[FIGHT BIO] Vinny Pazienza | The Pazmanian Devil

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Who Is Vinny Paz?

Vinny Pazienza is a former professional boxer. He was born in Cranston, Rhode Island on December 16th, 1962.

People know him for his 5 championship titles, including:

IBF Lightweight Championship
IBO Super Middleweight Championship
WBU Super Middleweight Championship
WBA Jr. Middleweight Championship
IBC Super Middleweight Championship

His passion for boxing started at a young age after watching the movie Rocky, and also being inspired by Muhammad Ali.

Pazienza’s started standing out as a boxer in the 1980’s.

The “Pazmanian Devil” had 120 fights in his amateur career, becoming the National Amateur Championship at the age of 19.

In 1987, Paz had his first world title fight against Greg Haugen. It was a long 15 round fight, but Paz won by a close unanimous decision. He later lost the World title to Greg Haugen in a rematch in 1988.

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From 1988 to 1990 Pazienza fought for titles in the junior welterweight division against WBC World Champion Roger Mayweather, WBO Champion Hector “Macho” Camacho, and WBA Champion Loreto Garza.

Unfortunately, he failed to take the titles.

Pazienza’s new trainer Kevin Rooney advised him to move into the junior middleweight division in 1991.

In his first fight at junior middleweight he beat Ron Amundsen in a 12 round decision taking the USBA Championship.

He then went on to beat Gilbert Delé, a WBA World Junior Middleweight Champion in the 12th round with a TKO.

Pazienza became the second fighter in boxing history to win lightweight and middleweight world championships.

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What Happened To Vinny Paz?

Pazienza suffered a neck injury on November 12th, 1991 after being in a head-on-head car collision in Rhode Island. Dislocating a vertebra and fracturing two vertebrae in his neck. Pazienza made $926,000 after suing the driver responsible for the car accident.

After the accident, Pazienza had to give up his title and call off his fight against Pat Lawlor that was scheduled for January 10th.

Pazienza returned to the ring in December 1992 after being told he would never fight again.

He went on to defeat future WBC World Junior Middleweight Champion Luis Santana in a 10 round decision.

How Much Is Vinny Paz Worth?

Vinny Pazienza has earned a lot of money from boxing and his other business ventures including a lot of acting work, even after leaving the boxing ring. He is still living a good life with an estimated net worth $1.5 million to $2 million as of June 2021.

Pazienza has been in movies as well as tv shows, like Police Academy, The Tonight Show, The Montell Williams Show, The Jerry Springer Show and he’s even refereed in WrestleMania XV.

He was also in a movie called “The Good Life” and there’s even been a movie made about his own life called “Bleed For This.”

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What Is The Movie “Bleed For This” About?

Bleed For This is a movie about Vinny Pazienza, the World Champion Boxer and his incredible comeback in boxing after a car crash left him nearly paralyzed. The movie was written and directed by Ben Younger. It’s known as one of the sport’s most amazing comebacks.

It is an incredible underdog story and an inspiring movie to watch.

The movie was released in 2016 starring Mile Teller as Pazienza and Aaron Eckhart, Katey Sagal, Christine Evangelista, Ted Levine, and Ciaran Hinds.

How Good Was Vinny Paz?

Vinny Pazienza was one of the most exciting boxers to ever fight. An impressive career spanning five world championships, including 50 wins and 10 losses. An impressive 60% (30) of his wins were by KO. What was most impressive was him coming back to boxing after his accident and still beating Luis Santana.

He is a hero to the people of Providence, Rhode Island and was known for his no nonsense approach in the ring.

His dedication and drive is an inspiration to many athletes.

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Vinny Paz Today?

Vinny Pazienza is 58-years old and still living in Rhode Island as of 2021 with his girlfriend, Alexis Kooger.

Paz had previously struggled with a gambling addiction, losing over $6 million.

However, he says he’s stopped hasn’t gambled in over 10 years.

Who Beat Vinny Paz?

Paz only lost 10 of his 50 fights over the period of 21 years in his career of being a professional boxer.

His only losses were to:

Abdelkader Marbi
Greg Haugen
Roger Mayweather
Hector Camacho
Loreto Garza
Roy Jones Jr.
Herol Graham
Dana Rosenblatt
Aaron Davis
Eric Lucas

Let’s look at his most memorable fights in more detail.

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Vinny Paz Vs Roberto Duran 1

Paz and Duran fought on the 25th of January, 1994 in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Middleweight title.

The fight went all of the scheduled 12 rounds.

It started quite evenly with both fighters exchanging punches to the face and body, but Duran’s punches were a bit more powerful.

Paz got knocked down in the 5th round but stood up very quickly and came back aggressively.

Pazienza then took control of the fight handing out heavy blows and dancing around the ring, tiring Duran out.

The fight ended and Paz won by Unanimous Decision and took home the IBO Super Middleweight Title.

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Vinny Paz Vs Roger Mayweather

This battle for the Light Welterweight title took place on November 7th, 1988 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It was a brutal war between these two fighters, both exchanging heavy punches while taunting each other.

The fight was scheduled for 12 rounds and they fought to the end.

Paz was very aggressive and moved a lot in the fight making Mayweather defend most of the rounds.

Mayweather responded back and knocked Paz down in the 11th round with 11-seconds left on the clock, but Paz stood up.

The fight ended after the 12th round and Mayweather won the fight by Unanimous Decision, taking home the WBC Light Welterweight Title.

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Vinny Paz Vs Roy Jones Jr.

Paz fought Jones on the 24th of June, 1995 in Atlantic city, New Jersey with the Middleweight Title on the line.

The fight started quite fast with Jones landing the first few shots making Paz a bit woozy.

Paz was moving a lot in the ring, but Jones having more control over the fight seemed more focused.

Both fighters valiantly threw punches, but Jones outlanded Paz.

Jones knocked Paz down three times in round 6 with amazing combinations, the 3rd knockdown finishing the fight leaving Paz between the ropes.

Jones won the fight by TKO and took the IBF Super Middleweight Title home.

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Vinny Paz Vs Roberto Duran 2

The 2nd war between Paz and Duran took place on the 14th of January, 1995 in Atlantic city, New Jersey.

Vinny came out fast and took big swings at Duran putting him on the back foot immediately.

Paz controlled the fight landing good shots, making Duran defend most of the time.

The fight went on to the scheduled 12 rounds, with Paz winning by Unanimous Decision and retaining the Middleweight Title.

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Vinny Paz Vs Hector Camacho

The two boxers fought on the 3rd of February, 1990 in Atlantic city, New Jersey for the Light-Welterweight Title.

The more relaxed and focused Camacho landed most of the punches in the fight against an obviously frustrated Pazienza.

Paz was moving a lot and throwing wild punches but didn’t manage to land many.

His left eye got cut badly in the 10th round and started swelling quickly.

The fight ended after the 12th round with Camacho winning by Unanimous Decision, staying the Welterweight Champion of the World.

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Vinny Paz Vs Dana Rosenblatt 1

Paz fought Rosenblatt for the first time on the 23rd of August, 1996 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The fight was scheduled for 12 rounds but ended in the 4th round by TKO.

Rosenblatt had control over the first 3 rounds, not letting Paz get close.

Paz was knocked down in the 2nd round, but got up instantly and reacted with a left hook.

He had a swollen eye and bloody nose in round 3, but never backed down.

In round 4, Paz started taking control and knocked Rosenblatt down with a right hook to the chin.

Rosenblatt stood up but wasn’t stable on his feet, the referee allowed him to keep fighting.

Paz came straight back and started pounding on Rosenblatt, the referee had no choice by to jump in and stop the fight.

He won the WBU Super Middleweight Title and left Rosenblatt with his first loss.

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Vinny Pazienza Profile

Born	December 16th, 1967
Nationality	USA
Division	Lightweight Light Middleweight Super Middleweight
Height	5 ft 7 1/2 in (1.71m)
Weight	85kg
Reach	70 1/2 inch (179cm)
Debut	June 7th, 1987

Professional Boxing Career

When	Opponent	Result
May 26th, 1983	Alfredo Rivera	Win (TKO)
June 30th, 1983	Keith McCoy	Win (KO)
July 10th, 1983	Patrick Dangerfield, Jr.	Win (KO)
August 16th, 1983	Eddie Carberry	Win (TKO)
August 31st, 1983	Rafael Alicia	Win (TKO)
September 9th, 1983	Ricardo Moreno	Win (TKO)
September 24th, 1983	Jim Zelinski	Win (TKO)
October 27th, 1983	Robert Stevenson	Win (KO)
December 2nd, 1983	Emilio Diaz	Win (TKO)
December 14th, 1983 February 26th, 1984	Jose Ortiz David Bell	Win (KO) Win (TKO)
April 15th, 1984	Mike Golden	Win (PTS)
April 29th, 1984	Rich McCain	Win (UD)
November 17th, 1984	Bruno Simili	Win (TKO)
December 1st, 1984	Abdelkader Marbi	Loss (TKO)
March 27th, 1985	Antoine Lark	Win (TKO)
September 18th, 1985	Jeff Bumpus	Win (UD)
November 26th, 1985	Melvin Paul	Win (TKO)
February 5th, 1986	Joe Frazier, Jr.	Win (TKO)
May 18th, 1986	Harry Arroyo	Win (UD)
September 18th, 1986	Nelson Bolanos	Win (TKO)
November 8th, 1986 February 8th, 1987	Roger Brown Roberto Elizondo	Win (TKO) Win (TKO)
June 7th, 1987	Greg Haugen	Win (UD)
February 6th, 1988	Greg Haugen	Loss (UD)
June 27th, 1988	Felix Dubray	Win (TKO
October 4th, 1988	Rick Kaiser	Win (TKO)
November 7th, 1988	Roger Mayweather	Loss (UD)
April 14th, 1989	Jake Carollo	Win (TKO)
June 11th, 1989	Vinnie Burgese	Win (TKO)
November 27th, 1989	Eddie VanKirk	Win (TKO)
February 3rd, 1990	Hector Camacho	Loss (UD)
Aug 5, 1990	Greg Haugen	Win (UD)
Dec 1, 1990	Loreto Garza	Loss (DQ)
Jul 2, 1991	Ron Amundsen	Win (UD)
Oct 1, 1991	Gilbert Dele	Win (TKO)
Dec 15, 1992	Luis Santana	Win (UD)
Mar 2, 1993	Brett Lally	Win (RTD)
Jun 26, 1993	Lloyd Honeyghan	Win (TKO)
Oct 26, 1993	Robbie Sims	Win (UD)
Dec 28, 1993	Dan Sherry	Win (KO)
Apr 5, 1994	Jacques LeBlanc	Win (UD)
Jun 25, 1994	Roberto Duran	Win (UD)
Nov 8, 1994	Rafael Williams	Win (UD)
Jan 14, 1995	Roberto Duran	Win (UD)
Jun 24, 1995	Roy Jones Jr.	Loss (TKO)
Aug 23, 1996	Dana Rosenblatt	Win (TKO)
Dec 6, 1997	Herol Graham	Loss (UD)
Jul 26, 1998	Glenwood Brown	Win (MD)
Nov 6, 1998	Arthur Allen	Win (UD)
Jan 8, 1999	Undra White	Win (TKO)
Apr 9, 1999	Joseph Kiwanuka	Win (UD)
Jun 25, 1999	Esteban Cervantes	Win (SD)
Nov 5, 1999	Dana Rosenblatt	Loss (SD)
Feb 9, 2001	Aaron Davis	Loss (TKO)
Jul 27, 2001	Pat Lawlor	Win (KO)
Sep 21, 2001	Tim Shocks	Win (UD)
Dec 7, 2001	Levan Easley	Win (UD)
Mar 1, 2002	Eric	Loss (UD)
Mar 27, 2004	Tocker	Win (UD)