William Joppy

Who is William Joppy?

William Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on three occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown. However, on August 23, 1997, Joppy lost a controversial decision to Julio César Green. Joppy's very next fight, on January 31 of the next year, saw him avenge that loss with a decision win by a wide margin. This fight won Joppy the WBA title for the second time. After recovering from a neck injury, Joppy stopped Green on cuts in the seventh round in a rubber match, and made a few more defenses, including a 3rd round TKO of a 47-year old Roberto Durán.