- Tracy Byrd (boxer)
Tracy Byrd (born
August 27 1964 ,Flint, Michigan ) is a female boxer.Background
Byrd comes from a boxing family: her father, Joe Byrd, is a former boxer who currently trains her.
Her brother Antoine once lost to
Roy Jones Jr. in a bid to win the world's Middleweight title, and her other brother, Chris, is a former heavyweight title holder.Tracy Byrd enjoyed athletics since she was a young child. She excelled in
high school as abasketball player. Her brothers Antoine and Chris, however, inspired her into trying outboxing , so she began to attend the Byrd boxing gym, owned by her father.Pro career
On her first professional fight,
August 6 1996 , the then 32 year old boxer beatSue Chase by a decision in four rounds in Flint. Her first three fights were held in Flint, and she earned first roundknockout s in professional fights number two and three.Her fourth fight, a rematch with Chase on
January 28 ,1997 , took place just outside of Flint, in Detroit. Byrd again outpointed Chase over four rounds.After beating
Dee Dufoe by decision in six in what turned out to be her first fight held outsideMichigan (the fight was held inIndio, California ), Byrd was given the opportunity to challenge for a world championship for the first time: OnAugust 2 1997 , she defeated defending championNora Daigle to become the IFBA world Lightweight champion, inBiloxi, Mississippi .Byrd retained the title on
October 24 with a fourth round knockout ofBethanny Payne inNew Jersey . After this fight, and since Byrd continued undefeated in nine fights, Byrd was given some attention by boxing magazines such as The Ring and KO. But, on her second defense, held onJune 30 ,1998 , she lost her title, and her undefeated mark, to RussianZulfia Koutdoussova , who, as a consequence, inherited the media attention that Byrd was receiving.Byrd rebounded with three consecutive decision wins, and she was given a second chance at becoming a world champion, when she met
Laura Serrano ofMexico onSeptember 2 1999 . She lost by a ten round decision inTunica, Mississippi , for the WIBF's world Lightweight title.Byrd then took off two years from boxing, deciding to lose weight and return as a Junior Lightweight in 2001. Initially, she had success fighting at a lower weight class, conquering the vacant IFBA intercontinental title with a ten round unanimous decision over
Brenda Vickers onMay 19 , atIgnacio, Colorado .Her next fight was for the IFBA world Featherweight title, on
July 7 . She lost that world championship bid, being outpointed over ten rounds byLayla McCarter . This was the beginning of a five fight losing streak for Byrd. All those fights were lost by decision, and they included two more losses to McCarter, another loss to Koutdoussova, and a defeat at the hands ofIsra Girgrah .Despite losing five times in a row, she was given yet another world title chance, when, on
March 22 2003 , she facedAgnieszka Rylik for the WIBO world Jr. Welterweight title. Byrd became a world champion for the second time, when she defeated Rylik by a ten round split decision inLas Vegas, Nevada .Her next, and so far last, fight, took place on
June 28 of that year, when she andPuerto Rico 'sBelinda Laracuente drew (tied) in an eight rounds non-title bout held atCoconut Grove, Florida .Byrd has a record of thirteen wins, seven losses and one draw, with four wins by knockout, she has not been knocked out as a professional.
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