Livingstone Bramble
Encyclopedia
Ras-I Alujah Bramble is a boxer
. However, Bramble was raised on Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
. He became the first world champion from Saint Kitts and Nevis. As of 2005, Bramble is still active in professional boxing. Although his last recorded fight occurred on June 26, 2003, he has never officially announced his retirement, and constantly hints that he wishes to fight on. His current record stands at 40-26-3(25).
in round one. Later, he beat Serrano again, by a six round decision. In his fourth fight, he faced the more experienced, fringe contender Jorge Nina, winning by a disqualification in the second round.
On June 4, 1981, he beat Ken Bogner by a knockout in seven, but later that year, on August 31, he lost for the first time, outpointed over eight rounds by Anthony Fletcher. After that loss, he built a streak of thirteen wins in a row, including wins over former world title challengers James Busceme
and Gaetan Hart
, as well as top ten ranked fighters like Jerome Artis and Rafael Williams.
He was given a shot at a world title when the WBA
pit him and Ray Mancini
for the organization's world Lightweight title on June 1, 1984. Despite the fact Bramble entered the ring sporting a record of 20 wins and only one loss, with thirteen knockouts, Mancini was widely expected to win: He had fought fourteen rounds with Alexis Argüello
before, and he was coming off a successful title defense on January 14 against two time world champion Bobby Chacon
, who had been beaten in three rounds by Mancini. Furthermore, talks about a super-fight between Mancini and IBF
world Jr. Welterweight champion Aaron Pryor
were under way. Nevertheless, Bramble cut Mancini in round one and went on to become the WBA world Lightweight champion by a fourteenth round knockout in Buffalo, New York
. After this, The Ring
published a cover of him, WBA Jr. Lightweight world champion Rocky Lockridge
and their trainer, Lou Duva
. The cover read: The championship season.
After defeating Edwin Curet by a ten round decision in a non-title bout, he and Mancini met again. In what marked the debut of the Compubox
system, he defeated Mancini by an extremely close but unanimous fifteen round decision to retain his world title at Reno, Nevada
, in front of an HBO Boxing
audience, on February 16, 1985.
After that, and more specifically after Héctor Camacho
defeated José Luis Ramírez
to claim the WBC
title on August 10 of that year, there was widespread talks about a series of fights between Bramble, Camacho and IBF world Lightweight champion Jimmy Paul
, to see who would become the unified world champion.
Bramble was not able to fight, however, for exactly one year after defeating Mancini for the second time. On February 16, 1986, he defeated the WBA's number one challenger, Tyrone Crawley
, by a knockout in round thirteen.
Bramble's next defense was supposed to be a preparation fight for him to meet Camacho in his next fight. He and Camacho defended their world title crowns on September 26, in what was nicknamed, as a matter of a fact, The Preamble to Bramble. Once again fighting in front of an HBO Boxing audience, however, he was defeated in what many saw as a surprise by Edwin Rosario
, who knocked him out in two rounds at Miami
.
After this loss, Bramble never regained his status as a top lightweight. He fought on, and met some future or former world champions such as Freddie Pendleton
, Charles Murray
, James "Buddy" McGirt, Roger Mayweather
, Rafael Ruelas
and Kostya Tszyu, as well as world title challengers like Wilfredo Rivera, Oba Carr
and Darryl Tyson
. On most of these fights, he came on the losing end, in fact his record is 16-24-2 as a former champion.
became widespread. He did not deny these rumors. It was said that he would cut off either a dog or rabbit
's ears before fights, for good luck. It was also said that he often cut off bird heads to offer their blood to witch spirits so that he would not shed any blood of his own during the upcoming fights. Bramble did enjoy walking around with a snake
, he used to walk into the boxing ring with one on his neck, and he was pictured, again on the cover of Ring Magazine, with his snake.
During the 1990s Bramble went through several name changes, often fighting under the names of Ras-I-Bramble or Abuja Bramble. This caused some boxing magazines to make mockery of him, including one that said Bramble would soon be known as The boxer formerly known as Livingstone Bramble, in a reference also to the singer, Prince
.
An avid marathon runner, Bramble competes each year at the International Boxing Hall of Fame
's celebrity marathon. He is one of the most sought after autograph
signers there every year.
Bramble currently lives in Saugerties, New York
and is a personal trainer at his own gym in Saugerties.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. However, Bramble was raised on Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Formerly the Danish West Indies, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of...
. He became the first world champion from Saint Kitts and Nevis. As of 2005, Bramble is still active in professional boxing. Although his last recorded fight occurred on June 26, 2003, he has never officially announced his retirement, and constantly hints that he wishes to fight on. His current record stands at 40-26-3(25).
Boxing career
Bramble began boxing professionally on October 16, 1980, knocking out Jesus SerranoJesús Serrano
Jesús Serrano is a Spanish sport shooter who specializes in trap.At the 2008 Olympic Games he finished in joint tenth place in the trap qualification, missing a place among the top six, who progressed to the final round.-References:...
in round one. Later, he beat Serrano again, by a six round decision. In his fourth fight, he faced the more experienced, fringe contender Jorge Nina, winning by a disqualification in the second round.
On June 4, 1981, he beat Ken Bogner by a knockout in seven, but later that year, on August 31, he lost for the first time, outpointed over eight rounds by Anthony Fletcher. After that loss, he built a streak of thirteen wins in a row, including wins over former world title challengers James Busceme
James Busceme
James Busceme is a former American boxer, who is one of the most celebrated American amateur boxers in history.-Amateur career:...
and Gaetan Hart
Gaétan Hart
Gaétan Hart is a former lightweight/welterweight boxer from Canada, who was a three time boxing champion from his country. He lost his only world title fight against Aaron Pryor in 1980...
, as well as top ten ranked fighters like Jerome Artis and Rafael Williams.
He was given a shot at a world title when 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...
pit him and Ray Mancini
Ray Mancini
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini is a retired Italian-American boxer. He held the World Boxing Association lightweight championship from 1982 to 1984. Mancini inherited his distinctive nickname from his father, veteran boxer Lenny "Boom Boom" Mancini, who laid the foundation for his son's career...
for the organization's world Lightweight title on June 1, 1984. Despite the fact Bramble entered the ring sporting a record of 20 wins and only one loss, with thirteen knockouts, Mancini was widely expected to win: He had fought fourteen rounds with Alexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello , also known by the stage name El Flaco Explosivo , was a Nicaraguan professional boxer and politician...
before, and he was coming off a successful title defense on January 14 against two time world champion Bobby Chacon
Bobby Chacon
Bobby Chacon is an American former, two-time, world boxing champion.-Career:Chacon turned professional in 1972 and won his first 19 fights, including a win against former champion Jesus Castillo...
, who had been beaten in three rounds by Mancini. Furthermore, talks about a super-fight between Mancini 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 Jr. Welterweight champion Aaron Pryor
Aaron Pryor
Aaron Pryor is a former boxer from Cincinnati, Ohio, and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is the former world Junior Welterweight champion, and regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the history of the weight class.-Amateur career:Pryor, nicknamed The Hawk, had a record of...
were under way. Nevertheless, Bramble cut Mancini in round one and went on to become the WBA world Lightweight champion by a fourteenth round knockout in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. After this, 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...
published a cover of him, WBA Jr. Lightweight world champion Rocky Lockridge
Rocky Lockridge
Rocky Lockridge , is a former boxer and world champion. As a professional, he is perhaps best known for handing Roger Mayweather his first defeat, in a first-round knockout for the WBA super featherweight championship.-Amateur career:...
and their trainer, Lou Duva
Lou Duva
Louis "Lou" Duva is a boxing trainer and manager who has handled some of the most famous boxers in the world including 19 World Champions. The Duva family have promoted boxing events in over 20 countries on six continents...
. The cover read: The championship season.
After defeating Edwin Curet by a ten round decision in a non-title bout, he and Mancini met again. In what marked the debut of the Compubox
Compubox
CompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches across the world.The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in 1984-85 when Gibbs worked with Logan Hobson and Robert Canobbio at...
system, he defeated Mancini by an extremely close but unanimous fifteen round decision to retain his world title at Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, in front of an HBO Boxing
HBO Boxing
HBO World Championship Boxing is a sports television series, premiering in January 1973 that has shown a number of significant boxing events in the last three decades....
audience, on February 16, 1985.
After that, and more specifically after Héctor Camacho
Héctor Camacho
Héctor Camacho , nicknamed "Macho Camacho", is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. His son, Héctor Camacho Jr., is also a boxer.- Early life and amateur career :...
defeated José Luis Ramírez
José Luis Ramírez
José Luis Ramírez is a retired Mexican boxer. He was a two-time World Lightweight Champion.-Career:A native of Huatabampo, Sonora and a resident of Culiacán, Ramírez made his professional debut on March 25, 1973 at the age of 15. He climbed slowly but steadily on boxing's rankings...
to claim the 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...
title on August 10 of that year, there was widespread talks about a series of fights between Bramble, Camacho and IBF world Lightweight champion Jimmy Paul
Jimmy Paul
Jimmy Paul was an American boxer in the lightweight division. On April 6, 1985 he beat Harry Arroyo to become the IBF Lightweight Champion. Paul successfully defended the title four times. On December 6, 1986 Paul lost the title to Greg Haugen. Paul retired in 1999 with a professional record of...
, to see who would become the unified world champion.
Bramble was not able to fight, however, for exactly one year after defeating Mancini for the second time. On February 16, 1986, he defeated the WBA's number one challenger, Tyrone Crawley
Tyrone Crawley
Tyrone Crawley is a former professional boxer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.During his professional boxing career he was known for his hand and foot speed, and the ability to switch effortlessly from the orthodox stance to the southpaw stance...
, by a knockout in round thirteen.
Bramble's next defense was supposed to be a preparation fight for him to meet Camacho in his next fight. He and Camacho defended their world title crowns on September 26, in what was nicknamed, as a matter of a fact, The Preamble to Bramble. Once again fighting in front of an HBO Boxing audience, however, he was defeated in what many saw as a surprise by Edwin Rosario
Edwin Rosario
Edwin "El Chapo" Rosario was a Puerto Rican boxer. He was the WBC world lightweight champion from 1983–84 and the WBA world champion in 1986–87 and again in 1989–90...
, who knocked him out in two rounds at Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
After this loss, Bramble never regained his status as a top lightweight. He fought on, and met some future or former world champions such as Freddie Pendleton
Freddie Pendleton
Freddie Pendleton is a retired professional boxer in the lightweight division.Known as "Fearless", Pendleton had a 1-5 amateur career & turned pro in 1982 losing to Rodney Watts at the Tropicana Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.Pendleton won his first title in October 1985 knocking out...
, Charles Murray
Charles Murray (boxer)
Charles Murray was an American boxer at light welterweight.- Professional career :Known as "The Natural," Murray turned pro in 1989 and won the vacant IBF light welterweight title with a decision win over Rodney Moore in 1993. He defended the title twice before losing it in 1994 to Jake Rodriguez...
, James "Buddy" McGirt, Roger Mayweather
Roger Mayweather
Roger Mayweather is a retired professional boxer. He won two major world titles in two different weight classes. Throughout his career, Mayweather fought against many other boxing champions of the 1980s and 1990s. He is a part of the Mayweather boxing family; his brothers are former welterweight...
, Rafael Ruelas
Rafael Ruelas
Rafael Ruelas is a former professional boxer. Ruelas was a very popular Mexican fighter, best known for his devastating knockout loss to Oscar De La Hoya; a loss which left Oscar somewhat scorned by the Mexican community due to his ruthless destruction of a hero.Shortly after a TKO in 10 over the...
and Kostya Tszyu, as well as world title challengers like Wilfredo Rivera, Oba Carr
Oba Carr
Oba Diallo Carr is a former American boxer in the welterweight division.-WBC Welterweight Championship:On May 22, 1999 Carr lost to the Mexican American Superstar Oscar De La Hoya by T.K.O....
and Darryl Tyson
Darryl Tyson
Darryl Tyson is a former American professional boxer. He is a former WBC Continental Americas lightweight champion and former USBA and NABF champion in the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions.-Professional career:...
. On most of these fights, he came on the losing end, in fact his record is 16-24-2 as a former champion.
Personal
When Bramble became a world champion, rumors of him practicing witchcraftWitchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
became widespread. He did not deny these rumors. It was said that he would cut off either a dog or rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
's ears before fights, for good luck. It was also said that he often cut off bird heads to offer their blood to witch spirits so that he would not shed any blood of his own during the upcoming fights. Bramble did enjoy walking around with a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
, he used to walk into the boxing ring with one on his neck, and he was pictured, again on the cover of Ring Magazine, with his snake.
During the 1990s Bramble went through several name changes, often fighting under the names of Ras-I-Bramble or Abuja Bramble. This caused some boxing magazines to make mockery of him, including one that said Bramble would soon be known as The boxer formerly known as Livingstone Bramble, in a reference also to the singer, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
.
An avid marathon runner, Bramble competes each year at the International Boxing Hall of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
's celebrity marathon. He is one of the most sought after autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
signers there every year.
Bramble currently lives in Saugerties, New York
Saugerties, New York
Saugerties, New York derives its name from Holland Dutch, Zager's Killetje. Zager , and Kill meaning creek or stream, with the suffix "t j e" to indicate small or little. The sawmill was on the Esopus Creek...
and is a personal trainer at his own gym in Saugerties.