Template:Short description Template:Multiple issues Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox boxer Jimmy Lange (born August 25, 1975) is an American professional boxer.
Early life
He began boxing at the age of five in Arlington, Virginia when his father who became his manager first brought him to Olympia Boxing Gym in Falls Church. Boxing immediately ignited interest in Jimmy when he realized the level of discipline, respect, and skill that was needed to be a great boxer.
The Contender
Lange was a contestant on the first season of the NBC reality TV show, The Contender, produced and hosted by Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard. Stallone’s brother attended one of Jimmy’s boxing matches in Washington DC and was so impressed, he recommended him for the show as one of the 16 boxers. Current special adviser, "First Lady of Boxing" Jackie Kallen served as 'den mother' on the show.
On the show, Jimmy was placed on the East Coast team and fought Joey Gilbert in the final First Round fight, a fight Lange lost. Lange was originally scheduled to fight Anthony Bonsante however, an argument ensued over Bonsante choosing not to do so—possibly seeing Lange as a greater threat.
Lange was voted back to fight in the top "fan favorite" fight at the show's finale where he beat contestant Tarick Salmaci in a majority decision.
Professional career
Lange is currently trained by highly regarded Don Turner who has worked previously with former world champions Evander Holyfield and Larry Holmes, among others. He became the WBE Junior Middleweight title holder after defeating local opponent Perry Ballard in a 4th round TKO in his hometown of Fairfax, VA on September 17, 2005.
Lange fought a rematch with Joey Gilbert on February 18, 2006 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA for the vacant NABO middleweight title. He lost the fight by TKO in the third round.
Lange returned to the Patriot Center on October 7, 2006, to fightTommy Wilt. The former Contender star managed a TKO victory with 15 seconds remaining in the 10th and final round. Lange made his fourth consecutive appearance at the Patriot Center on December 9, 2006, fighting Fontaine Cabell for the WBC Continental Americas Jr. Middleweight title. The 12 round fight ended in a draw.
In early 2007, International Hall of Fame trainer, Angelo Dundee, who has worked with top notch boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman, returned to Northern Virginia to be Chief Second for Jimmy. Lange and Fontaine were scheduled for a rematch on May 12, 2007.
On May 12, 2007, Lange won the hard fought battle with Fontaine Cabell and won the match with an eighth-round TKO and earned the WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight title. A shoulder injury requiring surgery forced Lange to voluntarily relinquish the belt which is now held by Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.
On November 1, 2008 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, in his first fight since the surgery, Jimmy appeared back in top form by winning a unanimous decision over Grover Wiley. In May 2009, he followed that fight up winning the WBC's USNBC belt via fifth-round TKO of Frank Houghtaling.
Lange looked sharp in dismantling his former Contender teammate Jonathan Reid with a ninth round TKO to retain his WBC belt on September 26, 2009 at the Patriot Center. Six months later he returned to the Fairfax venue and lost his belt in a 12-round decision to Chase Shields on March 6, 2010. After the tough defeat, Lange got back on the winning streak with a pair of convincing victories over Jimmy LeBlanc (July 10, 2010, Patriot Center) and Mike McFail (August 20, 2010, Greensboro, NC).
He kept the unbeaten streak going scoring a dramatic 10th round knockout of Joe Wyatt to capture the North American Boxing Association's U.S. 154-pound title on November 6, 2010 at the Patriot Center. Lange returned to the Patriot Center on March 12, 2011 and defeated Jimmy "The Fighting School Teacher" Holmes for his fourth straight win. He earned his 36th win with a unanimous decision over Mike McFail on June 25, 2011 in Virginia Beach.
Headlining his 13th show in front of his hometown fans at the familiar confines of the Patriot Center on September 10, 2011, Jimmy beat Raul Munoz by 6th-round TKO to capture the World Boxing Union (WBU) championship. He successfully defended his WBU title and added the North American Boxing Union (NABU) with a 12-round unanimous shutout decision against Ruben Galvan on February 11, 2012 - his seventh consecutive win and 14th headlining event at the Patriot Center.
Professional boxing record
| 39 Wins (25 knockouts, 13 decisions), 6 Losses, 2 Draws[1] | ||||||
| Result | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Mike Sawyer | TKO | 5 Template:Small |
October 17, 2015 |
Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | |
| Template:No2Loss | Template:Flagicon Tony Jeter | Decision Template:Small | 10 Template:Small | November 15, 2014 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | |
| Template:No2Loss | Template:Flagicon Tony Jeter | Decision Template:Small | 10 Template:Small | October 27, 2012 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Ruben Galvan | Decision Template:Small | 12 Template:Small | 11 February 2012 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | Retains WBU title, adds NABU title |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Raul Munoz | TKO | 6 Template:Small | 10 September 2011 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | Won WBU junior middleweight title |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Mike McFail | Decision Template:Small | 6 Template:Small | 25 June 2011 | Template:Flagicon Virginia Beach, VA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Jimmy Holmes | Decision Template:Small | 10 Template:Small | 12 March 2011 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Joe Wyatt | KO | 10 Template:Small | 6 November 2010 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | Won NABA U.S. super welterweight title |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Mike McFail | Decision Template:Small | 6 Template:Small | 20 August 2010 | Template:Flagicon Greensboro, NC | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Jimmy LeBlanc | KO | 2 Template:Small | 10 July 2010 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | Retained WBC USNBC super welterweight title |
| Template:No2Loss | Template:Flagicon Chase Shields | Decision Template:Small | 10 Template:Small | March 6, 2010 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | Lost WBC USNBC super welterweight title |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Jonathan Reid | RTD | 9 Template:Small | 26 September 2009 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | Retained WBC USNBC super welterweight title |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Frank Houghtaling | RTD | 5 Template:Small | 2 May 2009 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | Won WBC USNBC super welterweight title |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Grover Wiley | Decision Template:Small | 10 Template:Small | 1 November 2008 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Fontaine Cabell | TKO | 8 Template:Small | 12 May 2007 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA. | Won WBC Continental Americas light middleweight title |
| Draw | Template:Flagicon Fontaine Cabell | Draw | 12 Template:Small | 9 December 2006 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Thomas Wilt | TKO | 10 Template:Small, 2:45 | 7 October 2006 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | |
| Template:No2Loss | Template:Flagicon Joey Gilbert | TKO | 3 Template:Small | 18 February 2006 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | For vacant WBO NABO middleweight title |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Perry Ballard | TKO | 4 Template:Small | 17 September 2005 | Template:Flagicon Fairfax, VA | Won WBE light middleweight title |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Tarick Salmaci | Decision Template:Small | 5 Template:Small | 24 May 2005 | Template:Flagicon Las Vegas, NV | |
| Template:No2Loss | Template:Flagicon Joey Gilbert | Decision Template:Small | 5 Template:Small | 7 September 2004 | Template:Flagicon Pasadena, CA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Gabriel Rodriguez | Decision Template:Small | 10 Template:Small | 1 May 2004 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Gabriel Rodriguez | TKO | 7 Template:Small, 2:32 | 28 February 2004 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Joshua Smith | Decision Template:Small | 10 Template:Small | 13 December 2003 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Homer Gibbins | TKO | 3 Template:Small | 16 September 2003 | Template:Flagicon Lake Charles, LA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Chad Greenleaf | Decision Template:Small | 8 Template:Small | 10 May 2003 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Charles Clark | Decision Template:Small | 8 Template:Small | 15 March 2003 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Gerald Reed | Decision Template:Small | 8 Template:Small | 17 January 2002 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Vincent White | TKO | 5 Template:Small, 0:55 | 17 January 2002 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Alex Perez | TKO | 1 Template:Small, 2:59 | 15 November 2001 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Samuel Harvey | TKO | 2 Template:Small, 2:35 | 31 August 2001 | Template:Flagicon Baltimore, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon James Johnson | TKO | 5 Template:Small, 2:40 | 10 May 2001 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Ed Goins | TKO | 2 Template:Small, 1:40 | 16 November 2000 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Kevin Carter | TKO | 3 Template:Small, 1:22 | 21 September 2000 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Donnie Parker | Decision Template:Small | 6 Template:Small | 12 March 2000 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Benji Singleton | Decision Template:Small | 6 Template:Small | 18 November 1999 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Drew Hayes | KO | 5 Template:Small, 2:04 | 30 September 1999 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Dewayne Holland | KO | 1 | 27 August 1999 | Template:Flagicon Annandale, VA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Jason Floss | TKO | 2 | 23 July 1999 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Draw | Template:Flagicon James Johnson | Draw | 4 Template:Small | 13 May 1999 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Andre Gaskins | TKO | 4 Template:Small, 2:58 | 25 March 1999 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Travis Clybourn | KO | 1 | 28 February 1999 | Template:Flagicon Alexandria, VA | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Matt Hill | TKO | 1 Template:Small, 2:41 | 28 January 1999 | Template:Flagicon Glen Burnie, MD | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Anthony Boykin | TKO | 1 | 24 November 1998 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |
| Template:No2Loss | Template:Flagicon Kevin Collins | Decision Template:Small | 4 Template:Small | 27 March 1998 | Template:Flagicon Westbury, NY | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Scott Mitchell | TKO | 1 | 14 March 1998 | Template:Flagicon Lima, OH | |
| Template:Yes2Win | Template:Flagicon Robert Hunt | TKO | 1 Template:Small | 22 February 1998 | Template:Flagicon Washington, DC | |