Lou Esa
Lou Esa | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 10, 1952 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Big Lou Esa |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[1] |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 26 |
| Wins | 19 |
| Wins by KO | 16 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Lou Esa (born January 10, 1952) is an American former professional heavyweight boxer from Wayne, New Jersey, who had 26 fights with 16 knockouts in 19 wins.
Amateur career
Esa began his amateur boxing career at the age of 17 in New Jersey, accumulating a record of 7–1 with 7 knockouts. His only loss was to future heavyweight champion Larry Holmes. At the age of 20, while preparing for the Olympic trials, Esa was hit in the face with a bottle and required over 300 facial stitches, which ended his amateur career.[citation needed]
Professional career
After playing defensive end in football for
Dundee introduced Esa to Murray Gaby who became his manager and Dwayne Simpson who became his trainer.[3] Esa fought under the Mendoza Group, who he credits for helping his professional boxing career. A few weeks later, on July 22, 1975, Esa made his professional debut at the Miami Beach Convention Hall against James Edwards. Esa won his first five fights, all by first-round knockout, before suffering his first loss in April 1976. Esa came back and won 13 of 15 fights with one draw and one loss by unanimous decision.
In October 1977, Esa fought a six-round undercard bout in Las Vegas against the newly turned professional and future heavyweight champion John Tate. Esa, who had been arrested in his hotel room and had spent the previous night in jail, was knocked out in the third round. The fight's promoters Lou Duva and Bob Arum were criticized for promoting a mismatch.[4]
Following losses in three of four fights during the next three years, Esa's career ended in 1981.
In 2012, Lou Esa was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Professional boxing record
References
- ^ "Lou Esa". boxRec.com. Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ a b c Mladinich, Robert (2 October 2005). "Lou Esa - Size Matters". The Sweet Science.
- ^ ISBN 1-58261-843-7.
- ^ Newman, Bruce (April 10, 1989). "We've Crown Accustomed To His Face". Sports Illustrated. p. 92.
- ^ "Lou Esa:bouts". boxRec.com. Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
Further reading
- Kaplan, Hank (August 1977). "Lou Esa: The Sunshine State Mammoth". Boxing Illustrated: 24.