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Verquan
Kimbrough – "The Show" – is one of the most accomplished
boxers in Beaver County history.
At Aliquippa High School, Verquan
excelled in several sports, such as baseball, football,
and wrestling, but his true calling was boxing.
Verquan's boxing potential was recognized in 1993 at age
11 by 2014 Beaver County Sports Hall of Famer
Tom Yankello when he saw
Verquan wrestling with friends at Aliquippa High School.
Yankello asked Verquan to come to his gym in Ambridge to
train as an amateur boxer. Yankello would serve as
Verquan's trainer until mid-2007.
Before he graduated from Aliquippa in
2001, Verquan amassed an impressive record as an amateur
boxer: Ohio State Fair Champion in 1998 (flyweight) and
1999 (featherweight), Junior Olympic National
Featherweight Champion in 1999, and Eastern Trials
Featherweight Champion, Olympic Trial Featherweight
Participant, and Under 19 National Featherweight
Champion in 2000. In 2001 and 2002, Verquan was the #1
ranked lightweight amateur in the United States, winning
the U.S. Challenge Lightweight Championship in 2001 and
2002 and the U.S. National Lightweight Championship in
2002. Verquan compiled a 125-12 record as an amateur.
Verquan passed up the opportunity to
represent the United States in the 2004 Athens Olympics
on the U.S. Boxing Team, and instead turned pro in July
2003 with legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard by his side.
5'-5" Verquan made his pro debut on July 31 that year
and, during his pro tenure, Verquan reached #15 in the
World Boxing Association Lightweight rankings and held
the International Boxing Council (IBC) World Lightweight
Title in 2007, the United States Boxing Association (USBA)
Lightweight Title in 2007, and the North American Boxing
Association (NABA) Lightweight Title in 2008. Most of
Verquan's professional bouts were at Mountaineer Casino
Racetrack & Resort, where he was under contract until
2008. Verquan's later bouts were across the United
States and in Australia. In 2012, Verquan finished his
professional career with a 21-5-3 record over 29 bouts
in the featherweight and lightweight divisions.
Verquan retired from boxing in 2012
due to injuries, and his comeback attempt in 2016 was
halted due to a car accident. Verquan currently lives
with his wife Ciara in Aliquippa and travels to Houston,
TX, for his second career in residential and commercial
real estate. Verquan is the father of four children:
Verquan II, Mia, Kinsley, and Kasen. |
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