Giugno 4, 2021, Fort Smith, Arkansas—In a year of surprising boxing returns, nothing is more surprising than the return of retired heavyweight contender JD “The Natural” Chapman (29-0).
Nato John David Chapman nel marzo del 1983, Chapman did not fight as an amateur. Invece, ha iniziato a combattere nelle competizioni Toughman Contest prima di diventare professionista 2002. He chose the name “Il naturale” as Chapman hails from Arkansas, “Lo Stato Naturale”.
JD did many of his early professional fights close to home, namely as part of the Slugout Series promoted by Stacy “Goodnight” Goodson. Goodson and Scott Hirsch, who were managing Chapman, built Chapman into a heavyweight contender.
Nel processo, Chapaman accumulated 29 vittorie e 26 ko. He beat several notable contenders and gatekeepers. I suoi avversari più importanti erano Edward Gutierrez, con sede a Chicago, che era 15-0-1 entrando nell'incontro, New York veteran John Carlo who possessed a 14-1 record, and fellow undefeated Mid-West prospect Matt Hicks 7-0.
Chapman also captured several regional heavyweight titles including the IBF Southern Regional title, il titolo del North American Boxing Council, il titolo WBC Latino e il titolo dell'Arkansas State. Proprio quando sembrava che Chapman fosse al culmine della celebrità, ha appeso tutto e ha cavalcato verso il tramonto.
At the time of his retirement Chapman was an up and coming contender, and a darling of the boxing press. He received tremendous coverage and exposure in the boxing press as a heavyweight prospect, and was featured on national television. Ulteriormente, Chapman was rated by just about every major sanctioning body including the lineal sanction body, the WBC, che gli ha dato una valutazione mondiale di 14.
Chapman will return on an untelevised club show this Saturday, Giugno 5, 2021, and in a fight close to where it all begun in his home state of Arkansas. Chapman was called in as a last minute replacement opponent to fight Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez at the Springdale Convention Center.
It will be a clash of big men. Chapman weighed in at 294 lbs, while his opponent Lopez weighed in at 259. It will be a battle of big men as Chapman is 6’5” while Lopez is 6’6”.
Although he has had only two professional boxing fights, Lopez is a veteran pugilist with nearly a 100 combatte sotto la cintura, spanning multiple combat sports disciplines, Arti marziali miste, kickboxing and bare knuckle fighting.
Said JD, “I was only offered the fight on Thursday but decided to take it anyway. Even though I’ve been off for so long, I was already training for a July event, and I think I’m ready enough. I accepted the fight with such short notice because I just could not pass on the opportunity to get back in the ring. I did not realize how much I missed fighting.”
In his prime, Chapman had some high profile trainers, Compreso Michael Moorer, Jeff Mayweather and Norman Wilson. Attualmente, he is trained by former MMA fighter Brian Foster and Chapman’s return is being guided by Edward Mendy of Lion Heart Boxing Productions.