Remembering Tough Warrior Robbie Epps
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Robbie Epps, 31-4, 12 KO’s was a middleweight contender in the late 70’s-early 80’s. At six-foot-two, the skinny white kid from South Carolina would fight most of his boxing career in the deserts of Arizona and Nevada. Epps, who would utilize his height and long reach to keep most of his opponents off balance, was solid boxer that pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in the middleweight division of that era.
Robbie Epps won his pro debut against Wally Rambeau on June 22, 1977 at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas, Nevada. After reeling off twenty-two straight victories to begin his career, Epps lost to journeyman Henry Walker (only 14 victories in 28 fights) at the Civic Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Epps would rebound by winning his next eight fights, including a split-decision victory over Walker in their rematch. He would defeat a string of journeyman such as Renato Garcia, Lenny Harden, Darryl Penn and James Williams along the way in padding his record, with Ray Phillips being the only legitimate fighter that resembled a young prospect.
The highlight of Robbie Epps’ career came when he pulled off a shocking ten-round unanimous decision victory over number one contender Dwight Davidson (who was undefeated in 28 fights going into match) on April 11, 1981; thus, ruining Davidson’s opportunity for title shot against Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Epps used lateral movement and a solid jab to build an early lead on the scorecards. The six-foot-one Davidson remained content on following his opponent around the ring, never forcing Epps to stand toe-to-toe with him and exchange punches. Even late in the fight, Dwight was unable to land any big shots, even when it appeared that Robbie had started slowing down with his side-to-side movement. Epps simply tied Davidson up every time he tried to get inside with the taller fighter. The judges scored the fight for Epps 96-93 (twice) and 99-90. Epps, dancing around the ring celebrating his points victory afterwards, inadvertently tripped on the bottom ring ropes and fell flat on his face.
Robbie Epps never capitalized on his big upset, but rather continued facing mediocre opposition. In his following fight, Epps squared off against Ted Sanders, who only had eight wins in twenty-four bouts. Robbie was lucky this time to walk away with a split-decision win.
On March 20,1982, Teddy Mann handed Epps only his second professional loss by winning a unanimous decision at the Playboy Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Mann clearly won seven of the ten rounds in the fight; thus, propelling him into title contention instead of Epps. Unfortunately, Mann would himself lose seven of his next eight fights; however, most of his defeats coming at the hands of top young contenders such as James Green, Doug DeWitt, Juan Roldan and Robbie Sims.
In his next fight, Robbie would face rising middleweight prospect Tony Ayala JR., who was undefeated in 20 fights. Enflamed by pre-fight trash talking, Ayala destroyed Epps by first-round knockout on August 1, 1980 at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. Epps, who was returning back to San Antonio where he lived as a teenager when his father was stationed at an Air Force base in Texas, was not intimidated by the young up-and-coming slugger. The two fighters had exchanged some heated words at some of the pre-fight press conferences. The power-punching Ayala attacked Epps at the opening bell, and stunned the taller fighter early with several hard right hands to the head and a volume of tremendous body shots. After trapping the wobbly Epps in the corner, and landing a barrage of punches, the referee intervened and stopped the onslaught. The fight was not without some controversy though, as the bad blood between the two carried on after the bout had been halted. After the referee had waved off the fight, Ayala took a few more swings at his lanky opponent, claiming that he bitterly disliked Epps for the comments that had been spoken towards his father before the fight. Still displaying his toughness, Epps said afterwards that he was not hurt and believed that he could have fought on.
On December 17, Robbie Epps, after suffering back-to-back losses, returned home to South Carolina, where he had been born and raised, to fight for the first time in his career. Epps was able defeat journeyman Joe Gonsalves by technical decision. This would be the last victory that he would enjoy.
Robbie Epps finished his professional career by fighting in front of his home town of Greenville, South Carolina on February 15, 1983. However, Curtis Ramsey would make sure there was no hometown celebration. Despite losing four of his previous five fights, Ramsey would get a stoppage win over Epps.
Robbie Epps never fought for any titles. He racked up a solid professional record, with one major win on his resume. However, Epps was never a top contender in the middleweight division, often fighting a slew of journeymen during his brief career. Nevertheless, number one contender Dwight Davidson will never forget how this tall, lanky kid from South Carolina cost him his one opportunity for a world title.