William Torelle Joppy (born September 11, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2011, and held the WBA middleweight title three times between 1996 and 2003.

Professional career Turning pro in 1993, Joppy built up a record of 21–0–1 (17 KO) before getting his first shot a world title.

WBA middleweight champion

Joppy won his first of two WBA middleweight titles in June 1996 by stopping defending champion 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 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 (Green had been the interim champion while Joppy recovered), and made a few more defenses, including a 3rd-round TKO of a 47-year-old Roberto Durán.Duran suffers loss; Hopkins triumphs, Deseret News article, 1998-08-29, Retrieved on 2024-06-02

Losing his title against Trinidad

Joppy lost the title a second time, however, on May 12, 2001, to Félix Trinidad in the middleweight unification tournament. Joppy was knocked down in rounds one and four before finally being stopped in the fifth. He would credit Trinidad's power after the fight saying "I've never been hit like that before."

Post title

After Bernard Hopkins beat Trinidad, Joppy had the chance to fight for the new WBA (Regular) belt. He claimed the title from British contender Howard Eastman in a close majority decision where he was knocked down by Eastman in the final few seconds.

On December 14, 2003, Joppy was stripped of his title following a challenge to undisputed champion Bernard Hopkins, losing by a wide points margin on all three judges' cards. A year later, Joppy lost another lopsided unanimous decision against Jermain Taylor.

Joppy returned as a Super Middleweight on July 29, 2005 knocking out journeyman Rashaan Blackburn in the third round. Joppy said then that he hoped to have one final title run as a Super Middleweight before retirement. After a string of five victories against lesser opponents, Joppy obtained a title fight against the new IBF champion Lucian Bute on February 29, 2008. Bute won by way of technical knockout in round 10 and Joppy retired after the bout, only to come back two years later.

Retirement Following a close decision loss to Sebastien Demers in March 2010 Joppy announced his retirement from boxing, although it was not the first time that Joppy has announced that he is leaving the sport. He returned to the ring later that year, fighting Baltimore native Cory Cummings to a draw, and subsequently defeated Cummings by unanimous decision in a 2011 rematch.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes49WinCory CummingsUD10Mar 12, 201148Loss39–7–2Beibut ShumenovKO6 (12), Jan 8, 201147Draw39–6–2Cory CummingsMD10Nov 6, 201046Loss39–6–1Sébastien DemersMD10Mar 6, 201045Loss39–5–1Lucian ButeTKO10 (12), Feb 29, 200844Win39–4–1Etianne WhitakerTKO1, Nov 16, 200743Win38–4–1Virgil McClendon1 (10), Apr 27, 200742Win37–4–1Jonathan CornKO5 (10), Jul 8, 200641Win36–4–1Eric HowardTKO5 (8), Jan 7, 200640Win35–4–1Rashaan BlackburnTKO3 (8), Jul 29, 200539Loss34–4–1Jermain TaylorUD12Dec 4, 200438Loss34–3–1Bernard HopkinsUD12Dec 13, 200337Win34–2–1Naotaka HozumiTKO10 (12), Oct 10, 200236Win33–2–1Howard Eastman12Nov 17, 200135Loss32–2–1Félix TrinidadTKO5 (12), May 12, 200134Win32–1–1Jonathan ReidTKO4 (12), Dec 2, 200033Win31–1–1Hacine CherifiUD12Sep 16, 200032Win30–1–1Rito RuvalcabaTKO1 (12), May 20, 200031Win29–1–1Fernando ZunigaUD10Mar 3, 200030Win28–1–1Julio César GreenTKO7 (12), Sep 24, 199929Win27–1–1Napoleon PittTKO1 (10), Jul 24, 199928Win26–1–1Roberto DuránTKO3 (12), Aug 28, 199827Win25–1–1Julio César GreenUD12Jan 31, 199826Loss24–1–1Julio César GreenUD12Aug 23, 199725Win24–0–1Peter VenancioUD12May 10, 199724Win23–0–1Ray McElroyTKO7 (12), Oct 19, 199623Win22–0–1Shinji TakeharaTKO9 (12), Jun 24, 199622Win21–0–1Dave BooneTKO2 (10), Feb 10, 199621Win20–0–1Israel FigueroaKO1Dec 7, 199520Draw19–0–1Rodney Toney12Sep 16, 199519Win19–0Joaquin VelasquezPTS10Apr 29, 199518Win18–0Tony McCrimmionKO3 (10), Mar 1, 199517Win17–0Tony CartelKO2Sep 20, 199416Win16–0Richard EvansPTS8Aug 13, 199415Win15–0Miguel Angel HernandezKO3 (6), Jul 30, 199414Win14–0Carlos Christie6Jun 15, 199413Win13–0Carl SullivanTKO4May 13, 199412Win12–0Muhammad ShabazzTKO5Apr 14, 199411Win11–0Kenneth ParkerKO2Apr 8, 199410Win10–0Tony McCrimmionTKO2Feb 27, 19949Win9–0Robert HarrisKO1Feb 17, 19948Win8–0Willie TaylorTKO3Jan 7, 19947Win7–0Tyrone HaywoodKO2Oct 21, 19936Win6–0Ivory TeagueKO2Sep 25, 19935Win5–0George TaylorKO3Aug 13, 19934Win4–0Tim Tisdale1Jun 18, 19933Win3–0Shane MartinTKO3 (4), May 12, 19932Win2–0Ken Ruffin1Apr 30, 19931Win1–0Dwayne Tennet4Feb 26, 1993

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