By Peter Lim

A funeral service for former middleweight contender Wilford Scypion will be held at the Christian Faith Chapel in Port Arthur, Texas, Saturday morning. Scypion, who challenged Marvin Hagler for the IBF middleweight title in 1983, succumbed to pneumonia on Feb. 27 at age 55.

A former National Golden Gloves champion, Scypion was 13-0 (13 KOs) when, in 1979, he knocked out Willie Classen in the tenth round in New York. Classen died from injuries sustained in the fight. Scypion was never the same after the tragedy.

Scypion received a title shot in 1983 and was stopped in four rounds by Hagler. He retired in 1991 with a record of 32-9 (24 KOs).