Vince Phillips

Vince Phillips is a retired American professional boxer who was active in the sport for more than 18 years, from 1989 to 2007. He enjoyed a successful career which saw him compete in a total of 61 fights, winning 48 of them with 34 coming via way of knockout. Phillips held one world title at super-lightweight and successfully defended it on three occasions.

Phillips made his professional debut at the age of 25, taking on Octavio Guardado on February 28, 1989. Phillips won the fight via 2nd round TKO and went on to cement his place as one of the top boxers in the world, putting together a 28-fight winning streak before suffering his first loss against Anthony Jones on November 18, 1993.

Despite losing two of his twelve career losses in title bouts, Phillips' greatest moment in the sport came in 1997 when he won the IBF super-lightweight title from Kostya Tszyu, beating him by a 10th round TKO. Phillips would go on to defend the title on two occasions; firstly against Micky Ward on August 9, 1997, and then against Alfonso Sanchez on March 14, 1998.

Phillips suffered a total of 12 losses in his professional boxing career, the majority of which came in non-title bouts where he was considered the favorite. He was stopped four times and was on the losing end of eight decisions.

Despite his relatively low profile outside the boxing world, Phillips was respected by hardcore fans for his aggressive and crowd-pleasing fighting style. Some of his most notable victories include wins over Hall-of-Famer Kostya Tszyu, Micky Ward, Freddie Pendleton, and Alfonso Sanchez.

Phillips' first world title fight came on April 12, 1996, when he was pitted against Ike Quartey for the WBA welterweight title. He lost the fight via a 3rd round TKO, but it set him on his way to ultimately winning a world title which would come in just over a year later.

The defining moment of Phillips' career came on May 31, 1997 when he defeated Kostya Tszyu to win the IBF super-lightweight title. Despite facing a fighter who was considered unbeatable at the time, Phillips managed to use his superior punching power to wear down Tszyu and eventually secure a 10th round TKO.

Phillips retired from professional boxing in 2007 with a record of 48-12-1, including 34 knockouts and four losses via knockout. While he never quite achieved the fame of some of his contemporaries, Phillips' aggressive fighting style and undeniable talent always guaranteed an entertaining match whenever he stepped into the ring.

Vince Phillips Fight Record