David Jaco pugile

David Lee Jaco (born January 24, 1954) is a retired heavyweight boxer. He spent his career as a journeyman, fighting boxers to build up their career records. He retired in 1994 with 24 wins (19 by knockout), 25 losses (18 by knockout), and 1 draw. Although he lost bouts to Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Tommy Morrison, Carl Williams, Tony Tucker, Buster Douglas, Mike Weaver and Oliver McCall, he won bouts against the undefeated Donovan Ruddock, Rick "King Kong" Keller, and many more. Jaco was once profiled on ABC's Prime Time Live as a "Palooka", or someone who never refused a fight for the money. Jaco later said, "I was a palooka, one of those guys who basically goes in there looking for a big payday. I made thousands when I fought, but I didn't consider myself a palooka. I was a decent fighter."After winning a local amateur Toughman competition, Jaco trained for a year to turn pro. His first fight was on January 6, 1981, and he defeated Vic Wallace by knockout in four rounds. He went on to win his next eleven fights before a 1983 first-round knockout defeat at the hands of future title contender Carl "The Truth" Williams.Jaco continued to fight journeymen like himself for the next several months and won five more fights before his next defeat, a unanimous decision against Carlos Hernandez. Jaco was dominated in that fight, losing all ten rounds on one judge's scorecard, eight on a second, and seven on a third.Jaco's first high-profile victory came against a young Canadian fighter and future title contender Donovan Ruddock, whom he beat on April 30, 1985 under controversial circumstances when Ruddock's corner threw in the towel in the eighth round. According to the media, Ruddock later was found to have a respiratory illness that almost ended his career, which may have contributed to breathing problems that caused his corner to stop the fight. Regardless, Jaco won the fight and gained more publicity to further promote himself to fight big time opponents.The victory over Ruddock was the last Jaco would see until 1988 as he was beaten in his next nine fights, seven times by knockout. Among the fighters he took on were contender José Ribalta, future titleholders Tony Tucker, Buster Douglas, and Mike Tyson, and former champion Mike Weaver.