John Mugabi was born on March 4, 1960 in Uganda. He was a talented amateur boxer who won a silver medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. John won his first bout at a pro on December 5, 1980 with a first round knockout of Oemer Karadenis in Cologne. Not long after, he moved to London, and met the boxing promoter Mickey Duff, who got him several fights there. After eight wins in Europe, Mugabi moved to Florida, and moved up the junior middleweight rankings.
On May 2, 1982, John knocked out veteran Curtis Ramsey in two rounds in Atlantic City. Even with only eleven wins as a professional, his punching power was making fans and the TV networks take notice. He scored two more KO’s to finish 1982, and by 1983 was starting to fight on NBC television on a regular basis. That’s where I became aware of ‘The Beast’, who became a personal favorite.
John knocked out five straight opponents in between May and October of 1983 before taking on the rugged Curtis Parker in his hometown of Tampa, Florida on November 12. Mugabi destroyed Parker in one round, helping to put a scare in everyone in the division. He survived a difficult brawl with James ‘Hard Rock’ Green in his next bout on February 19 back in Tampa, but won via a TKO in the final round. I loved watching him fight on NBC because of his punching power, knowing his bouts could end at any second!
‘The Beast’ wound register three more wins to finish off 1984, all by knockout. Thomas Hearns showed no interest in fighting him, so he was denied a shot at the title. What he would do in 1985, only time would tell.
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