which was enough to win back the vacant WBC title in 1995. However, he lost it on his first defense to journeyman Quincy Taylor. Taylor lost the green belt shortly thereafter to Washington, DC's Keith Holmes. Jackson continued to fight until 1998 with some success, but finally hung up the gloves after a pair of back-to-back knockout defeats.

Retirement
Julian "The Hawk" Jackson retired with a record of 55-6 with 49 KOs and 2 NCs. He won three world titles in two divisions. His high-powered bombs made him a pound-for-pound contender in his day, and he routinely ranks high on the lists of many experts when it comes to the hardest punching boxers of all-time. The Ring magazine, for example, rated him as #6 in their 100 Greatest Punchers.

Today he lives in the Virgin Islands where trains young fighters.

Sources: boxrec.com; fightnews.com/?p=1969; live fight footage; The Ring