Calvin Brock

Calvin Vance Brock (born January 22, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2007. He was ranked as the world's No.9 heavyweight by BoxRec at the conclusion of 2005. Calvin Brock was trained by Tom Yankello. In 2006, he won Ring Magazine's Knockout of the Year for his win against Zuri Lawrence and challenged for the IBF and IBO heavyweight titles. Brock was forced to retire after receiving retinal damage in his right eye following his loss to Eddie Chambers. Early life Brock was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina in a middle-class family. He became a fan of boxing as a kid, prompting his father to take him to the gym when he was 10 years old, where he was told to come back when he's 12. Brock returned to that gym five months after turning 12, losing his first six bouts. Brock earned a degree in finance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1999 and took a job as a banker in the Bank of America. He appeared in a Bank of America ad, in which he was referred to as "The Boxing Banker", which ultimately became his nickname. Brock soon left the job in order to concentrate on his boxing career. Amateur career Brock had a notable amateur boxing career. He won the Golden Gloves heavyweight championship in 1998, and the United States national amateur super heavyweight championship in 1999. He qualified at the 2000 Summer Olympics super heavyweight tournament after narrowly beating one-time conqueror T.J.Wilson in the qualification, but lost to Paolo Vidoz in the first round. During the Olympics, he was a teammate of future world champions Jermain Taylor, Jeff Lacy, and Brian Viloria. Brock ended his amateur career with 147–38 record. Professional career Brock made his professional debut on February 11, 2001, knocking out Zibielee Kimbrough in the third round. He built up a 23–0 record with 19 knockouts before stepping up in competition, facing Clifford Etienne. Etienne, once highly regarded prospect, was looking for a way to regain his stock after being knocked out by Mike Tyson and Fres Oquendo. Coming into the bout, Etienne was 5–0–1 in his last six fights. The bout took place in Reliant Center in Houston, Texas, and was aired on ESPN2. Brock knocked down Etienne three times, once in round two and twice in round three, with the referee stopping the fight after the third knockdown, declaring Brock the winner by third-round TKO.