Percy Price Jr.

American boxer

Percy J. Price Jr.

Personal information

Nationality

American

Born

(1936-05-19)May 19, 1936
Salem, New Jersey, United States

Died

January 12, 1989(1989-01-12) (aged 52)
Jacksonville, North Carolina, United States

Sport

Boxing

Medal record

Representing the United States

World Military Championships
	1960 Wiesbaden	Heavyweight

Percy J. Price Jr. (May 19, 1936 – January 12, 1989) was an American amateur boxer. A United States Marine at the time, he competed in the men's heavyweight event at the 1960 Summer Olympics.^[1] He had gained his place on the U.S. team by defeating another young boxer then known as Cassius Clay. In his first Olympic bout, Price defeated Ron Taylor of Australia, but he lost to Josef Němec of Czechoslovakia in the quarter-finals.^[1]

After seven-year hiatus, Marine Staff Sgt. Percy Price, age 33, returned to the ring to win the Armed Forces Boxing Championships at the Philadelphia Sports Arena. In front of a capacity crowd including world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, Price, 222, won a three-round decision over 20-years Duane Bobick, 199. After the bout, Price, father of six, announced he would never fight again.^[2]

Price turned down offers of a professional career and remained in the Marine Corps until he retired in 1976. However, he won numerous military boxing titles, and also completed two full combat tours of duty in South Vietnam as a Marine platoon leader.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Percy Price Jr. Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
^ Ex-Boxer Wins 1st After 7 Yrs., The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 24, 1970, p. 30.
^ Milivojevic, Dejan (January 13, 2019). "Big Percy Price - The Marine That 'Beat Up' Muhammad Ali". Retrieved May 19, 2019.