Andrew Maynard (born April 8, 1964) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2000. As an amateur boxer, he won the gold medal in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
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Military service
Andrew Maynard, a 1982 graduate of Suitland High School in Prince George's County, Maryland, joined the National Guard in 1985. Maynard was later reassigned to special duty with the Fort Carson boxing team after receiving the approval of his company commander to pursue his goal of competing in the 1988 Summer Olympics. Maynard's final military rank was specialist.
Amateur career
Maynard began his amateur career in the fall of 1984, winning four consecutive bouts in an amateur boxing tournament at the Ohio State Fair.
Maynard was the 1987 and 1988 United States Amateur Boxing Champion in the Light Heavyweight division (178 lbs.). He won the bronze medal at the 1987 Pan American Games, where he beat up on Cuban world champion Pablo Romero only to collapse in the second round without being hit. Later, Maynard acknowledged that he had sustained a broken ankle during a pickup basketball game the day before the Romero bout but didn't tell anybody about it. At the 1988 Summer Olympics, Maynard methodically avoided all basketball courts in Seoul.
At the Pan Am Box-Offs (178 lbs.) held in July 1987 at the International Center of the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Maynard defeated Joseph Pemberton.
In the United States Olympic Box-Offs held from July 16–17, 1988, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, Maynard had to earn a spot on the 1988 United States Olympic Boxing Team as the selected "most noteworthy opponent" by defeating fellow soldier Alfred "Ice" Cole in two bouts on consecutive nights. The judges' scores for each respective bout was 4–1 in favor of Maynard.
He was one of three amateur boxers who lost in the Olympic trials but made the 1988 United States Olympic Boxing Team by attaining two wins in the United States Olympic Box-Offs.
Maynard went on to win the Light Heavyweight Gold Medal for the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Along with "King" Kennedy McKinney (Bantamweight division) and "Merciless" Ray Mercer (Heavyweight division), Maynard was one of three Americans to capture gold for the 1988 United States Olympic Boxing Team in Seoul. He was the first American to win the Light Heavyweight Gold Medal since Leon Spinks in 1976. Maynard is one of seven Americans to win the Light Heavyweight Gold Medal in the history of the Olympic Games, including Muhammad Ali in 1960.
Professional career
Following the Olympics, Maynard made the decision to move to Laurel, Maryland where he began his professional career by signing with the management team of "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Mike Trainer and training with Jose "Pepe" Correa. Maynard was one of five Olympic medalists making their professional debuts on February 24, 1989, in a boxing card held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He knocked out Zack Worthy at 2:49 of the first round.
Maynard beat Mike Sedillo for the NABF Light Heavyweight Title by a majority decision on April 1, 1990, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Although knocked down twice in the sixth round, Maynard consistently landed punches with both hands throughout the 12-round bout. Maynard won his first 12 bouts prior to getting stopped in the seventh round by Bobby Czyz on June 24, 1990, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Maynard accumulated a six-fight winning streak, stopping former world light heavyweight champion Matthew Saad Muhammad in October 1991 after a barrage of punches thrown over a little more than two rounds and setting up a bout with Frank Tate on January 10, 1992. Tate dropped Maynard in the 11th round, prompting the referee to halt the action. Maynard lost his championship belt to Tate after having successfully defending it on four occasions.
Maynard moved up to cruiserweight to challenge WBC World Cruiserweight champion Anaclet Wamba in a title bout held in Paris, France on October 16, 1992. Knocked down in the first round, he lost by a 12-round unanimous decision with one judge having the bout as close as 113–116.
The championship bout versus Wamba was Maynard's only world title opportunity and only his second bout scheduled in the cruiserweight division. After losing to Wamba, Maynard fought on in obscurity. Among his notable fights which followed were a knockout loss to Thomas Hearns and a stoppage at heavyweight to Brian Nielsen.
Later life
Maynard retired in 2000 and lives in Harlingen, Texas with his common law wife, Cynthia Ann Montgomery. Maynard is the father of three children.
In March 1996, the Country of Nicaragua issued a stamp in honor of Maynard and in his likeness. He was inducted into the "Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame" in 2001. The MSAHOF Class of 2001 commemorative plaque, listing Maynard, hangs on a brick facade on Eutaw Street Plaza at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. Maynard was a 2016 inductee of the "Washington, D.C. Boxing Hall of Fame" and, in 2019, was one of five members of the Inaugural Class of Texas' "Rio Grande Valley Boxing Hall of Fame".