Июнь 4, 2021, Форт Смит, 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).
Джон Дэвид Чепмен родился в марте 1983, Chapman did not fight as an amateur. Вместо, он начал участвовать в соревнованиях Toughman Contest еще до того, как стал профессионалом 2002. He chose the name “Природные” as Chapman hails from Arkansas, “Естественное состояние”.
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.
In the process, Chapaman accumulated 29 побед и 26 нокауты. He beat several notable contenders and gatekeepers. Его наиболее заметными противниками был уроженец Чикаго Эдвард Гутьеррес, 15-0-1 вступая в бой, New York veteran John Carlo who possessed a 14-1 запись, and fellow undefeated Mid-West prospect Matt Hicks 7-0.
Chapman also captured several regional heavyweight titles including the IBF Southern Regional title, титул Североамериканского боксерского совета, титул WBC Latino и титул штата Арканзас. Как раз тогда, когда казалось, что Чепмен находится на пороге славы., он повесил все это и поехал в закат.
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. Дальше, Chapman was rated by just about every major sanctioning body including the lineal sanction body, WBC, что дало ему мировой рейтинг 14.
Chapman will return on an untelevised club show this Saturday, Июнь 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 фунтов, 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 бои под его поясом, spanning multiple combat sports disciplines, Смешанные Боевые Искусства, 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, в том числе Майкл Мурер, Джефф Мэйвезер and Norman Wilson. В настоящее время, he is trained by former MMA fighter Brian Foster and Chapman’s return is being guided by Edward Mendy of Lion Heart Boxing Productions.