Former junior middleweight champ Buster Drayton dies at age 70
Luke Simpson - uksport.news
In sad news, it was reported by RingTV.com that Buster Drayton has passed away at the age of 70. No details were given about the cause of death. The warrior from the great battle city of Philadelphia was born in March 1952 and joined the Marine Corp as a young man. As a boxer, Drayton won the IBF title at 154 pounds in June 1986, with Buster taking two retentions of the belt.
An incredibly brave fighter who was hard-matched from the start, Drayton fought anyone, anytime, anywhere. Turning pro in November 1978, with a draw against Charles Carey in Virginia Beach, Buster went 7-0-1 before beginning to lose more times than he would have liked. Drayton was stopped by Kevin Perry and decided by both Mark Holmes and Mario Maldonado.
Drayton continued to work hard and often fought in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1982 Drayton got a good win over Duane Thomas but he was beaten by Lindell Holmes and in a match that took place in Italy by Sumbu Kalambay. By the end of 1983, Buster had eight losses on his tally. Still, Drayton refused to give up his goal of becoming world champion.
1984 proved to be a good year for Drayton, who was now 32 years old. On a trip to London, Buster stopped Mark Kaylor and he won a total of six fights that year. Aside from a point loss to James Kinchen in April 1985, Drayton maintained his winning streak. Then finally, in June 1986, Drayton became champion by winning a 15-round decision over Carlos Santos to win the IBF light middleweight strap. Retentions over Davey Moore and Said Skouma followed before Buster was dethroned by Matthew Hilton in June 1987.
Drayton wasn’t ready to end it. Buster was punished amazingly hard in a July 1988 bout against 154-pound WBA champion Julian Jackson, who stopped Drayton in three brutal rounds. Drayton then extended Terry Norris in an NABF title challenge, losing on points. Drayton kept fighting, winning some, losing others before retiring in June 1995 carrying a hard-earned 40-15-1(28) ledger. He was only stopped three times.
Drayton, who managed the hard way to be one of the main sparring partners of the great Marvelous Marvin Hagler in Philly, deserved all the best that came his way. Our condolences go out to Buster’s family and friends at this sad time.
Source : www.boxing247.com
Link: uksport.news/another-proud-warrior-falls-rip-buster-drayton/
The late Waruinge first boxed for Kenya in a major event in the 1962 African Championships in Cairo, Egypt but did not get into the medal bracket.
Waruinge who was born in Murang’a is the first African boxer to win three gold medals in a row in the African Championships in 1964, 1966 and 1968.
Fondly known as Nakayama on the ring, he also won two gold medals in the 1966 and 1970 Commonwealth Games all in the featherweight category.
He also became the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal in the sport in the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games, in the featherweight category where he took home a bronze. He also won the best boxer trophy in the competition, a reward that was prestigiously known as the Val Barker Trophy.
He followed up his prowess in 1972 during the Munich Olympic Games where he got a silver medal while his younger brother Sammy Mbugua got a bronze medal in the lightweight category at the same edition.
Buster Drayton, the Philadelphia based boxer who overcame early losses to become a world champion, has died at age 70. No cause of death was immediately released. The news was announced by the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday night, and confirmed by family members on social media.
Born Moses Buster Drayton on March 2, 1952, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1972, and rose to the level of Sergeant. He first started boxing while enlisted and turned pro in 1978 with a draw against Charles Carey in Virginia Beach, and built his reputation as a hard night’s work by traveling the world to take on heavily favored fighters like Sumbu Kalambay in Italy, or traveling to England in 1984 to stop contenders Jimmy Cable and Mark Kaylor in successive fights. He gained a wealth of experience in the Philadelphia gyms, where he became one of the main sparring partners to then-middleweight champion Marvin Hagler.
Drayton shed the spoiler tag and replaced it with the label of champion in June of 1986 when he defeated Carlos Santos to win the vacant IBF junior middleweight title by majority decision.
Drayton made two successful defenses in France, defeating Davey Moore and Said Skouma, both by tenth round stoppage, before losing a unanimous decision to Matthew Hilton in Montreal a year after winning the belt.
Drayton continued to fight on until 1995, but never regained his championship status, losing to Julian Jackson by third round stoppage in a 1988 challenge for the WBA junior middleweight title, before losing a decision to rising contender Terry Norris in the fight after.
He finished his career with a record of 40-15-1 (28 knockouts), and later worked as a police officer in Philadelphia, and at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Philadelphia. He was honored with the Victory Crown Medal Award from the National Federation of Black Veterans in 2016.
Tributes came in from around the boxing world, with ex-boxer turned trainer John “Iceman” Scully calling Drayton, “One of the best guys I’ve ever known in this game.” Showtime commentator Al Bernstein added that he “really enjoyed knowing him.”
Former IBF super middleweight titleholder Charles Brewer shared his memories of learning tricks of the trade from Drayton.
“I remember training and sparring with this guy man times…back then it seemed as though he had one of the most unorthodox boxing styles that I had seen. Bus could knock you out with either a left hook or what I believe was his favorite shot, that damn overhand right!,” wrote Brewer, who added that Drayton was “always full of laughter.”
Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com.
Link: www.mvpboxing.com/News/boxing/1669039809/Former-junior-middleweight-champ-Buster-Drayton
Buster Drayton Obituary, Former IBF Junior Middleweight World Champion Has Died – Death
Posted on November 21, 2022 by Dan Morrison
Buster Drayton Death, Obituary – Yesterday, at the age of 70, former boxer Buster Drayton, who held the title of IBF Junior Middleweight World Champion at one point in his career, passed away. More than four decades were covered in Drayton’s professional life. We are sharing the news of his demise with others, and in doing so, we are filled with the utmost regret and grief that we feel.
During this trying time, we want the people who were closest to him to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them and that they are continually in our thoughts and prayers. We also want them to know that they will always be in our thoughts and prayers. I say a prayer every night for you, Champ, that you may one day find the serenity that you so justly deserve. I would like to take advantage of this chance to convey my appreciation to you for the fantastic times we’ve shared together in the past.
(went away on November 20, 2022) was a boxer who competed for the United States of America and held the world championship in the light middleweight division. He died on November 20, 2022. He had the title of IBF world champion at the time. He came into the world and became a part of it on March 2, 1952, when he was born. (154lb). 1978 was the year that Drayton made his debut as a professional boxer.
In 1986, he won a decision bout against Carlos Santos to claim the vacant IBF light middleweight title. This victory came after Drayton had defeated Santos in 1978. Before Matthew Hilton was able to take it away from him the next year, he was able to successfully defend the belt on two separate occasions, winning victories each time, before Matthew Hilton was able to do so.
In 1988, he gave the defending champion of the WBA light middleweight division, Julian Jackson, a challenge in the hopes of capturing the championship and becoming the new champion in that weight class. However, he was knocked out of the fight via a technical knockout in the third round, and as a result, he was unable to defend his championship. In the year 1995, when he was 43 years old, he came to the conclusion that it was time for him to hang up his hat and retire from his work.
Link: obituariespress.com/buster-drayton-obituary-former-ibf-junior-middleweight-world-champion-has-died-death/
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