Shannon, who had a white mother and black father, started fighting in the streets as a young boy in Seattle's predominantly black Central District where he found kids who would start fights with him because he was white. He later moved to Lynnwood, Washington, where he continued to get into fights, this time with white kids who fought him because he was black.[1]
Amateur careeredit
After beating up one kid, he was invited to a gym where he began boxing at the age of 12. He would capture a national junior championship at 15 and a world junior championship at the age of 16. Shannon qualified for the 1980 Olympic games as a 17-year-old at 106 pounds, but did not compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott.[1] In 2007, he received one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.[2] He also qualified for the Olympics in 1984 at 119 pounds, but was eliminated in the third bout against Sung-Kil Moon of South Korea. He was the only member of the 1984 USA Olympics boxing team who did not win a medal. Shannon's amateur record was 124–27.
1980 Olympic Trials – defeated Tommy Ayers to qualify
1982 United States Amateur championships 119 pounds – lost to Meldrick Taylor in final (5–0)[1]
1984 National Golden Gloves bantamweight champion[1]
1984 Olympic Trials – defeated Jesse Benavides on points 5–0, to qualify
Professional careeredit
Shannon turned professional in 1984 and was undefeated in his first 15 fights before losing a split decision to future champion Greg Richardson in 1986. The following year Shannon lost to future champ Jose Sanabria and his career began to slide. He retired from the sport in 1990[3] later worked as a barber and a boxing trainer at his own gym.[1]
^Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry. Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN978-0942257403.
robert, shannon, other, people, named, disambiguation, robert, edward, shannon, born, november, 1962, american, former, professional, boxer, shannon, 1984born, 1962, november, 1962, seattle, washington, usnationalityamericanstatisticsweight, super, bantamweigh. For other people named Robert Shannon see Robert Shannon disambiguation Robert Edward Shannon born November 11 1962 is an American former professional boxer Robert ShannonShannon in 1984Born 1962 11 11 November 11 1962 age 61 Seattle Washington USNationalityAmericanStatisticsWeight s Super bantamweightHeight5 ft 5 in 165 cm 1 StanceOrthodoxBoxing recordTotal fights26Wins18Wins by KO8Losses6Draws2 Contents 1 Background 2 Amateur career 2 1 Amateur highlights 3 Professional career 4 ReferencesBackground editShannon who had a white mother and black father started fighting in the streets as a young boy in Seattle s predominantly black Central District where he found kids who would start fights with him because he was white He later moved to Lynnwood Washington where he continued to get into fights this time with white kids who fought him because he was black 1 Amateur career editAfter beating up one kid he was invited to a gym where he began boxing at the age of 12 He would capture a national junior championship at 15 and a world junior championship at the age of 16 Shannon qualified for the 1980 Olympic games as a 17 year old at 106 pounds but did not compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott 1 In 2007 he received one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes 2 He also qualified for the Olympics in 1984 at 119 pounds but was eliminated in the third bout against Sung Kil Moon of South Korea He was the only member of the 1984 USA Olympics boxing team who did not win a medal Shannon s amateur record was 124 27 Amateur highlights edit 1980 National AAU Champion 106 pounds 1 1980 Olympic Trials defeated Tommy Ayers to qualify 1982 United States Amateur championships 119 pounds lost to Meldrick Taylor in final 5 0 1 1984 National Golden Gloves bantamweight champion 1 1984 Olympic Trials defeated Jesse Benavides on points 5 0 to qualifyProfessional career editShannon turned professional in 1984 and was undefeated in his first 15 fights before losing a split decision to future champion Greg Richardson in 1986 The following year Shannon lost to future champ Jose Sanabria and his career began to slide He retired from the sport in 1990 3 later worked as a barber and a boxing trainer at his own gym 1 References edit a b c d e f g Robert Shannon sports reference com Caroccioli Tom Caroccioli Jerry Boycott Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games Highland Park IL New Chapter Press pp 243 253 ISBN 978 0942257403 Robert Shannon Boxrec nbsp This biographical article related to an American boxer is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert Shannon amp oldid 1160802135, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
