Chris Saunders (born 15 August 1969) is a British former
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
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* Boxer snipe ee ...
who was British welterweight champion between 1995 and 1996.
Career
Born in
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
, Saunders made his professional debut in February 1990 with a points win over
Malcolm Melvin. He suffered his first defeat nine months later when
Ross Hale took a six-round points decision. In February 1992 he unsuccessfully challenged for the
BBBofC
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom.
History
The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...
Central Area super lightweight title.
He moved up to welterweight, and after inflicting the first defeat of
Kevin Lueshing
Kevin Lueshing (born 17 April 1968) is a British former boxer who was British welterweight champion between 1996 and 1997 and three times fought for world titles, winning the IBO World welterweight title in 1996.
Career
From Beckenham, London, ...
's career in March 1994 he beat
Jose Varela three months later. After further wins over Julian Eavis,
Lindon Scarlett, and
Roberto Welin, he challenged for
Del Bryan
Delroy "Del" Bryan (born 16 April 1967) is a British former boxer who twice won the British welterweight title and fought for the European title at the same weight.
Career
Born in Nottingham, Bryan's professional career began in 1986. His early ...
's British title in September 1995. The fight went the distance, with Saunders taking a points decision to become British champion.
[Chris wants to follow in Brendan's footsteps as he eyes more of a social life]
, ''The Star'', 13 December 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2015 He made his first defence in February 1996 against Lueshing, who stopped him in the third round. According to referee
Mickey Vann, "this one was war. It lasted about seven minutes, with an average of one knock-down per minute".
[Vann, Mickey (2003) ''Give Me A Ring: The Autobiography of Star Referee Mickey Vann'', Mainstream Publishing, ] It was voted British fight of the year.
Saunders lost his next four fights, losing to
Derek Roche,
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
, and twice to
Michael Carruth
Michael Carruth (born 9 July 1967) is a southpaw Irish Olympic boxer from Dublin. He is best known for winning the welterweight gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He turned Pro in 1994 but retired in 2000.
Amateur boxing
;Ol ...
. After being out of the rince since the second defeat to Carruth in April 1999 he returned in December 2001 with a win over David Kirk. After winning his next three fights he beat
Marcus Portman via a first round stoppage in April 2004 to take the English welterweight title. He defended the title in October against the unbeaten
Michael Jennings, retiring in the fifth round.
Saunders career appeared to be over but in 2007 he returned to the ring for his final two fights.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Chris
1969 births
Living people
English male boxers
Welterweight boxers
Sportspeople from Barnsley