Boxing’s Greats of the States | North Dakota: Virgil Hill

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it.

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Virgil Hill enjoyed an outstanding career inside the ropes.

“Quicksilver” won the WBA light heavyweight championship in a fourth-round knockout against Leslie Stewart on Sept. 5, 1987 and successfully defended it 10 times before being dethroned by Thomas Hearns nearly four years later. In September 1992, Hill reclaimed the WBA belt with a 12-round decision over Frank Tate, made 10 more title defenses and then added the IBF championship to his collection. He relinquished his titles to Dariusz Michalczewski on June 13, 1997 and was later knocked out by the great Roy Jones Jr. Some believed Hill’s career was finished, but he flatted Fabrice Tiozzo in the first round of their December 2000 encounter to lay claim to the WBA cruiserweight crown -- a title he would hold on two occasions.

Hill retired with a record of 51-7 (24 KOs) and was recognized as one of boxing’s premier tacticians. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.

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