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CONTENDER, GATEKEEPER,
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The sport of boxing has long resonated with fans because of
the culture and accessibility it provides. Ask any follower
of the sweet science about their favorite fighters and they
will rattle off names ranging from world champions to
neighborhood club fighters. These lists are usually
accompanied by stories of chance meetings, autographs, or
hours spent around the gyms and arenas where fighters honed
their craft.
Having covered and written about numerous sports during my
career, I can safely state that boxing is the undisputed
champion when it comes to world-class athletes making time
for members of the media and fans. I have lost count of the
number of top prizefighters who have given me their time for
interviews, often with little to no hesitation.
I first met Curtis Parker on a cold Philadelphia winter day
in 2017. We had both just attended a meeting of the Veteran
Boxers Association Ring One, when Curtis agreed to sit down
for a podcast interview with me. The aging former world
title contender eyed me cautiously after our mutual friend
John DiSanto introduced us. Despite being nearly three
decades removed from his last fight, a 1988 knockout loss to
Michael Nunn, Parker still looked like he could go a few
hard rounds.
At first, he questioned me about the podcast and what we
would discuss. I reassured him it would last no more than 30
minutes. In the end, we spoke for nearly three hours. He
proved to be warm, generous, and what my family would call a
man with “the gift of gab.” We talked about life, his
career, and of course, the infamous “robbery” that was his
1981 majority decision loss to Mustafa Hamsho in Atlantic
City.
Curtis has always been generous with his time, and in later
years greeted me with a strong handshake or embrace at
various gatherings of the Philly boxing community. Elements
of Parker's career, including the 1981 Hamsho “robbery,”
were well-documented in John DiSanto and my 2021 book,
Boxing in Atlantic City. However, there is so much more
to the story of one of Philadelphia’s premier middleweight
contender's experiences in the seaside resort town.
Atlantic City Beginnings
Curtis made his Atlantic City debut on March 9, 1980 against
journeyman David Love at Resorts International. In a
middleweight contest for the vacant USBA Middleweight title,
Parker cruised to a ninth round TKO victory over the San
Diego-native.
Just two months later, he defended the title against Mike
Colbert, a veteran fighter from Portland, Oregon. Colbert
had previously shared the ring with tough opponents such as
Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Seales, and Thomas Hearns. Coming
off a ten-round unanimous decision defeat to Hearns, he went
the distance with Parker, ultimately falling on the judges'
scorecards. Hall of Fame referee Larry Hazzard raised
Curtis’ hand in victory and presented him with the IBF USBA
middleweight title.
Parker vs. Hamsho I
With split decision victories over Parker and later Alan
Minter, Hamsho was propelled into a world title fight
against defending undisputed champion Marvin Hagler. The
Hall of Famer, making his third title defense, dominated his
brawler opponent through 10 rounds before stopping him at
2:09 of the 11th round.
One of the gutsiest fighters to come out of the City of
Brotherly Love, back-to-back defeats were not enough to keep
Parker down. He returned to AC for two more fights, both of
which he won by technical knockout: a seventh round TKO
victory on September 26th against Lancelot Innis at the
Golden Nugget, and a fifth round knockout win at the Playboy
against Jerry Holly on December 5th.
Parker vs. Hamsho II
In another hard-fought, close battle, Hamsho again defeated
Parker in a controversial manner. This majority decision
victory didn’t just squash Parker’s hopes for a shot at
middleweight king Hagler; it also relegated the Philly
pugilist to the role of club fighter and gatekeeper for the
remainder of his career. For Curtis, it also solidified a
completely justified and lifelong bitterness towards
Hamsho.
Post-Hamsho
On March 14, 1983, at a Peltz show from Resorts
International, Parker clashed with Camden, New Jersey’s Tony
Braxton. The younger brother of world champion Dwight
Muhammad Qawi (Dwight Braxton), Tony fell to Parker via a
10-round majority decision. This loss proved to be the final
fight of Braxton’s 15-bout professional career.
Curtis returned to the ring two months later to fight Kenny
Bristol. A transplant to Brooklyn from Guyana, Bristol had
strung together 15 victories in New York and overseas. A
former Commonwealth Boxing Council super welterweight
champion, he fell victim to a Curtis Parker fourth round TKO
on May 9, 1983 at the Claridge. Bristol fought once more
against Parker’s fellow Philadelphian James Shuler, losing
by unanimous decision in his career finale at Resorts
International.
The Gatekeeper's AC Fights
Parker was next paired up with Alex Ramos, an orthodox
action fighter known as “The Bronx Bomber.” The first
fighter managed by Hall of Famer Shelly Finkel, Ramos met
Parker in the ring at Harrah's Marina in Atlantic City on
April 25, 1984. The two combatants fought for the IBF USBA
middleweight championship, a regional title Curtis held
earlier in his career. Parker was defeated by unanimous
decision in the 12-round affair, with the ringside judges'
scorecards reading 117-112, 116-113, and 116-112 in favor of
the New Yorker.
Curtis remained a dangerous test for rising fighters. After
heading out west to defeat Billy Robertson via 10-round
unanimous decision at the Forum in Inglewood, Curtis was
paired up against fellow Philly middleweight, Frank “The
Animal” Fletcher, for a February 4, 1985 bout. Fletcher was
a brawler who amassed a large hometown fan base for
slugfests in the ring. In what ended up being “The Animal's”
final fight, Parker beat his opponent's face into a bloody
mess. The ringside doctor stepped in and stopped the fight
after round two. The Peltz-promoted fight at the Sands drew
a sizable crowd of fans from South Jersey and Eastern
Pennsylvania, as the card also featured Coatesville,
Pennsylvania's Calvin Grove and Glassboro, New Jersey’s Tony
Thornton (“The Punching Postman”).
Ricky Stackhouse was an Atlanta middleweight whose career
spanned from 1983 to 1996, compiling a respectable record of
24-17-1. Remembered best for going the distance with Roberto
Duran in 1988, Stackhouse met Parker three years earlier at
the Sands. In a 10-round fight, Stackhouse lost by majority
decision.
Versus Rising Prospects in Atlantic City
Curtis continued to face some of the best young prospects in
the division in 1986. Frank Tate, a 1984 Olympic gold
medalist in the light middleweight division, won a clear
unanimous decision victory over Parker at Trump Plaza. After
winning six more contests, Tate became a world champion
after he defeated Olajide for the vacant IBF middleweight
title.
Philip Morefield was 17-0-1 when he stepped into the
Harrah's Marina ring against Curtis on December 9, 1987. An
unintentional headbutt in the fifth round opened a cut on
Morefield that prevented the fighter from continuing. As a
result, the fight went to the judges' scorecards. Parker
ahead on the cards, won by technical decision. Morefield's
career went downhill after this loss, racking up seven
defeats in his next 10 professional bouts.
Retirement
I never had the opportunity to see Curtis fight live; I was
pushing three and a half when he retired. Nevertheless, he
stands as one of my boxing heroes. A quality fighter in the
ring, he is an even better guy outside of it. For many
fighters, the end of a career brings pitfalls and hardship.
For Curtis, it meant a new career in hospital maintenance to
support his growing family.
News of his declining health has saddened the boxing
community, but his upcoming induction into the Atlantic City
Boxing Hall of Fame, Class of 2025, is a fitting tribute to
his career.
A prizefighter's career, albeit short and painful, is full
of glory. More so than any other professional athletes,
boxers typically lose the entourage and fairweather friends
when the lights of the ring fade. If you're anything like
Curtis Parker, that is simply not the case because you
picked up a few friends on the journey—unless, of course,
your name is Mustafa Hamsho.
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