Marlon Starling
Encyclopedia
Marlon "Magic Man" Starling (born August 29, 1959) was a two-time US world champion boxer.
Starling was born in Hartford, CT in 1959. He turned professional in 1979. After 25 straight wins, he lost his first fight. He lost a 12 round decision to Donald Curry
in 1982. Starling had a rematch with Curry in 1984, challenging for the WBA
and IBF
World Welterweight
Titles. Starling lost by a 15 round decision.
Starling's second world title fight came in 1987. He knocked out Mark Breland
in the 11th round to win the WBA World Welterweight Title. In his third title defense, Starling lost the title in controversial fashion to Tomas Molinares. Molinares hit Starling with a punch that was clearly thrown after the bell. Starling went down for the only time in his career, and the referee counted him out. Molinares was declared the new champion by knock out. However, the decision was later changed to a no contest but the Colombian kept the title.
In 1989, Starling knocked out Lloyd Honeyghan
to win The Ring
/Lineal
and WBC
World Welterweight Championships. The following year, Starling challenged Michael Nunn
for the IBF
World Middleweight Championship, but lost by decision. In his next fight, Starling lost his welterweight titles on a close decision to Maurice Blocker
. That was Starling's last fight. He retired with a record of 45-6-1-1 (27 KOs).
Starling was born in Hartford, CT in 1959. He turned professional in 1979. After 25 straight wins, he lost his first fight. He lost a 12 round decision to Donald Curry
Donald Curry
Donald Curry is a retired boxer from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Nicknamed the "Lone Star Cobra," Curry was the Undisputed World Welterweight Champion and the WBC Super Welterweight Champion.-Amateur career:...
in 1982. Starling had a rematch with Curry in 1984, challenging for the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
and IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
World Welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
Titles. Starling lost by a 15 round decision.
Starling's second world title fight came in 1987. He knocked out Mark Breland
Mark Breland
Mark Anthony Breland is a former world champion boxer, who won five New York Golden Gloves Titles and a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics...
in the 11th round to win the WBA World Welterweight Title. In his third title defense, Starling lost the title in controversial fashion to Tomas Molinares. Molinares hit Starling with a punch that was clearly thrown after the bell. Starling went down for the only time in his career, and the referee counted him out. Molinares was declared the new champion by knock out. However, the decision was later changed to a no contest but the Colombian kept the title.
In 1989, Starling knocked out Lloyd Honeyghan
Lloyd Honeyghan
Lloyd Honeyghan is a retired British boxer. Born in Jamaica, he was WBC/WBA & IBF welterweight champion from 1986 to 1987. and WBC welterweight champion from 1988 to 1989....
to win The Ring
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
/Lineal
Lineal championship
In professional boxing, the lineal championship of a weight class is a notional world championship title. It is initially held at some moment in time by a boxer universally acclaimed as the best in the class. Another boxer can win the lineal championship only by defeating the reigning lineal...
and WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
World Welterweight Championships. The following year, Starling challenged Michael Nunn
Michael Nunn
Michael Nunn is a former American boxer. Nicknamed "Second to Nunn," he was a 6' 2" southpaw with great speed. Nunn was the IBF middleweight champion and the WBA super middleweight champion...
for the IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
World Middleweight Championship, but lost by decision. In his next fight, Starling lost his welterweight titles on a close decision to Maurice Blocker
Maurice Blocker
Maurice Blocker was a professional boxer in the welterweight division.Blocker turned pro in 1982 and lost his first title shot in 1987 to Lloyd Honeyghan. In 1990 he captured the Lineal and WBC Welterweight Titles from Marlon Starling, but lost them in his next fight to Simon Brown...
. That was Starling's last fight. He retired with a record of 45-6-1-1 (27 KOs).