Terry McGroom

Terry McGroom (March 16, 1966 – April 17, 2016) was a boxer in the heavyweight and cruiserweight division. He challenged once for the IBF cruiserweight title in 2001.

Terry McGroom
Statistics
Real nameTerry McGroom
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Reach77 in (196 cm)
NationalityAmerican
Born(1966-03-16)March 16, 1966
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedApril 17, 2016(2016-04-17) (aged 50)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights31
Wins19
Wins by KO10
Losses9
Draws3
No contests0

Early life

McGroom attended Wells High School in Chicago, which was "full of gangbangers." Tom O'Shea, an English teacher at the school, said he was "an arrogant, nasty kid who was always in trouble with his teachers," apart from the fact that he did not earn a single credit in his freshman year. When O'Shea caught McGroom fighting in the hallways, he was given a choice: follow him to the principal's office or to the boxing gym. O'Shea became his coach, a position he held throughout McGroom's amateur career.[1]

He later graduated from Wells as an honor student, earning a boxing scholarship to Northern Michigan University.[1]

Amateur career

McGroom had a stellar amateur career prior to turning professional, going 63-11.[1] He was a National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight champion in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1992 and a National Amateur Light Heavyweight Champion in 1991. McGroom also won a silver medal from the 1990 Goodwill Games in the 81 kg division.

He also competed at the 1989 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Moscow.[1]

Professional career

McGroom turned pro in 1993 and started off his career going undefeated in his first 11 fights. He then faced Darrol Wilson, a heavy hitting heavyweight who would make a name for himself later on, in 1995, and battled his way to a 10-round draw. McGroom's next big fight was an 8th-round TKO loss to future contender Kirk Johnson. Johnson was much bigger than McGroom and slugged him to the canvas.

After the loss to Johnson, McGroom's impressive victory over Esteban Pizzarro in 1999 earned him the biggest fight of his career against James Toney in 2000. It was a close fight with Toney and some thought the decision should have been given to McGroom. In 2001 he challenged Vasily Jirov for his IBF Cruiserweight belt. The result was a shocking one-round KO for Jirov, the result from one well place body shot.

McGroom then moved up to Heavyweight and had little success. He lost to future contenders Dominick Guinn, Malik Scott, and Timor Ibragimov before retiring in 2004.

Personal life

McGroom died from bone cancer on April 17, 2016.[2]

Professional boxing record
19 Wins (10 knockouts, 9 decisions), 9 Losses (4 knockouts, 5 decisions), 3 Draws
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 19–9–3 Cengiz Koc UD 6 24/07/2004 Frankfurt, Brandenburg, Germany
Loss 19–8–3 Timur Ibragimov UD 8 22/04/2004 Moscow, Russia
Loss 19–7–3 Johny Jensen SD 6 28/02/2004 Aalborg, Denmark 55-59, 56-58, 58-57.
Draw 19–6–3 Johny Jensen PTS 6 24/10/2003 Copenhagen, Denmark 59-56, 57-57, 56-58.
Loss 19–6–2 Steve Cunningham UD 8 20/09/2003 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Loss 19–5–2 Malik Scott TKO 2 01/02/2003 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the second round.
Loss 19–4–2 Dominick Guinn TKO 7 08/09/2002 Lawton, Oklahoma, United States
Loss 19–3–2 Vassiliy Jirov KO 1 24/03/2001 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States IBF World Cruiserweight Title. McGroom knocked out at 1:22 of the first round.
Win 19–2–2 Ed Strickland KO 1 21/02/2001 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Strickland knocked out at 2:59 of the first round.
Loss 18–2–2 James Toney MD 10 21/01/2000 Chicago, Illinois, United States 94-96, 94-96, 95-95.
Win 18–1–2 Esteban Pizzarro UD 12 26/06/1999 Cicero, Illinois, United States WBO NABO Cruiserweight Title.
Win 17–1–2 Jesse Corona UD 10 05/03/1999 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win 16–1–2 Vinson Durham UD 10 29/01/1999 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win 15–1–2 Mike Acklie TKO 2 13/11/1998 Chicago, Illinois, United States Referee stopped the bout at 0:50 of the second round.
Win 14–1–2 Brian Yates UD 6 01/10/1997 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Loss 13–1–2 Kirk Johnson TKO 8 16/11/1996 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Draw 13–0–2 Anthony Hembrick PTS 10 23/04/1996 Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
Win 13–0–1 Arthur Saribekian UD 8 21/11/1995 Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
Win 12–0–1 Ron Preston UD 8 03/10/1995 Flint, Michigan, United States
Draw 11–0–1 Darroll Wilson PTS 10 17/08/1995 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 95-95, 94-96, 96-94.
Win 11–0 Exum Speight TKO 2 28/03/1995 Flint, Michigan, United States
Win 10–0 Ken Jackson TKO 2 20/08/1994 Athens, Tennessee, United States
Win 9–0 Randy McGee UD 8 21/05/1994 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Win 8–0 Tim St Clair UD 8 05/02/1994 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Win 7–0 Morris Young TKO 4 18/12/1993 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Win 6–0 Aaron Green KO 4 13/11/1993 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Win 5–0 Leonard Lamar Long PTS 6 28/08/1993 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Win 4–0 Darren Jewell KO 2 17/07/1993 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Win 3–0 Ricardo Estrada TKO 3 12/06/1993 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Win 2–0 Donald Johnson TKO 2 27/03/1993 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Win 1–0 William Yates TKO 1 16/01/1993 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

References
  1. Sakamoto, Bob (March 18, 1990). "3-time Gloves Champ Has Heart Set On Olympics". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  2. "Terry McGroom R.I.P." FightNews.com. April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
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