The first reverse guard world champion

The first reverse guard world champion in boxing – Michael Lee Moorer

How can you take a heavyweight with an atypical fighting stance?

In the history of combat sports, there are competitors with a straight guard and with a reverse guard. They differ in which hand and which leg is leading. In short, people with a leading left foot and left hand have a straight guard, and those who place their right hand and right foot in front of their left have a reverse guard. The straight fighting stance is more common, but the reverse can always cause problems for opponents, who are sometimes taken by surprise. Since reverse guard competitors are rare, there aren't that many world champions. The first to conquer the top of the heavyweight division in boxing was Michael Lee Moorer.

"Double Em", as the athlete is nicknamed because of his initials, was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 12th, 1967. He began his career as a professional boxer in 1988 and competed until 2008. He is 188 centimeters tall, which does not give him much of an advantage in heavyweight fights, but he started in the lower division - light heavyweight. In his entire career, there are 57 matches in the professional ring, of which he won 52, lost only 4, and one match ended in a draw. Most of his successes, 40 to be exact, have come by way of knockout. He is known as someone who skillfully uses his reverse guard to overcome his opponents more easily.

Having already triumphed in the light heavyweight division and not having much competition, Moorer switched to the heavier ones and grabbed the vacant championship belt of the World Boxing Organization back in 1992 in a match against Burt Cooper.

on April 22, 1994 came the peak moment in his career. Moorer challenges World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Federation champion Evander Holyfield. Despite dominating, as early as the second round Moorer received a very heavy blow from his opponent's left hook. The Brooklyn boxer managed to stay on his feet and even hold the advantage throughout the rest of the rounds. The match lasted twelve rounds and was won by the challenger after a unanimous decision. Thus, "Double Em" became the first world heavyweight champion with a reverse guard.

A belt defense followed against 45-year-old George Foreman in November of that year. This is another one of those bouts where Moorer manages to dominate his opponent and it's evident in the first nine rounds thanks to his reverse guard. However, an unexpected turn of events followed and Moorer was knocked out by the veteran, who became the oldest boxer with a heavyweight world title.

In 1996, Moorer entered the extremely prestigious company of Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis after he managed to win the world title for the third time. This time it's only about the belt of the International Boxing Federation. The first heavyweight world champion managed to grab his third title, defeating the German Axel Schultz in Berlin.

In addition to all of his heavyweight success and accomplishments thanks to his reverse fighting stance, Michael Moorer has achieved another significant achievement in his career. Along with Roy Jones Jr., Michael Spinks and James Toney, he is only the fourth boxer to hold the light heavyweight and heavyweight world titles in the last century.

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