Buster Drayton (born March 2, 1952) is an American former boxer….who won the IBF world title at junior middleweight (154lb)….after Drayton had turned pro in 1978….he won the vacant IBF title with a decision win over Carlos Santos in 1986….after which he defended the belt twice before losing it to Matthew Hilton the following year. In 1988 he took on WBA junior middleweight titleholder Julian Jackson….but was defeated via TKO in the 3rd round.
The South Philadelphia fighter’s final professional record was 40 wins with 28 KO’s and 15 losses with 1 draw. In terms of longevity in the ring, Drayton was 9 years younger in 2012 than The Galveston Giant, legendary former World Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, who last appeared in a charity exhibition for U.S. War Bonds at age 66 in 1945. Also, former Junior Welterweight champion Saoul Mamby fought a professional bout at age 60 in 2008, but lost his comeback attempt by ten round decision.
Davey Moore (9 June 1959 – 3 June 1988) was an American world junior middleweight champion boxer….and the 2nd of two professional champions who shared the name in the second half of the 20th century….whereby each died around the age of thirty….the first Davey Moore (born 1933) as a result of punishment in a fight….and the 2nd Davey Moore as seen in this video herewith…in an accident at his home….while the latter was born in New York during the championship reign of the first.
As a boxer, he rose quickly through the junior middleweight ranks….perhaps too quickly, according to some boxing writers and critics….with one of Moore’s early wins being in June 1981 over Kevin Rooney…. who would later train Mike Tyson. Moore entered the fight with a 6-0 record….while Rooney was 15-0….as Moore won by a TKO in the 7th round of an eight round fight. After winning eight professional fights…with five by knockout, the WBA named him their # 10 challenger…. and in February 1982, he traveled to Japan, where he knocked out defending champion Tadashi Mihara in six….and winning the WBA world junior middleweight title.
In April 1982 he defended his world title against Charlie Weir in Johannesburg, South Africa….while taking five rounds to knock him out….then in July 1982, he fought former world champion Ayub Kalule….whom he stopped in ten. Moore started 1983 by beating challenger Gary Guiden by knockout in four….when he had been scheduled to fight Tony Ayala Jr….. but Ayala was convicted of burglary and rape and sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Next, Moore defended against former two-division world champion Roberto Durán….when Moore appeared to be overconfident against an aging ‘Hands of Stone’ Duran….but Duran totally outclassed him and dished out vicious punishment….while hammering shut one of Moore’s eyes….and stopping him in eight brutal rounds at Madison Square Garden. The beating was so one-sided that Moore’s mother and girlfriend were both said to have fainted at ringside. Many knowledgeable observers believed that referee Ernesto Magana should have stopped the fight far earlier. This was proven to be correct by the fact that Moore was never the same fighter after this contest.
Moore won his next two fights, the second in Monte Carlo over Wilfred Benítez….but then he was disqualified in the 9th round against Louis Acaries in Paris. In 1985, he won one more fight and was in line to challenge Carlos Santos for the IBF World Junior Middleweight title….but that fight did not materialize….however, he eventually did get to challenge for the IBF title against Buster Drayton in August 1986….of which this NBC Sports preview is all about.
Davey Moore would eventually lose to Buster Drayton by TKO in the 10th….and only fought 5 more times, winning 3 and losing 2.
