Heavyweight Boxer Jeff Sims Remembered: Power Puncher Faced Earnie Shavers, Tyrell Biggs, Jimmy Young and James “Bonecrusher” Smith

By Ian “The Boxing Historian” Murphy

Boxing history is replete with stories of men who came close to greatness, but for one reason or another, just missed the golden ring. One thinks of storied fighters who had good matches with the best of their eras like slick as a whistle 1980s Heavyweight contender James “Quick” Tillis or 1990s slugger Bert Cooper, or even 1970s powerhouse Middleweight contender Bennie Briscoe. Boxing fans today tend to remember Briscoe, Cooper, and Tillis for their competitive spirit, heart, and bravery, but there are other fighters of that ilk that do not get the same recognition or respect. A perfect example is the talented, yet tragic Heavyweight contender Jeff Sims.

Sims was born into poverty in rural Florida in 1954. As a young man (like many boxers) he got in trouble with the law and was sent to prison, where he took up boxing and reportedly racked up a 21-0 record with 21 first round knockouts. Upon his release, he moved to Miami and began his professional career. Even though he didn’t have a lot of experience, Sims was talented enough to become a sparring partner for both Muhammad Ali and Gerry Cooney and by the summer of 1981, he was a top-ten contender in the Heavyweight Division.

Jeff had incredible punching power and out of his 22 wins, he scored 20 KO’s. He also lost 9 fights, but 6 of those were on the tail end of his career. His resume is impressive, having fought Earnie Shavers, Tyrell Biggs, Jimmy Young (to whom he lost a disputed decision), Trevor Berbick (whose shoulder he broke with one punch!) and Bonecrusher Smith. Sims lost to all these great fighters, but he had his moments versus most of them, showing that even though he didn’t win, Jeff belonged in there with them. Perhaps his biggest impression was made versus the huge-punching Shavers.

Sims fought Shavers while still on the way up as a contender on December 11, 1981. They fought on the undercard of the “Drama in the Bahamas”, and the last fight of Muhammad Ali’s career. The Acorn (Shavers) was not in the prime of his career, but still possessed his murderous power. Sims had 14 KOs in his 14 victories and this match up was a test to see if his loss to veteran Jimmy Young was not an indicator that he wasn’t going to make it as a contender. Midway through the first round, a sticking and moving Sims landed a beautiful one-two and dropped Shavers. Some say that Shavers was the beneficiary of a long count, but regardless, Earnie got up. Jeff went after Shavers aggressively for the remainder of the round but could not finish him. Sims pressured and hurt Shavers again in the second also, but by the third round, the momentum shifted and Shavers took over the fight, eventually knocking out a punched-out Sims in the fifth round.

Following his loss to Shavers, Sims’ lifestyle was beginning to affect his career. In the summer of 1982, he was shot three times by a roommate during an argument. To further emphasize where Sims was at that time, his friend (and fellow Heavyweight contender) Renaldo Snipes recalled that Jeff “attracted lead” and wouldn’t walk down the street with him. Despite all the bullets stuck in his body, Sims continued to win. By 1986, however, Sims’ career began to flounder and he lost his last 6 fights, finishing his career in 1991 with a record of 22-9, 20 KOs. Hard living and tough fights had taken the best out of Jeff Sims. He tried hard to correct the course of his troubled life but unfortunately, two years after he retired, Jeff was shot and killed in Miami.

Jeff Sims

Division: Heavyweight

Professional Record: 22-9, 2o KO’s

Date Opponent W-L-D Location Result

1991-09-17 James Smith 28-8-1 The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA L KO 1
1991-04-07 Phil Jackson 18-0-0 Hilton Hotel, Ocala, Florida, USA L TKO 4

1990-07-18 Trevor Berbick 35-7-1 Varsity Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada L TKO 6
1990-01-11 Tim Witherspoon 30-3-0 Trump Plaza Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA L RTD 5

1989-07-21 Jose Ribalta 28-4-1 Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA L UD 10

1986-03-23 Tyrell Biggs 8-0-0 Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, USA L UD 10

1985-03-02 Danny Sutton 23-8-0 Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA W TKO 7

1984-09-20 Conroy Nelson 15-6-2 Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA W TKO 2
1984-04-25 Jimmy Jones 0-5-0 Sunrise Musical Theatre, Sunrise, Florida, USA W TKO 4
1984-01-06 Lou Benson Jr 14-6-2 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA W DQ 4

1983-10-18 Rahim Muhammad 7-11-0 Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA W TKO 1
1983-07-09 Alf Coffin 4-3-1 DiVinci Manor, Chicago, Illinois, USA W KO 2
1983-02-16 Michael Greer 16-2-2 Bryne Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA W KO 3

1982-06-05 Henry Porter 12-8-0 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA W KO 2
1982-05-02 Floyd Cummings 15-1-1 Playboy Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA W KO 8
1982-03-21 Melvin Epps 8-7-0 Playboy Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA W PTS 10

1981-12-11 Earnie Shavers 63-10-1 Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, Nassau, Bahamas L KO 5
1981-07-10 Jimmy Young 27-10-2 Auditorium, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA L SD 10
1981-04-22 Leon Shaw 22-16-1 Auditorium, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA W KO 1

1980-10-17 Clayman Parker 30-10-1 Auditorium, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA W KO 7
1980-09-23 Grady Daniels 7-8-0 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada W TKO 2
1980-08-29 Larry Frazier 11-3-0 West Palm Beach, Florida, USA W NC 1
1980-04-15 Larry Alexander 14-7-2 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA L TKO 6
1980-03-18 Nick Wells 10-4-0 American Legion Hall, Orlando, Florida, USA W TKO 1
1980-02-12 Walter Santemore 16-6-0 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA W TKO 1
1980-01-29 Tom Prater 20-11-1 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA W KO 6
USA Florida State heavyweight title

1979-12-28 Al Leticky 0-1-0 Lake Shore Middle School, Belle Glade, Florida, USA W TKO 1
1979-12-18 Phil Fritz 1-9-1 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA W KO 1
1979-11-27 Glenn Morgan 21-5-0 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA W KO 2
1979-04-19 Jimmy Lee Nixon 2-4-0 Savannah, Georgia, USA W KO 1
1979-04-10 Carl Baker 24-29-1 Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, USA W TKO 2
1979-03-19 Greg Henderson Sunrise Musical Theatre, Sunrise, Florida, USA W KO 2

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