Cruiserweight Champion "O'Neil Bell" Was Shot And Killed During A Atlanta Street Robbery

Who Killed O'Neil Bell?

BHR Sports Reports.........Atlanta police have announced the murder of former boxing champ O’Neil Bell on the day before Thanksgiving.
 Police report that Bell and another passenger were getting off a bus, when a car with four men drove up. 

Someone in the car shot both men and then fled.



Cruiserweight Champion O'Neil Bell

  Bell was pronounced dead at the crime scene with a gunshot wound to his chest while the other passenger was shot in the hip and transported to a hospital.

As of this posting, authorities suspect that there are four individuals involved in the crime, all of whom are males. The vehicle's description mentioned earlier referred to a Georgia plate (TJC685) for a 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser.

It was later revealed that the car was stolen in the East Point vicinity a day before the shooting and was also used in a robbery that night. So far, the only evidence police has is a video of the vehicle wherein one individual is seen making his way out of it.

Bell was born in Jamaica, but after turning pro in 1998, all but his two fights were fought in the United States.

Bell finished with a record of 27-4-1 (25 KOs) and won the vacant IBF cruiserweight title in 2005 over Canada's Dale Brown. After one successful defense, Bell then KO'd Jean-Marc Mormeck to become the WBA and WBC cruiserweight champion.

O'Neil Bell

The WBO wasn't universally recognized by the other major sanctioning bodies at the time, so holding WBA, WBC, and IBF belts gave Bell "undisputed" status, an achievement only ever previously done at cruiserweight by Evander Holyfield in 1988.

Bell lost his titles in a rematch with Mormeck, then suffered two more defeats after that. His final fight was in 2011, a 58 second TKO over Rico Cason.

Sadly, this is the 2nd time a former boxing champion was killed in Atlanta.

In 2009, ex-welterweight and super welterweight champ Vernon Forrest, who was best known for his two wins over Shane Mosley, was robbed at gunpoint and murdered at a gas station.

The three men responsible for Forrest's death were all convicted for their role in the murder, with two sentenced to life in prison and the actual shooter currently is on death row.