R.I.P Scott LeDoux, The Former Heavyweight Contender Loses His Brave Battle Against Lou Gehrig’s Disease

By James Slater: As fight fans have surely read by now, former heavyweight contender Scott LeDoux sadly passed away yesterday, as he lost his brave battle against Lou Gehrig’s disease. The warrior from Minnesota, who battled a number of great fighters during the 1970s, was just 62-years-old.

Born in January of 1949, LeDoux turned pro in February of 1974, romping to 12 straight wins before being TKO’d in the 2nd-round on a cut eye by Roy Wallace in March of ’75. The gutsy fighter who was that rare commodity in the 1970s – a white heavyweight who could fight – bounced back from his first loss and was soon going in with top names from the sport such as the Bobicks, Duane and Rodney, as well as legends such as George Foreman, Ken Norton and Larry Holmes.

Scott lost to most of these high calibre opponents, usually by stoppage; but he did manage a draw with former world champ Leon Spinks (in October of 1977) as well as a draw with another former king in Ken Norton – who he drew with in 1979. These fights were non-title affairs, though, and his sole crack at the title came in 1980, when Larry Holmes knew too much for LeDoux, stopping him in the 7th in a fight that took place in Scott’s hometown that July.

Not done yet, the 32-year-old “Fighting Fisherman,” as LeDoux was known, battled guys like Greg Page (L TKOby4), Gerrie Coetzee (L KO8) and, in his final fight, in May of 1983, Frank Bruno (L TKOby3).

Scott retired with an admirably-earned 33-13-4(22) record. He battled no less than eight men who were, at one time or another, world champions.

Accepting a commentary job for ESPN in his retirement years, LeDoux proved to be both efficient and popular in his role. Of equal importance is the fact that Scott was for a time the head of the Minnesota Boxing Commission.

A tough guy as well as a nice guy, you will be hard-pressed to find any fans who have anything bad to say about LeDoux. He will be missed by his family, friends and fans.

LeDoux was inducted into The Minnesota Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2010.