This recollection talks about what could have been.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN: Jemal Hinton
If you ask long-time Beltway Boxing experts about who was the most talented boxer never to win a world title, many people would mention the name of Jemal Hinton.
From 1988 to 1992, the boxer out of District Heights, MD was the hottest prospect going in the junior featherweight and featherweight division. He had speed and solid power. He was 16-0 with 12 knockouts and had already picked up the WBC Continental Americas Super Bantamweight title. A world championship seemed just a few fights away.
Then suddenly, it all stopped. Hinton decided he had enough of the sport and promptly retired. Not even his father and trainer, Junious Hinton, could change his mind. No one but Jemal Hinton knows the real reason. Some speculated that Hinton adopted the Islamic faithand would not fight because of religious convictions. Whatever the reason was, Hinton's decision left a void in Beltway Boxing that took a long time to fill.
Recently, the name Jemal Hinton popped up again in the form of Jemal Hinton, Jr. He was scheduled to box at the Mayor's Cup last month but couldn't get an opponent. I'm assuming this was Jemal's son.
gary, i grew up training with jemal and his father at peppermill around '82 before sugar ray leonards gym in palmer park was opened. what a talent. you could see at an early age how good he was going to be. believe it or not his older brother, bandela, was better than jemal early on. i watched those guys for years and jemal seemed to be the one who took boxing more seriously than bandela. bandela was winning on talent and experience alone. jemal was very disciplined and dedicated to training at an early age and was handling men in the ring at age 16.
ReplyDeletei can remember once mr. hinton took us to lorton to spar with the inmates, he would always take us places to fight and spar. anyway we get there and they pick this guy who i thought was too big for jemal. jemal was only about 16 or 15 and about 112 or 118; this guy was about 150lbs!!! i think the guy lasted only about one round, jemal hit him with a body shot and the guy went down for the count. the prison went crazy. :) jemal was the truth..
i went into the military and lost contact with jemal for a few years and saw him on t.v at the olympic trials fighting a friend of mine, kennedy mckinney, who was in the military with me.. jemal lost that fight and kennedy went on to win the gold medal in the seol olympics. meanwhile jemal signed with the kronk and launched his pro career.
there have been conflicting stories circulating about the reason for him leaving boxing and the one that is most often heard, is that he is in fact affiliated with a form of islam that does not condone the harming of another individual.
the last time i saw jemal was in 1990 right before he left boxing and there ws no indication from that meeting that he was retiring from boxing..
Thanks for sharing that recollection!
ReplyDeleteThe word was that when Jemal decided to quit, it caused a rift between Jemal and his father. If that's true, hopefully the rift has been patched up by now.
Thanks for the confirmation on that. I heard good things about him at the Mayor's Cup, but he didn't get a chance to box there. His opponent dropped out.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely keep a watch out for him.
I had a chance to talk and meet Mr Hinton this last weekend. I was honored to talk to a legend like Mr Hinton. I too am a retired Boxer and was proud to see a former boxer of his caliber still in such great condition mentally, spritually, and physically. I had asked Mr Hinton why he decided to quit before actually fighting for a world title which no doubt hands down he would have captured had he chosen to. The answer was in his eyes and body languge, Mr Hinton was a champion of his own health, not personal indulgence. Mr Hinton is a true warrior and will always be a Champ! U can catch Mr Hinton in one of the finest Restaurants in Atlanta! (Food For Life Supreme)
ReplyDeleteI just had the pleasure of meeting Junious Hinton, Jemal's father. I actually fixed his Blackberry for him. He runs a small boxing gym in Rockville. In any case he told me to Google Jemal Hinton and this blog post came up. What an interesting story, and he did tell my why Jemal quit but we didn't discuss whether I am allowed to post it so I won't. You can always contact me at my cellphone repair website for Washington DC iPhone, Blackberry, and Android repair.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this blog.
Jamel is making a comeback. Watch out!!
ReplyDeleteI know it. I will be putting together a story on this. I did an interview with Jemal and his father last Saturday.
ReplyDeleteThat would be great. I spoke with him the other day. He's ready. He's gonna shock a lot of people.
ReplyDelete