Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox boxer
Marvin Camel (born December 24, 1951) is a Native American former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1990. He was the first cruiserweight world champion, having held the WBC title in 1980 and the IBF title from 1983 to 1984.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was also the first Native American boxer to become a major world champion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Early lifeEdit
Marvin Camel was born December 24, 1951, in Ronan, Montana, part of the Flathead Indian Reservation. His father was Henry Camel Sr. (né Campbell), an African-American WWII Navy veteran, and his mother was Alice Nenemay of the Pend d'Oreilles Native Americans. Through his mother, Marvin Camel is a registered member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Sweat">Template:Cite news</ref>
Camel grew up in a house with no running water and a wood stove. He had 13 siblings, including one half-sibling from a different man. The elder Camel, who worked as a ranch hand 12 hours a day every day, was a strict disciplinarian who would beat Marvin with a belt. Marvin and most of his siblings were bullied on the reservation due to their partial African-American heritage, and they got into a lot of fights growing up; his half-sibling was the only one who wasn't black.<ref name="Sweat" />
In high school, Camel was a star athlete, having set a school record in track and being all-conference in football and basketball, as well as a stint at baseball. He took up boxing at 15 and became a local AAU and Golden Gloves champion and made the national finals of both a combined 15 times.<ref name="Sweat" />
Professional boxing careerEdit
Marvin Camel fought Bill Sharkey in the first cruiserweight title fight ever when the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) sanctioned a bout for its continental title on June 5, 1979.<ref name="first-cruiserweight">Template:Cite book</ref> Camel won the match, which led to the World Boxing Council (WBC) sanctioning a cruiserweight title fight between Marvin Camel and Mate Parlov on December 8, 1979. Camel fought Parlov in Yugoslavia to a draw in the first ever cruiserweight world title bout. In the rematch, in Las Vegas, Camel beat Parlov for the vacant WBC world Cruiserweight title in 1980, losing the title in his first defense, to Carlos De León who replaced David Pearce. After losing in a rematch to De Leon, he became, in 1983, the IBF's first world champion, by beating Roddy McDonald who also replaced David Pearce after the BBBoC would not sanction the Cruiserweight division in the UK and thus becoming world Cruiserweight champion for the second time when he claimed that organization's title. He later lost the title to Lee Roy Murphy.
He lost his final bout in June 1990 against Eddie “Young Joe Louis” Taylor in Minneapolis. The 10-round decision left his lifetime mark at 45-13-5.
Camel's pro career took him from Ronan to 13 states and seven foreign nations on three continents.
“I’ve had a good life, as far as boxing is concerned, winning two world titles, losing world titles, seeing the world,” Camel said in 2015. “Some things people only dream about having, I did it. I’ve been there. I’ve been to the top of the mountain. But I feel there’s still something out there that I’ve got to have, and I don’t know what it is.” <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He is the subject of a biography released in December 2014, titled 'Warrior in the Ring' by Brian D'Ambrosio.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="LaTrayChamp">Template:Cite news</ref> The book was nominated for a High Plains Book Award and several other awards.
In December 2014, D'Ambrosio and Camel attended the 52nd Annual World Boxing Convention.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HonorsEdit
In 2006 at the World Boxing Council's 44th annual convention WBC President José Sulaimán awarded Camel honorary champion status.
Professional boxing recordEdit
| Template:Abbr | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | Template:No2Loss | 45–13–4 | Eddie Taylor | MD | 10 | 11 Jun 1990 | Template:Small | |
| 61 | Template:No2Loss | 45–12–4 | Joe Hipp | TKO | 6 (10) | 2 Dec 1989 | Template:Small | |
| 60 | Template:Yes2Win | 45–11–4 | Jerome Hill | UD | 8 | 6 Nov 1989 | Template:Small | |
| 59 | Template:Yes2Win | 44–11–4 | J.J. Cottrell | UD | 10 | 25 Sep 1989 | Template:Small | |
| 58 | Template:DrawDraw | 43–11–4 | Trent Surratt | TD | 1 (?), Template:Small | 10 Aug 1989 | Template:Small | |
| 57 | Template:No2Loss | 43–11–3 | James Salerno | TKO | 6 | 31 May 1988 | Template:Small | |
| 56 | Template:No2Loss | 43–10–3 | Ralf Rocchigiani | PTS | 10 | 26 Apr 1988 | Template:Small | |
| 55 | Template:No2Loss | 43–9–3 | Taoufik Belbouli | TKO | 4 | 10 Oct 1987 | Template:Small | |
| 54 | Template:No2Loss | 43–8–3 | Virgil Hill | KO | 1 (10), Template:Small | 1 May 1987 | Template:Small | |
| 53 | Template:No2Loss | 43–7–3 | José María Flores Burlón | UD | 10 | 8 Aug 1986 | Template:Small | |
| 52 | Template:DrawDraw | 43–6–3 | Jimmy Bills | PTS | 10 | 22 May 1986 | Template:Small | |
| 51 | Template:No2Loss | 43–6–2 | Lee Roy Murphy | RTD | 14 (15), Template:Small | 6 Oct 1984 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 50 | Template:Yes2Win | 43–5–2 | Roddy MacDonald | TKO | 5 (15), Template:Small | 13 Dec 1983 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 49 | Template:Yes2Win | 42–5–2 | Rocky Sekorski | RTD | 8 (12) | 21 May 1983 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 48 | Template:No2Loss | 41–5–2 | John Odhiambho | TKO | 2 (8) | 11 Feb 1983 | Template:Small | |
| 47 | Template:Yes2Win | 41–4–2 | Leonardo Rodgers | RTD | 4 (12) | 30 Jun 1982 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 46 | Template:No2Loss | 40–4–2 | Carlos de León | TKO | 8 (15) | 24 Feb 1982 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 45 | Template:Yes2Win | 40–3–2 | Bash Ali | UD | 12 | 2 Oct 1981 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 44 | Template:Yes2Win | 39–3–2 | Willie Shannon | TKO | 3 (12), Template:Small | 11 Aug 1981 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 43 | Template:Yes2Win | 38–3–2 | Rahim Muhammad | UD | 12 | 5 May 1981 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 42 | Template:Yes2Win | 37–3–2 | Ron Draper | TKO | 6 (10), Template:Small | 24 Apr 1981 | Template:Small | |
| 41 | Template:No2Loss | 36–3–2 | Carlos de León | MD | 15 | 25 Nov 1980 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 40 | Template:Yes2Win | 36–2–2 | Mate Parlov | UD | 15 | 31 Mar 1980 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 39 | Template:Draw Draw | 35–2–2 | Mate Parlov | MD | 15 | 8 Dec 1979 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 38 | Template:Yes2Win | 35–2–1 | David Cabrera | KO | 3 (10), Template:Small | 30 Aug 1979 | Template:Small | |
| 37 | Template:Yes2Win | 34–2–1 | Macka Foley | TKO | 2 (10), Template:Small | 1 Aug 1979 | Template:Small | |
| 36 | Template:Yes2Win | 33–2–1 | Bill Sharkey | UD | 12 | 5 Jun 1979 | Template:Small | Template:Small |
| 35 | Template:Yes2Win | 32–2–1 | David Smith | TKO | 9 (10) | 24 Apr 1979 | Template:Small | |
| 34 | Template:Yes2Win | 31–2–1 | Jim Ingram | UD | 10 | 28 Feb 1979 | Template:Small | |
| 33 | Template:Yes2Win | 30–2–1 | Bob Heflin | KO | 2 (10), Template:Small | 3 Jan 1979 | Template:Small | |
| 32 | Template:Yes2Win | 29–2–1 | Tom Bethea | KO | 2 (12), Template:Small | 11 Nov 1978 | Template:Small | |
| 31 | Template:Yes2Win | 28–2–1 | Dale Grant | UD | 12 | 13 Sep 1978 | Template:Small | |
| 30 | Template:Yes2Win | 27–2–1 | Ibar Arrington | UD | 10 | 22 Aug 1978 | Template:Small | |
| 29 | Template:Yes2Win | 26–2–1 | Chuck Warfield | KO | 5 (10) | 27 May 1978 | Template:Small | |
| 28 | Template:Yes2Win | 25–2–1 | Pete McIntyre | UD | 10 | 7 Apr 1978 | Template:Small | |
| 27 | Template:Yes2Win | 24–2–1 | Bobby Lloyd | UD | 10 | 9 Mar 1978 | Template:Small | |
| 26 | Template:Yes2Win | 23–2–1 | David Smith | UD | 10 | 8 Feb 1978 | Template:Small | |
| 25 | Template:Yes2Win | 22–2–1 | Karl Zurheide | RTD | 7 (10), Template:Small | 8 Dec 1977 | Template:Small | |
| 24 | Template:Yes2Win | 21–2–1 | Ron Wilson | UD | 10 | 29 Aug 1977 | Template:Small | |
| 23 | Template:No2Loss | 20–2–1 | Danny Brewer | TKO | 6 (10) | 28 Jun 1977 | Template:Small | |
| 22 | Template:Yes2Win | 20–1–1 | Gary Summerhays | UD | 12 | 6 May 1977 | Template:Small | |
| 21 | Template:DrawDraw | 19–1–1 | Dale Grant | PTS | 10 | 15 Feb 1977 | Template:Small | |
| 20 | Template:Yes2Win | 19–1 | Lionel Ford | UD | 10 | 26 Jan 1977 | Template:Small | |
| 19 | Template:Yes2Win | 18–1 | Larry Castaneda | UD | 10 | 20 Nov 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 18 | Template:Yes2Win | 17–1 | Matthew Saad Muhammad | MD | 10 | 23 Oct 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 17 | Template:Yes2Win | 16–1 | Johnny Townsend | UD | 10 | 25 Sep 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 16 | Template:Yes2Win | 15–1 | Johnny Townsend | UD | 10 | 28 Aug 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 15 | Template:No2Loss | 14–1 | Matthew Saad Muhammad | SD | 10 | 17 Jul 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 14 | Template:Yes2Win | 14–0 | Angel Oquendo | UD | 10 | 8 May 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 13 | Template:Yes2Win | 13–0 | Rafael Gutierrez | UD | 10 | 7 Apr 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 12 | Template:Yes2Win | 12–0 | Don Meloncon | TKO | 3 (10), Template:Small | 18 Feb 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 11 | Template:Yes2Win | 11–0 | Pedro Vega | KO | 1 (10), Template:Small | 14 Jan 1976 | Template:Small | |
| 10 | Template:Yes2Win | 10–0 | Danny Brewer | UD | 10 | 19 Nov 1975 | Template:Small | |
| 9 | Template:Yes2Win | 9–0 | Terry Lee | TKO | 8 (10), Template:Small | 24 Sep 1975 | Template:Small | |
| 8 | Template:Yes2Win | 8–0 | Ron Wilson | UD | 10 | 20 Aug 1975 | Template:Small | |
| 7 | Template:Yes2Win | 7–0 | Fernando Lee Jones | RTD | 6 (10) | 28 May 1975 | Template:Small | |
| 6 | Template:Yes2Win | 6–0 | Amado Vasquez | KO | 3 (10), Template:Small | 30 Apr 1975 | Template:Small | |
| 5 | Template:Yes2Win | 5–0 | Jack Johnson | UD | 8 | 2 Apr 1975 | Template:Small | |
| 4 | Template:Yes2Win | 4–0 | Chico Valdez | KO | 2 (6), Template:Small | 19 Feb 1975 | Template:Small | |
| 3 | Template:Yes2Win | 3–0 | George Clark | TKO | 4 (6), Template:Small | 22 Jan 1975 | Template:Small | |
| 2 | Template:Yes2Win | 2–0 | James T. Jackson | TKO | 4 (6), Template:Small | 25 Feb 1974 | Template:Small | |
| 1 | Template:Yes2Win | 1–0 | Joe Williamson | TKO | 1 (4), Template:Small | 25 Jun 1973 | Template:Small |
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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