A golden child

James began his boxing life at the age of 5, when his mother took him to the Circle of Discipline boxing gym in his native Minneapolis to gain structure and discipline.

There, he began working with the head trainer, Shankara Frazier, who would later become his stepfather and remain in James’ corner as the fighter’s career progressed.

By age 10, James launched an amateur career that would see him log more than 150 fights and eventually be ranked No. 1 by USA Boxing in the 141-pound class.

His amateur career culminated in 2009, when he took second place in the national Golden Gloves competition at 141 pounds.

James made his professional debut in May 2010, when he gained a third-round TKO against Justin Danforth in Mahnomen, Minnesota, as he began his climb toward a world title.

The rise of ‘Shango’

James took his nickname “Shango” from his grandfather Aldric Peter Nelson, who founded the popular Minneapolis-based world-beat band Shangoya in the early ’70s. It's also the name of the African god of fire, lightning and thunder, fitting for James’ heated style in the ring.

With Frazier and stepbrother Adonis Frazier guiding his career, James made quick work of most his early opponents.

James stopped six of his first 17 opponents within two rounds, including a first-round TKO of veteran southpaw Wayne Martell in Hinckley, Minnesota, in August 2014.

James improved to 17-0 in June 2015 with a unanimous decision over Michael Balasi in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He swept two of the judges’ scorecards as he landed both jabs and power punches with virtual ease while also using his significant reach advantage to stay out of harm’s way.

“He showed some good power,” James said of Balasi afterward. “I hit him with some really good shots, but he was tough. These are the kind of fights that I need, to see where I am.”

GAINING EXPERIENCE

On September 18, 2015, James took another step up in class when he faced Juan Carlos Abreu at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Abreu dropped James in the fourth, but James returned the favor in the sixth when he floored the Dominican. James’ superior boxing and hard-punching carried him to a 10-round unanimous decision win.

 Following decision victories over Javier Molina and Wale Omotoso, James took on smooth Cuban Yordenis Ugas on August 12, 2016. “Shango” took the fight on three days’ notice after Bryant Perella, Ugas’ original opponent, pulled out with a thumb injury. 

James’ talent shone through but his lack of preparation proved to be his downfall as Ugas won a 10-round unanimous decision at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.

“I was a little too confident in myself, taking it on such short notice,” said James. “Mentally, I was in it, but my timing and everything was off. I was trying to hit him with heavy shots instead of just boxing him. It was a hard lesson but a good one.”

On July 15, 2017, James won a 10-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Ionut “JoJo” Dan ay Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. 

REACHING HIGHER HEIGHTS

James followed that up with perhaps the finest performance of his career. On December 15, 2017, he notched a third-round KO over former interim welterweight world champion Diego Chaves at Pioneer Event Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

James returned to the ring on April 13, 2018, edging a game Abel Ramos via 10-round majority decision at Minneapolis Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

On August 24, 2018, James flattened Mahonry Montes in two frames, also at the Minneapolis Armory.

BATTLE TESTED

On February 23, 2019, James returned to the Minneapolis Armory again, battering Janer Gonzalez and winning a six-round technical decision. 

Another large crowd turned out at the Armory on July 13, 2019 to see James square off against former world champion Antonio DeMarco. 

James prevailed by unanimous decision but faced a serious gut check as DeMarco gave as good as he got for much of the bout. The two took turns unleashing their offense, though James had the edge in punches thrown and landed. The rounds were hard to score but James did just enough to earn the support of the judges, who scored it 98-92 across the board in his favor.

"I knew coming into this fight that he was a former world champion and this would be a big step up," James said afterward. "He kept coming, but I did too. I just had to bite down and do what I know how to do. DeMarco definitely came to fight.

"I'm ready for the title fight, who's going to give me the shot? I'm ready for anyone. My time is now."

James was scheduled to face former title challenger Thomas Dulorme for the Interim WBA Welterweight Title in the FOX PBC Fight Night main event and on FOX Deportes Saturday, April 11 at The Armory in Minneapolis. But the bout was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A New Chapter, A New Champion

On Saturday, August 8, 2020, James took on the dangerous Thomas Dulorme for the vacant WBA interim world welterweight title at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. 

A decisive win would lead to a shot at one of the big name, big money bouts in the welterweight division.

With all that on the line, the 32-year-old James delivered the finest performance of his career, outboxing and, when necessary, outbrawling, Dulorme to win a 12-round unanimous decision at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. 

“I’ve been working so long for a title shot, man,” James said afterward. “So being able to get this opportunity and then actually following through and winning it just meant the world to me.

 “It’s been a crazy journey, with this with COVID-19, and then the George Floyd incident and then, you know, starting camps and then stopping and so forth.

My grandmother ended up passing away when I was in camp for this fight. So it was a lot of mixed emotions for me. It just feels good to be able to, you know, bring this back home from my city. Now we’ll see how much farther I can go.”

After a feel-out opener, both fighters dug in during a fiery second round. Toward the end of the frame, Dulorme trapped James along the ropes and landed two hard right rights. James returned to his corner pawing at his bloody nose after the round ended. 

The back and forth continued in the third, each fighter taking turns landing power punches. James went back to boxing in the fourth and the fifth, using his jab and angles to keep Dulorme off-balance.

However, a war broke out again in the sixth, the see-saw battle making the rounds difficult to score. The fight was still up for grabs heading into the second half. That’s when James found his rhythm, outboxing Dulorme from the outside. 

“I had the range and the height on him, so I just had to box,” James said. “I wanted to et my hands go a little bit more, but he had funny timing. So any time I would try to get in a longer combination, he would let something go. So I just kept boxing him, kind of pot-shotting a little bit.”

Dulorme, 30, 25-4-1 (16 KOs) continued to apply serious pressure yet struggled to land meaningful shots. James, on the other hand, began finding a home for his right hand—and a left hook behind it. Going into the 12th, Dulorme needed a knockout to win. Yet it was James who landed the heavier blows, winning on all three cards by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.

In February 2021, the WBA issued the following statement:

The World Boxing Association (WBA) named Jamal James as its Welterweight champion after enforcing the rules and considering his boxing record.

Through a resolution of the WBA Championships Committee, the body made the decision regarding James. The American won the interim title on August 8, 2020 by defeating Thomas Dulorme by unanimous decision, in Los Angeles, California.

Rule C.28 states that the President and the Championships Committee may elevate an interim champion to champion at their discretion. The WBA considers James’ outstanding record as a favorable reason to elevate him.

Unfortunately, James would suffer a loss in his next bout. On October 30, 2021, he was stopped in nine rounds by Radzhab Butaev at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, live on PBC on SHOWTIME. 

Clawing Back

On February 25, 2023,  James (28-2, 12 KOs) returned from a 16-month layoff to thrill a sold-out hometown crowd at the Armory in Minneapolis and earn a unanimous decision victory after 10-rounds against Argentine Olympian Alberto Palmetta (18-2, 13 KOs).
 
“I’m pretty sure everybody can see that layoff affected me,” said James. “I had a lot of rust in me. My legs weren’t sharp, my punches weren’t sharp, but I’m glad I was able to get in there. I liked that because it’s pushing me mentally and it made me step up to the occasion.
 
“I was trying to adapt. I definitely felt like I won the fight but I believe I could’ve done much better. I know that I’m a lot sharper. I know that my endurance is a lot stronger. I just had a lot of time off and my body is still getting back in shape. I’ll be back for sure.”
 
Palmetta had success countering James but was unable to put together enough combinations or hurt James during the action. James’ edge was reflected on the scorecards, as he out landed Palmetta 193 to 111, including a 153 to 102 edge in power punches.
 
James was also able to use a sharp body attack to keep Palmetta at bay, landing 68 throughout the fight, compared to just 20 from Palmetta. In round nine, a sharp right uppercut caused Palmetta to stumble and let to a raucous exchange that stirred James’ hometown fans.
 
The crowd again rose to their feet as James and Palmetta whipped power punches throughout the final moments of round 10. James kept his perfect record at The Armory intact by wide scores of 99-91 and 98-92 twice.