Wilbert McClure

Wilbert McClure
picture of Wilbert McClure from 1963
Born	October 29, 1938 Toledo, Ohio
Died	August 7, 2020(2020-08-07) (aged 81)
Nationality	American
Other names	Skeeter
Statistics
Weight(s)	Middleweight
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights	33
Wins	24
Wins by KO	12
Losses	8
Draws	1
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  United States Olympic Games 1960 Rome Light middleweight Pan American Games 1959 Chicago Light middleweight

Wilbert McClure (October 29, 1938 – August 6, 2020)^[2] was an American professional boxer. As an amateur he won gold medals in the light middleweight division at the 1959 Pan American Games and the 1960 Olympics. As a professional he competed from 1961 to 1970.

McClure earned degrees in literature and philosophy in 1961 from the University of Toledo and a doctorate in psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1973. He later became a Massachusetts state boxing commissioner. He was honored in August 2012 for his life's work by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School.^[3]

McClure was found guilty in Wilson v. McClure et al, the first legal case in the US to reach a federal court jury to challenge the concept of same-race discrimination in September 2000. The case was brought by race-black licensed boxing promoter Zeke Wilson against a state sports commission headed by the race-black chairman for damage reparations and punitive redress after his right to conduct professional boxing events was violated.^[4]

In this case, race-white boxing commissioner William Pender performed direct discriminatory acts, while the race-black commission chairman Wilbert McClure failed to provide the promoter sufficient protection under his authority and cooperated in the unjust cancellation of a series of boxing events, causing financial harm to the promoter. A unanimous jury verdict found that the race-black Chairman was guilty of racial discrimination along with race-white Commissioner William Pender and both defendants were assessed punitive damages in addition to the compensatory damages awarded by the jury.^[5]

The precedent-setting case is the subject of the non-fiction book, The Eighth Round. The book is being adapted into a motion picture by the same title.

McClure defeated Carmelo Bossi to win the light middleweight gold medal for the United States at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.

• 1960 U.S. Olympic trials 156-lb champion
• 1960 National AAU 156-lb champion
• 1959 Named Outstanding Amateur Boxer in the U.S.
• 1959 Pan American Games gold medalist
• 1959 National AAU champion
• 1959 160 lb Intercity Golden Gloves champion
• 1958 & 1959 160 lb Chicago Golden Gloves champion
• 1958 International Diamond Belt champion, Mexico City

Nicknamed "Skeeter", McClure turned pro in 1961 and had limited success. He never fought for a major title, and lost to notable pros Luis Manuel Rodríguez, Rubin Carter (and also drew once with Carter), and Johnny Pritchett before retiring in 1970 with a record of 24 wins (12 by Knockout), eight losses and one draw.^[6]

• Boxing record for Wilbert McClure from BoxRec (registration required)