Joe Hipp

Joe "The Boss" Hipp (born December 7, 1962) is a retired professional Native American heavyweight boxer. He, a member of Blackfeet Tribe became the first Native American to challenge for the world heavyweight championship of boxing on August 19, 1995 when he fought WBA champion Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. On May 2009, he was inducted into American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Hipp began his professional career with a 4-round decision victory over Steve Cortez at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon on August 29, 1987. For his second fight 2 months later, Hipp travelled to Carson City, Nevada to face Utah native Veti Katoa. The fight was stopped by the ringside doctor after Hipp suffered a broken jaw in the third round.

Hipp rebounded successfully from the defeat by notching up 3 consecutive first-round knockout victories before facing Katoa in a rematch at Gardnerville Park in Gardnerville, Nevada on July 2, 1988. Hipp dominated the action on the inside with his hard hitting, banging style to take a 5-round unanimous decision.

Hipp then took a year-long hiatus from boxing before returning to face Andrew Matthews on the 4th of July of the following year. Outweighing his opponent by over 30 pounds, Hipp punched his way to secure a first round stoppage of his foe. Exactly two weeks later, Hipp scored a unanimous four round decision over up-and-coming contender Cleveland Woods in what Ring Magazine referred to as "...the upset of the night" on the card for that evening.

Hipp began another winning streak (including a brutal third-round knockout of Katoa in their third and final meeting) before facing Bert Cooper in the bout Cooper fought in before facing Evander Holyfield for the world title one month later. Cooper matched Hipp's penchant for slugging with a flurry of punches of his own en route to a fifth round stoppage by referee Joe Cortez and a victory before his fight with Holyfield.

Hipp again rebounded by winning 3 consecutive contests before facing Tommy Morrison on June 27, 1992 in Reno, Nevada. In a slugfest that saw Morrison break his jaw and both of his hands, Hipp lost via 9th round stoppage after he, in turn, suffered a complete shattering of his cheekbones. Afterwards, Hipp fought once in 1993 scoring a ten-round decision victory over Kevin Ford, in a rematch with the fringe contender he'd scored a decision over just two fights prior to the Morrison fight.

Hipp came back in 1994 with a set of victories that saw him earn and defend the NABF heavyweight title. He began the following year by continuing his winning ways over Phillip Brown, a journeyman fighter who quickly retired after Hipp easily punched his way to a third round stoppage victory over him. This would lead to Hipp's most important fight, the fight that would land him in the history books as the first Native American to challenge for the Heavyweight Championship of the World.

First Native American Heavyweight Championship

On August 19, 1995 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on the undercard to the infamous Mike Tyson v. Peter McNeeley fight (Tyson's first fight after being released from prison for rape), Hipp squared off against Bruce Seldon for the WBA Heavyweight championship. The fight was stopped in the tenth round of the contest by referee Richard Steele after Hipp experienced massive swelling and bleeding on his face. In 1999 he became the first Native American Heavyweight boxing champion by winning the WBF heavyweight championship.^[1]

Career Decline

Hipp's career was rather undistinguished afterwards. He fired off a series of victories over third rate competition before being knocked out by hard hitting journeyman Ross Puritty on June 15, 1997. Hipp had secured a comfortable lead on the scorecards before Puritty came out swinging for the tenth and final round of their bout. An exhausted Hipp was no match for the desperate Puritty as he suffered his first defeat by a clean knockout (as opposed to referee stoppage). He racked up three consecutive victories after the Puritty fight but then blew out his knee against Jeff Pegues on December 9, 1999. He attempted a comeback four years later, but that proved ill-fated two fights into it as he dropped a six-round decision to journeyman Billy Zumbrun on November 14, 2003.

Hipp, referred to as "The Boss" by his loyal fans, returned from another extended hiatus on August 13, 2005, to win a six-round decision over Ted Reiter. He has not fought since.

Professional boxing record

43 Wins (29 knockouts, 14 decisions), 7 Losses (6 knockouts, 1 decision)[2]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	43-7	Ted Reiter	MD	6	13/08/2005	Lewiston, Idaho, United States	57-56, 57-56, 58-58.
Loss	42-7	Billy "The Kid" Zumbrun	MD	6	14/11/2003	Seattle, Washington, United States	56-58, 56-58, 57-57.
Win	42-6	Chris Brown	KO	2	22/08/2003	Spokane, Washington, United States	Brown knocked out at 2:37 of the second round.
Loss	41-6	Jeff Pegues	TKO	5	09/12/1999	Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States	Hipp suffered a severe knee injury during the fight causing a stoppage.
Win	41-5	Everett Martin	UD	12	25/06/1999	Saint Charles, Missouri, United States	WBF World Heavyweight Title.
Win	40-5	Jack Basting	UD	10	27/03/1998	Tacoma, Washington, United States
Win	39-5	George McFall	TKO	2	11/02/1998	Yakima, Washington, United States
Loss	38-5	Ross "The Boss" Puritty	KO	10	15/06/1997	Biloxi, Mississippi, United States
Win	38-4	Marcus "Big Tuna" Rhode	TKO	1	29/03/1997	Bellevue, Washington, United States
Win	37-4	Lorenzo Boyd	KO	1	10/03/1997	Kansas City, Missouri, United States	Boyd knocked out at 2:45 of the first round.
Win	36-4	Will "Hammer" Hinton	TKO	1	13/12/1996	Tacoma, Washington, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:30 of the first round.
Win	35-4	Troy Roberts	KO	2	05/10/1996	Yakima, Washington, United States
Win	34-4	Fred Houpe	TKO	1	23/09/1996	Bellevue, Washington, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:55 of the first round.
Win	33-4	Bill Corrigan	KO	1	04/08/1996	Sequim, Washington, United States	Corrigan knocked out at 1:39 of the first round.
Win	32-4	Anthony "A.J." Moore	TKO	5	17/07/1996	Worley, Idaho, United States	Western States Heavyweight Title.
Win	31-4	Martin Jacques	TKO	1	15/12/1995	Yakima, Washington, United States
Loss	30-4	Bruce "The Atlantic City Express" Seldon	TKO	10	19/08/1995	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBA World Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:47 of the tenth round.
Win	30-3	Philipp Brown	TKO	3	17/04/1995	Moline, Illinois, United States
Win	29-3	Rodolfo Marin	SD	10	01/11/1994	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	98-92, 96-94, 94-96.
Win	28-3	Jose "El Nino" Ribalta	KO	2	10/05/1994	Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States	NABF Heavyweight Title. Ribalta knocked out at 1:53 of the second round.
Win	27-3	Alex Garcia	UD	12	01/03/1994	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	NABF Heavyweight Title. 118-110, 120-108, 119-109.
Win	26-3	Keith "Sir Jabalot" McMurray	KO	4	14/01/1994	Saint George, Utah, United States	McMurray knocked out at 2:52 of the fourth round.
Win	25-3	Kevin Ford	UD	10	03/04/1993	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	99-91, 99-92, 98-93.
Loss	24-3	Tommy "The Duke" Morrison	TKO	9	27/06/1992	Reno, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:47 of the ninth round. Hipp suffered a broken cheekbone and Morrison suffered a broken hand and jaw.
Win	24-2	Jesse Shelby	UD	10	28/02/1992	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	99-90, 97-93, 98-92.
Win	23-2	Kevin Ford	UD	8	01/02/1992	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	80-72, 79-72, 80-71.
Win	22-2	John "Big Red" Morton	KO	3	05/01/1992	Reno, Nevada, United States	Morton knocked out at 3:00 of the third round.
Loss	21-2	"Smokin" Bert Cooper	TKO	5	18/10/1991	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:01 of the fifth round.
Win	21-1	Cleveland Woods	KO	1	15/07/1991	Irvine, California, United States	Woods knocked out at 0:27 of the first round.
Win	20-1	Bill Duncan	KO	1	02/07/1991	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	19-1	David "Hand Grenade" Bey	TKO	7	26/02/1991	Birmingham, Alabama, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:07 of the seventh round.
Win	18-1	Mike Cohen	KO	4	14/01/1991	Fife, Washington, United States	World Boxing Foundation (WBFo) Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Cohen knocked out at 2:30 of the fourth round.
Win	17-1	Richard Cade	KO	2	16/11/1990	Fort Lewis, Washington, United States	Cade knocked out at 0:52 of the second round.
Win	16-1	Harry Terrell	KO	2	11/09/1990	Fife, Washington, United States	Terrell knocked out at 2:14 of the second round.
Win	15-1	Gerardo "Rocky" Valero	KO	1	26/07/1990	Yakima, Washington, United States	Valero knocked out at 3:04 of the first round.
Win	14-1	Tracy Thomas	UD	10	12/06/1990	Yakima, Washington, United States	100-88, 100-87, 99-89.
Win	13-1	Danny Wofford	PTS	6	24/04/1990	Reseda, California, United States
Win	12-1	Veti Katoa	KO	3	16/03/1990	Butte, Montana, United States
Win	11-1	Dan "The Boss" Ross	KO	1	12/02/1990	Butte, Montana, United States	Ross knocked out at 2:09 of the first round.
Win	10-1	Marvin Camel	TKO	6	02/12/1989	Lacey, Washington, United States
Win	9-1	"Irish" Sean McClain	TKO	4	26/09/1989	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	8-1	Shaun Ayers	UD	10	26/08/1989	Eugene, Oregon, United States	96-94, 98-93, 96-95.
Win	7-1	Cleveland Woods	UD	4	18/07/1989	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	6-1	Andrew Matthews	TKO	1	04/07/1989	Gardnerville, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:34 of the first round.
Win	5-1	Veti Kotoa	UD	5	02/07/1988	Gardnerville, Nevada, United States
Win	4-1	Steve Cortez	TKO	1	18/06/1988	Vancouver, Washington, United States
Win	3-1	Paul Bradshaw	TKO	1	04/06/1988	Albany, Oregon, United States
Win	2-1	John Elkins	TKO	1	02/06/1988	Portland, Oregon, United States
Loss	1-1	Veti Katoa	TKO	3	24/10/1987	Carson City, Nevada, United States	Doctor stopped the bout due to a broken jaw.
Win	1-0	Steve Cortez	UD	4	29/08/1987	Eugene, Oregon, United States

Outside the Ring

In 2004, Rocky Mountain Community College and the Billings Writer's Voice sponsored a poetry reading held by various Native American groups in tribute to him.

In December 2005, Hipp was a FEMA worker for the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Responding to the call, he joined his fellow Blackfeet members who were called upon due to their experience in wildfires and search and rescue missions.

By 2007 Hipp was working for his former manager Ray Frye at a Seattle area sweeping company. He also co-owned a small construction company.

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Joe Hipp from BoxRec