He was a good prospect out of Cleveland in the early 70’s. The fortunes of Chuck Wilburn looked bright when he turned pro in 1970. He lost his second fight to Mike Harris but he stopped Harris in a rematch. He then went up to New England and beat some tough veterans like Beau Jaynes and Winston Noel. He then got a couple of wins at Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum.
In July of 1972 Chuck appeared at the main Garden. His opponent was an up and coming fighter from Puerto Rico named Esteban DeJesus. Wilburn had a record of 10-1 when he entered the ring to face DeJesus. After ten rounds DeJesus won a rather one sided decision. Four months later DeJesus would hand the great Roberto Duran his first loss. In fact it was Duran’s only loss at lightweight. Esteban is a potential Hall Of Famer so a loss to him was nothing to be ashamed of.
Chuck came back in 1973 with a hard fought decision victory over Roy Barrientos in Chicago. He then traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico to lose a points verdict to unbeaten prospect Fausto Rodriguez. In 1974 Chuck met rugged Rafael Rodriguez inSt.Paul and lost a decision. He returned to St.Paul in 1975 and scored a shocking one round kayo over Pittsburgh’s Rudy Bolds. Three months later Wilburn met future world champion Saoul Mamby inSt.Paul where Chuck had built up a following. Mamby halted Wilburn with a vicious right in the third round.
On April 1, 1976 Chuck took on highly ranked Hector Thompson in Sydney. In a brutal battle Wilburn was halted by a savage barrage of punches midway into the tenth round. He then staggered to his corner and collapsed. Wilburn slipped into a coma and later passed away. A tragic end to a once promising career. Wilburn was only 22 years old. He had a professional record of 12-6 and met two world champions.