0
Julian “The Hawk” Jackson is known as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. Over the years, people in and out of the ring have tried to figure out where the now 61-year-old gets his knockout power. While that may yet remain a secret, Jackson, a USVI native, has on the record said that he was once told by a trainer that all he had to do was punch because “it’s natural, it’s there.”
When asked whether he felt that aside from himself, Jackson had the most devastating punch, boxing legend Mike Tyson said he was very impressed as Jackson continued to improve more and more, and that he was extremely confident.
That confidence and power took Jackson all the way to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, where he was officially inducted on August 27th.
Jackson, with his famous twinkling eyes and youthful exuberance, won his first world title in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1987. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019 after which he shared with Mad Hot Media just how much he appreciated Virgin Islanders.
“I am just grateful that coming from a small island like the Virgin Islands that the people of the Virgin Islands were always there for me, always backing me up," he said. "That says a lot about the Virgin Islands, what we're all about and who we are. We might be a small island but we pack a big punch. I’m proud to be a Virgin Islander, I’m proud to be at this level in my career."
Jackson added, “Sometimes we may not know what we are about to get ourselves into when we push ourselves. If you want to be great you have to do something that you’ve never done. I think that’s what happened to me. I did something that I have never done, and I sacrificed to make it where I am today.”
Jackson fought his last bout in 1998. He formerly held junior middleweight and middleweight boxing championship titles and fought in 6 world title bouts. Forty-nine of Jackson's fifty-five victories were knockouts.
