Gerald Washington

Gerald Washington (c. 1949—December 30, 2006) was the mayor-elect of Westlake, Louisiana, until he was shot and killed on December 30, 2006. He was scheduled to take office on January 2, 2007, as the first black mayor in the city's history, elected by voters who were over 80% white.

Biography

He was scheduled to take office on January 2, 2007, as the first black mayor in the city's history, elected by voters who were over 80% white. His death triggered accusations that he was the victim of a racially motivated murder, although the Calcasieu Parish coroner ruled the death a suicide. He was killed by a single gunshot from his own revolver, and powder was found deep in the wound, which, according to the coroner, indicated that it was pressed against his chest at the time, a sign of suicide. His family accused the Sheriff's office of doing a poor job, and asked the state police to step in for a more thorough investigation.

Death

The state police report totalled more than 800 pages of documents, and included both additional physical evidence, such as the pattern of blood spatters, and investigation of possible motives. According to the investigation, Washington had gambled away hundreds of thousands of dollars from his retirement account, owed about $50,000 to the IRS, and had been sleepless and depressed in the weeks leading up to his death. The family acknowledged that the report was mostly accurate, but remained unconvinced, citing the fact that the fire department had been called in to wash his truck off the night his body was found as a sign of a coverup.

Jarrell Miller

Jarrell Miller (born July 15, 1988) is an American kickboxer and undefeated boxer who competes in the heavyweight division. Known for his aggressive fighting style, Miller initially began training in Muay Thai as a way to defend himself on the streets. He came to prominence in 2007 when he competed for the New Jersey Tigers in the World Combat League and made it to the finals of the New York Golden Gloves tournament that same year. In 2012, he began fighting in K-1.

Early life

Miller was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and is of Caribbean and Latin American descent. He took up Muay Thai as a way to defend himself after being attacked on the street. He began Muay Thai at age of 14 and boxing at 16.

Career

As an amateur boxer, Miller reached the final of the 2007 New York Golden Gloves Heavyweight tournament at the Madison Square Garden in New York, where he lost to Tor Hamer on points (4-1). His break-out performances as a kickboxer came while representing the New Jersey Tigers in the World Combat League in the 2007-08 season. On May 3, 2008, he defeated K-1 veteran Pat Barry at the WCL Eastern & Western Conference Finals in San Antonio, Texas, the biggest feat of his career at that point.

Deontay Wilder

Deontay Leshun Wilder (born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer and the WBC heavyweight champion. As an amateur he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, which led to his nickname of "The Bronze Bomber". Wilder coined the name after Joe Louis, who was also from Alabama, and who was known by the nickname "The Brown Bomber". Wilder has a very erratic and explosive style, generating extreme punching power in his right hand which has accounted for most of his knockouts—18 of them within the first round.

Amateur career

Wilder started boxing in October 2005. By 2007 he upset the favorites to win both the National Golden Gloves and the US championships at 201 lb (91 kg).

At the Golden Gloves he defeated highly touted cadet world champion Isiah Thomas - a southpaw from Detroit - and David Thompson, of Brooklyn, N.Y in the finals. At the U.S. championship he defeated Quantis Graves and won the final 31-15 over southpaw James Zimmerman of San Jose, Calif.

At the Olympic trials he beat Graves twice more and won the Olympic trials in only 21 bouts. Early in 2008 he scored a career-best win by edging out World Gold medalist and future Olympic champion Rakhim Chakhiyev in Russia. He qualified for the Olympics by beating Deivis Julio 6:5 Jorge Quinones from Ecuador on double countback and Brazilian Rafael Lima 6:5 at the qualifier.

Washington

Washington commonly refers to:

Washington may also refer to:

Geography

United States

Cities and communities

Other features

Outside the United States

Gerald

Gerald is a masculine German given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ger- ("spear") and suffix -wald ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, and the feminine nickname Jeri. Gerald is less common as a surname. People with the name Gerald include:

Given name

See also

References