Kennedy McKinney (born January 10, 1966) is an American former professional boxer, who won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he won the IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles.
Military service McKinney took up boxing while serving in the U.S. Army, private first class stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
Amateur career 1985 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Flyweight, was stopped by Arthur Johnson 1986 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Flyweight, losing by decision to Arthur Johnson 1987 3rd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Bantamweight, losing by decision to Michael Collins 1988 2nd place at United States Amateur Championships as a Bantamweight, losing by decision to Jemal Hinton Prior to the 1988 Olympics had several international duals where he fought Alexei Artemiev of the Soviet Union, Rene Breitbarth of East Germany, Aleksandar Hristov of Bulgaria and Byun Jung-il of South Korea, to whom he lost.Boxers Rise From Swamp By Dave Nightingale, St Louis Sporting News, October 10, 1988. 1988 qualified as a Bantamweight for the United States Olympic Team, avenging previous defeats versus Michael Collins, whom he beat three times and Jemal Hinton, all by decision. Won the Bantamweight Olympic gold medal at the Seoul Olympic Games. Results were: Defeated Erick Perez (Guatemala) TKO 1 Defeated Shahuraj Birajdor (India) forfeit Defeated Steve Mwema (Kenya) points Defeated Phajol Moolsan (Thailand) TKO 1 Defeated Aleksandar Hristov (Bulgaria) points McKinney claimed an amateur record of 214 wins, 13 losses.
Professional career Known as "King", McKinney was a cautious yet dynamic junior featherweight (super bantamweight) fighter who captured the IBF title in a bout against Welcome Ncita in 1992. Despite being staggered and taking a standing eight-count, McKinney was able to knock out Ncita in the eleventh round with a right hook.
After five defenses, among others a KO over Rudy Zavala and a points win over Ncita, he lost his belt to future star Vuyani Bungu, a fight which was deemed 1994 Upset of the Year by Ring Magazine.
Two years later he challenged undefeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the WBO super bantamweight title, a vicious battle in which he dropped Barrera in the 11th, but lost via TKO in the 12th. McKinney later took a rematch against Bungu, but lost a narrow split decision. Later that year, he did battle with Junior Jones who had upset Barrera in an exciting war, one which McKinney won via TKO.
McKinney then moved up a weight class to challenge Luisito Espinosa for the WBC featherweight title in 1998. Espinosa made quick work of McKinney, winning via a 2nd-round TKO.
After the loss to Espinosa, McKinney quickly lost steam. He would fight only five more times against scattered and limited opposition, three of which took place during a brief comeback run in 2002–03.
Life after boxing Kennedy now resides in Olive Branch, Mississippi, where he is simply known as "Coach McKinney". He is the Head Boxing Coach at the Prize Fight Gym in Southaven, Mississippi.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes43LossGreg TorresUD6Apr 4, 200342Win36–5–1Joseph FigueroaUD6Jun 7, 200241Win35–5–1Gene VassarUD6Apr 26, 200240Loss34–5–1Jorge Antonio ParedesUD10Nov 19, 199939Win34–4–1Mario DíazUD10Aug 28, 199938Loss33–4–1Luisito EspinosaTKO2 (12), Nov 28, 199837Win33–3–1Junior JonesTKO4 (12), Dec 19, 199736Win32–3–1Luigi CamputaroTKO5 (10), Oct 5, 199735Win31–3–1Hector Acero SánchezUD12May 6, 199734Loss30–3–1Vuyani BunguSD12Apr 5, 199733Win30–2–1Néstor LópezSD10Sep 14, 199632Win29–2–1Johnny LewusUD12May 5, 199631Loss28–2–1Marco Antonio BarreraTKO12 (12), Feb 3, 199630Win28–1–1John LoweyTKO8 (12), Aug 26, 199529Loss27–1–1Vuyani BunguSD12Aug 20, 199428Win27–0–1Welcome NcitaMD12Apr 16, 199427Win26–0–1José RinconesKO5 (12), Feb 19, 199426Win25–0–1Jesus SaludUD12Oct 16, 199325Win24–0–1Rudy ZavalaTKO3 (12), Jul 17, 199324Win23–0–1Richard DuranUD12Apr 17, 199323Win22–0–1Welcome NcitaKO11 (12), Dec 2, 199222Win21–0–1Paul BankeRTD6 (12), Mar 20, 199221Win20–0–1Sugar Baby RojasUD12Feb 9, 199220Win19–0–1Max GomezSD8Dec 7, 199119Win18–0–1Vicente GonzalezUD10Sep 24, 199118Win17–0–1Mauro MontesTKO1 (6), Sep 13, 199117Win15–0–1Jerome CoffeeTKO6 (10), May 23, 199116Win15–0–1Edel GeronimoTKO5 (8), Mar 17, 199115Win14–0–1Richard AbilaKO5 (10), Jan 18, 199114Win13–0–1Adriano ArreolaTKO5 (6), Dec 20, 199013Win12–0–1Gabriel CastroTKO4 (4), Nov 8, 199012Win11–0–1José Luis MartínezUD6Jul 29, 199011Win10–0–1Jorge RodríguezUD8Jun 26, 199010Win9–0–1Antonio GonzálezTKO7 (8), Jun 15, 19909Win8–0–1Chilo GuzmanTKO4 (6), May 29, 19908Win7–0–1Godfrey JohnsonTKO2 (4), May 3, 19907Win6–0–1Reggie JohnsonTKO2 (4)Apr 21, 19906Win5–0–1José Luis MartínezSD4Oct 31, 19895Draw4–0–1David SanchezTD2 (6), Aug 29, 19894Win4–0David MorenoUD6Jun 12, 19893Win3–0Damion SuttonUD4May 2, 19892Win2–0Charles HawkinsTKO1 (4), Mar 25, 19891Win1–0David AlersTKO2 (4), Feb 24, 1989
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