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Chase Smith

Staff Writer

Professional boxer Owen “What the Heck” Beck fought what he says will be his last fight for awhile on Saturday. Boxing has gotten ridiculous the last five to six years says Beck, who has a 29-11 record. “

Boxing has a bad image right now and it is chasing a lot of people away,” he added.

A resident of Middlesboro and a Jamaican native, Beck lost his 40th professional boxing match Saturday to 2008 Olympic bronze medalist “The Bronze Bomber” Deontay Wilder.

The fight, dubbed as “The Brawl In The Mall”, was set for eight rounds and was held in Tuscaloosa, Ala., which is Wilder’s home town. Beck said that he wasn’t just fighting Wilder in Tuscaloosa, he was also fighting the crowd, the judges and all the media.

Wilder, 26, is currently 23-0. Before Beck, who is 36, Wilder had never gone more than two rounds before winning a match. Beck fought hard and brought the fight to four rounds, breaking Wilder’s record.

In round four the fight was called because a right punch to his mouth by Wilder caused Beck’s teeth to come up through his bottom lip. Beck was still on his feet and ready to go, but he said that they weren’t paying enough for him to go to Tuscaloosa and get seriously hurt.

Beck’s main goal now after 26 years of boxing is to take a break from his career. He says he will take advantage of the break by spending time with his family and cherishing his family values. Then he will decide where to go from there.

Chase Smith is a staff writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. She can be contacted via email at ksmith@heartlandpublications.com.