Oba Carr was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 11, 1972, and learned to box in the legendary Kronk Gym, the same institution that produced Tommy “Hitman” Hearns. He turned pro in December 1989, racking up a 20-0 record before he met 140 lbs gatekeeper Livingstone Bramble in October 1991. In his first stern test, Carr was dropped twice in the 1st Round, but rallied to pull a Split Decision win and keep his undefeated record. However, in the wake of the Bramble fight, a still obscure rupture occurred between Carr and the Kronk Gym’s iconic head trainer, Emmanuel Steward. Motor City” Carr had been in line to fight Hector “Macho” Camacho prior to the ugly divorce with Steward and Kronk. Having lost his connections, Carr moved up to 147 lbs and took his career back to the drawing board.
Carr stood 5′ 9 1/2″ with a 72″ reach. He was a well-rounded boxer-puncher who was good at just about everything without being superlative. His best assets were fast hands and fleet feet, but he had only an average punch chin. If Carr had been a few years older or a few years younger, he would have hit the welterweight division at a time that would have gotten him a good reign as a world champion. As it was, he entered the division when it had become occupied by three dominant champions: Pernell Whittaker, Felix Trinidad, and Ike Quartey.
Welterweight Heyday
The first one of these fighters Quartey met was 21 year old puncher Felix Trinidad, the undefeated IBF champion. Meeting in December 1994 in Mexico, Carr knocked Trinidad down in the 1st Round. Trinidad bounced back, and the fight was close going out of the middle rounds. Then Trinidad rocked Carr, knocked him down, and then knocked him out after Carr got up. In his first world title challenge, Carr lost by TKO in the 8th.
Undeterred, Carr started his comeback which led to a meeting with Washington, DC’s undefeated contender Derrel Coley in 1995. Carr outboxed and outfoxed Coley, beating him by Split Decision and taking his “0.”
Back into world title contention, in 1996 he set his sights on Ike “Bazooka” Quartey of Ghana, the 32-0 WBA Champion. Quartey was the strongest welterweight of his day, and wielded a telephone-pole like jab. Carr was faster, but lacked the stick to match Quartey jab-for-jab. The result was an ugly fight that saw both fighters lose points for fouling, and Quartey knocked down on a rabbit punch in the 11th. Nonetheless, Quartey had outmuscled Carr, and won a Majority Decision victory. It was Carr’s second loss in a world title challenge, but it was a narrow one.
After losing the Quartey, “Motor City” Carr was in the wilderness for 2 years. He won a string of fights with journeymen, but was mostly biding his time for a match with WBC Champion Oscar de la Hoya, who had dethroned Pernell Whittaker. In 1998 he fought fading former 140 lbs champ Frankie Randall and handily outpointed him. Then his turn finally came with the Golden Boy in May 1999. 30-0, de la Hoya had a hard time with Carr, who was able to match his speed and skill. However, he could not match or take Oscar’s power, and a wide left hook knocked him out in the 11th. He had lost his 3rd and last title challenge.
Early Twilight
Carr had gone about as far as he could at 147 lbs, so he moved up to 154 lbs for his comeback. By March 2000, he was in the ring with former champion Ramon “Yori Boy” Campas, and knocked him out in the 8th. It looked like a good start for a new run at a world title.
However, the truth was that Carr’s body was now a lot older than its supposed 28 years. He was never a rugged fighter, and he had been in the ring with three of the hardest hitting champions his division had seen in years. In March 2001, he met journeyman Rafael Pineda in what was supposed to be an easy fight, and was knocked out. He went 1-2 in his next three fights in 2001 and 2002. Realizing he was a spent force, Carr reluctantly hung up the gloves.
It is too easy to dismiss a fighter of Oba Carr’s caliber. Without fighters like Carr, Hall of Famers like Felix Trinidad and Oscar de la Hoya would not have very much fame. “Motor City” Carr went 2-3 in fights against serious contenders during a period when the welterweight division was thick with talent, and stood as the #4 welterweight in the world for years. He was arguably the best welterweight who never won a world title.
Sources: boxrec.com; live fight footage; The Ring; http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1016048/index.htm
