Forced to Fight

Kenneth Sims Jr. was only eight when his father forced him into boxing in order to learn how to defend himself. 

"My dad forced me to box and I hated it," Sims said. "He was like, 'When you learn how to do it, you can quit.'"

But the younger Sims gradually became accustomed to trading blows in the ring.

"He picked up things so fast," said Sims Sr. "It was like, 'Oh, show him this - he has it.'"

By the time Sims Jr. was 16, he had begun to excel as an amateur, winning the National PAL Championships in order to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials, where he lost by a point to eventual Olympian and future world champion Jose Ramirez. 

An 18-year-old Sims won the 2013 U.S. National Championships and a position on the USA Boxing national team, which traveled to Chile, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Ukraine and culminating with an appearance in the 2013 World Championships in Kazakhstan. Sims lost just 21 of 200 amateur bouts and was a seven-time National Champion.

Sims' professional debut in March 2014 was a four-round unanimous decision over 140-pound rival Cory Muldrew. 

Then consecutive knockouts in the second- and first-rounds over Jose Araguz (April) and Evan Woolsey (July) preceded a six-round unanimous decision over Francisco Jalel Lopez (November). 

A pair of six-round decisions followed in January and April 2015 over Christian Steele and Luis Rodriguez as Sims ended the year at 6-0 (2 KOs).

Sims went 4-0 (1 KO) in 2016, with six-round unanimous decisions over Tavorus Teague (March) and Gilbert Venegas (September), a 44-second knockout of Trevor Marmon (October) and six-round unanimous decision over Jonathan Dinong (November). 

Nicknamed "The Bossman," Sims improved to 10-0 (3 KOs).

A Healthy Change

Sims went 2-1 in 2017, his eight-round unanimous decision over Emanuel Robles (January) and third-round TKO of Israel Villela (April) being followed by an eight-round majority decision loss to Rolando Chinea (July). Robles entered at 15-1-1 (5 KOs), and Chinea rose to 15-1-1 (6 KOs).

"The Bossman" continued to struggle in 2018, battling to a draw with Montana Love in July and earning a 4-round unanimous decision over Andrew Rogers in October before losing an eight-round unanimous decision to Samuel Teah in November. Love slipped to 11-0-1 (5 KOs), and Teah rose to (15-2-1, 7 KOs).

Sims revealed a diagnosis of the sickle cell trait following the loss to Teah. He researched the debilitating red blood cell disorder and made healthy nutritional changes during training camp to alleviate the problem. 

"After I lost, my team, my uncle, my dad, we...went to the doctor and got blood work stuff done," Sims Jr. said. "I hired nutritionists and stuff. Since I've been working with them, I've been feeling great."

Sims bounced back with a 91-second stoppage of Darryol Humphery in May 2019 followed by a four-round unanimous decision over Jermaine Corley in October 2020. 

"The Bossman" earned consecutive eight-round victories over previously unbeaten fighters in 2021, earning a majority decision over Elvis Rodriguez in May and a unanimous decision over Keeshawn Williams in December. 

A hammer-fisted southpaw trained by Freddie Roach, Rodriguez slipped to 11-1-1 (10 KOs), and Williams to 8-1-1 (2 KOs).

 "It meant everything to me and my team. I worked hard to get here," Sims Jr. said of the victory over Rodriguez. "I had some setbacks, but I know I'm supposed to be here. It just took a while to get here."

Ready To Be A World Champion

Sims scored consecutive fifth-round TKOs in 2022 over Cristian Ruben Mino in August and hard-hitting Rock Dodler Myrthil in December, the latter dropping the loser to 17-2-1 (13 KOs).

Sims earned his biggest career victory in May 2023 over power-punching, two-time world title challenger Batyr Akhmedov, winning by majority decision.

“This is the fight that I expected. This is what I’ve been waiting on for years. This just showed I’m ready for whatever," Sims told Showtime’s Jim Gray in the ring. “I’m ready to be world champion."