David Jaco
Born
David Lee Jaco

(1954-01-24) January 24, 1954 (age 70)
Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights50
Wins24
Wins by KO19
Losses25
Draws1

David Lee Jaco (born January 24, 1954[1]) is a retired heavyweight boxer. He spent his career as a journeyman, fighting boxers to build up their career records. He retired in 1994 with 24 wins (19 by knockout), 25 losses (18 by knockout), and 1 draw.[2] Although he lost bouts to Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Tommy Morrison, Carl Williams, Tony Tucker, Buster Douglas, Mike Weaver and Oliver McCall, he won bouts against the undefeated Donovan Ruddock, Rick "King Kong" Keller, and many more.[2]

Jaco was once profiled on ABC's Prime Time Live as a "Palooka",[3] or someone who never refused a fight for the money.[4] Jaco later said, "I was a palooka, one of those guys who basically goes in there looking for a big payday. I made thousands when I fought, but I didn't consider myself a palooka. I was a decent fighter."[3]

Professional career

After winning a local amateur Toughman competition, Jaco trained for a year to turn pro.[1] His first fight was on January 6, 1981, and he defeated Vic Wallace by knockout in four rounds.[1] He went on to win his next eleven fights before a 1983 first-round knockout defeat at the hands of future title contender Carl "The Truth" Williams.[1]

Jaco continued to fight journeymen like himself for the next several months and won five more fights before his next defeat, a unanimous decision against Carlos Hernandez.[1] Jaco was dominated in that fight, losing all ten rounds on one judge's scorecard, eight on a second, and seven on a third.[5]

Jaco's first high-profile victory came against a young Canadian fighter and future title contender Donovan Ruddock, whom he beat on April 30, 1985 under controversial circumstances when Ruddock's corner threw in the towel in the eighth round.[1] According to the media, Ruddock later was found to have a respiratory illness that almost ended his career, which may have contributed to breathing problems that caused his corner to stop the fight. Regardless, Jaco won the fight and gained more publicity to further promote himself to fight big time opponents.

The victory over Ruddock was the last Jaco would see until 1988 as he was beaten in his next nine fights, seven times by knockout. Among the fighters he took on were contender José Ribalta, future titleholders Tony Tucker, Buster Douglas, and Mike Tyson, and former champion Mike Weaver.[1]

Jaco's losing streak was finally broken on March 11, 1988, when he knocked out previously unbeaten Zambian Michael Simuwelu in the first round. Again, it would be his last victory for an extended period. Six defeats followed, including fights against future champion Oliver McCall, an on-the-comeback trail George Foreman, and Tommy Morrison.

After his loss to Morrison Jaco went unbeaten in his next five fights, winning four times and drawing against former contender David Bey. After defeating Danny Sutton in the last of those five fights, Jaco never won again. His retirement fight resulted in him getting knocked out by Bey.[1]

Former manager Richard Conti said "David fought on guts. That was his biggest strength. He was never the quickest or the strongest fighter. He took a lot of beatings, but he always gave everything he ever had."[1]

Personal life

Jaco was born in Oregon, Ohio,[4] and grew up in Toledo where he worked at Interlaken Steel after graduating from Clay High School.[3][4] He was laid off in 1979, to earn money for his wife and two young sons he entered into an amateur "Toughman" competition.[3] He was so successful that he quickly turned pro and won every fight until his first loss to Carl "The Truth" Williams in June 1983.[3]

In 1986, Jaco used the money he made fighting Tyson to move to Florida where his twin boys lived from his first marriage.[6] He remarried and had an additional four daughters: Kaleigh, Brittany, Madison, and Sydney—all of whom grew up to be athletes. Today he is an independent contractor, transporting workers' compensation recipients to their doctor appointments.[6] He published a memoir of his boxing experiences titled Spontaneous Palooka and Mr. Mom (2012).[3]

Jaco's two sons also boxed.[2] His son Aaron runs a boxing gym in Sarasota, Florida; Aaron's first appearance on ESPN was in a fight against Hilario Guzman in 2004.[7]

In 2003, it was reported that Jaco ran a youth boxing program at the Manatee County Police Athletic League.[1] In October 2005, Jaco was fired from the position after he was arrested in a McDonald's parking lot for possessing 30 grams of marijuana.[8] Jaco said "I know the harm in taking medication in pills and painkillers, so I took to smoking marijuana to ease my pain and help me sleep at night."[8] The program head Michael Polin said Jaco was an "excellent" boxing instructor.[8]

Professional boxing record

24 Wins (19 knockouts, 5 decisions), 25 Losses (18 knockouts, 7 decisions), 1 Draw [1] Archived 2015-04-04 at the Wayback Machine Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Loss 24-25-1 David Bey TKO 8 17/09/1994 Macao, China Loss 24-24-1 Adilson Rodrigues UD 10 31/07/1993 Sao Paulo, Brazil Loss 24-23-1 Melton Bowen TKO 2 29/01/1993 Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. WBFo Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the second round. Loss 24-22-1 Bert Cooper UD 10 11/07/1992 Fort Myers, Florida, U.S. Loss 24–21–1 Alexander Zolkin PTS 10 12/06/1992 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Loss 24–20–1 Magne Havnå TKO 4 14/03/1992 Copenhagen, Denmark Loss 24–19–1 Mike Hunter TKO 3 14/02/1992 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win 24–18–1 Danny Sutton TKO 3 16/10/1991 Bradenton, Florida, U.S. Draw 23–18–1 David Bey PTS 10 07/09/1991 Sarasota, Florida, U.S. Win 23–18 Haakan Brock SD 6 11/06/1991 Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. Win 22–18 Greg Payne TKO 2 11/05/1991 Orlando, Florida, U.S. Win 21–18 Frankie Hines TKO 4 20/10/1990 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:03 of the fourth round. Loss 20–18 Tommy Morrison KO 1 19/09/1989 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. Jaco knocked out at 0:37 of the first round. Loss 20–17 Alex Stewart TKO 1 18/02/1989 Budapest, Hungary Loss 20–16 George Foreman TKO 1 28/12/1988 Bakersfield, California, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:03 of the first round. Loss 20–15 Gary Mason TKO 4 24/10/1988 Windsor, England Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the fourth round. Loss 20–14 Oliver McCall UD 10 30/06/1988 Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. Loss 20–13 Mike Ronay Evans TKO 9 21/05/1988 Gary, Indiana, U.S. Midwest Heavyweight Title. Win 20–12 Michael Simuwelu KO 1 11/03/1988 Düsseldorf, Germany Loss 19–12 Phil Brown UD 10 20/02/1988 Trumbull, Connecticut, U.S. Loss 19–11 Mike Weaver KO 2 29/07/1987 Yaoundé, Cameroon Loss 19–10 Johnny Du Plooy KO 2 22/11/1986 Johannesburg, South Africa Loss 19–9 Elijah Tillery KO 9 11/07/1986 Swan Lake, New York, U.S. Loss 19–8 Jose Ribalta KO 5 13/05/1986 Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S. Loss 19–7 Buster Douglas UD 8 19/04/1986 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Loss 19–6 Mike Tyson TKO 1 11/01/1986 Albany, New York, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:16 of the first round. Loss 19–5 Tony Tucker TKO 3 19/10/1985 Monte Carlo, Monaco Loss 19–4 Pierre Coetzer KO 6 08/07/1985 Johannesburg, South Africa Win 19–3 Donovan Ruddock TKO 8 30/04/1985 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada Loss 18–3 Dion Simpson TKO 3 09/02/1985 Port Huron, Michigan, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the third round. Win 18–2 Rick Kellar KO 3 09/01/1985 Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. Loss 17–2 Carlos Hernandez UD 10 14/11/1984 New York City, New York, U.S. Win 17–1 Cornelius Benson UD 8 24/10/1984 Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. Win 16–1 Ken Penn KO 1 21/09/1984 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. Win 15–1 Ron Draper KO 3 14/09/1984 Iowa, U.S. Win 14–1 Larry Landers KO 4 27/07/1984 Macon, Georgia, U.S. Win 13–1 Rick Keller PTS 8 23/06/1984 Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. Loss 12–1 Carl Williams TKO 1 30/06/1983 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win 12–0 Melvin Hosey TKO 4 16/04/1983 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. Win 11–0 Jeff Burg TKO 1 05/03/1983 Bay City, Michigan, U.S. Win 10–0 David Starkey TKO 3 12/02/1983 Lima, Ohio, U.S. Win 9–0 Vernon Bridges PTS 8 19/08/1982 Bay City, Michigan, U.S. Win 8–0 Harold Johnson KO 2 17/04/1982 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. Win 7–0 Harold Speakman KO 3 08/12/1981 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Win 6–0 Doug Meiring KO 3 09/10/1981 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. Win 5–0 Otis Evans KO 2 08/08/1981 Pensacola, Florida, U.S. Win 4–0 Vernon Bridges PTS 6 29/07/1981 Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. Win 3–0 Stanley Dollison KO 1 20/06/1981 Findlay, Ohio, U.S. Win 2–0 Hubert Adams KO 1 13/02/1981 Lima, Ohio, U.S. Win 1–0 Vic Wallace KO 4 06/01/1981 Pontiac, Michigan, U.S.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Steven Ponall (June 22, 2003). "The Fights of His Life". The Bradenton Herald (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).
  2. ^ a b c Graham, Tim (2005-06-09). "'Palooka' Jaco gained from suffering Tyson pain". ESPN.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Mladinich, Robert (April 26, 2012). "Book Review: David Jaco, Spontaneous Palooka". Boxing.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Monroe, Mark (August 12, 2011). "Oregon native has a story to tell". Toledo Blade. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  5. ^ "David Jaco - Boxer". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Torre, Pablo (August 2, 2010). "life After Mike". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  7. ^ Ryan Boyd (July 24, 2004). "Network Debut: Aaron Jaco, Whose Dad Fought 50 Pro Bouts, Gets First Televised Fight". The Bradenton Herald (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).
  8. ^ a b c Roger Mooney (October 4, 2005). "Pot-Smoking PAL Boxer: I'm Sorry". The Bradenton Herald (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).

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