Darren Corbett (born 9 July 1972 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

), nicknamed ''Raging Bull'', is a Northern Irish

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. Corbett's weight fluctuated significantly throughout his career and although he had some fights at both

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

and

light-heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserw ...

, the bulk of his contests and his success came at cruiserweight.

Amateur

Corbett boxed for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

as an amateur before turning professional in December 1994, winning his first fight at the G-Mex Leisure Centre,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in which he knocked out Donaster's David Jules on a card that included

Eamonn Loughran Eamonn Loughran (born 5 June 1970) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 1996. He held the WBO welterweight title from 1993 to 1996, successfully defending the title five times. At regional level he held the Commonwea ...

and

Chris Eubank Christopher Livingstone Eubank (born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, and is ranked by BoxRec as the thir ...

Professional

Corbett won his first title belt, the vacant Irish cruiserweight title, in November 1996 with 5th round knockout win over Dubliner

Ray Kane Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

at the

Ulster Hall The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. History ...

in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After successfully defending that title against Nigel Rafferty and

Noel Magee Noel Magee (born 16 December 1965) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1997. He held the Commonwealth light heavyweight title in 1995. Background Magee grew up in the strongly nationalist Ardoyne area of Belfast and ...

, Corbett added the Commonwealth cruiserweight championship to his resume with a win over the then-undefeated Chris Okoh. Corbett successfully defended that belt against another undefeated fighter, and a man who would go on to hold the Title himself some 11 years later, Robert Norton. In addition to this, Corbett also won the lightly regarded IBO (

International Boxing Organization The International Boxing Organization (IBO) is a US based corporation that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and regional championships. It is an independent and well-known organization not recognized by the "big four" gove ...

) Inter-Continental Cruiserweight Championship. In his next fight after winning the IBO Title, however, Corbett lost his Commonwealth Championship by 10th Round TKO in a unification fight with British Champion Bruce Scott on 28 November 1998. In March 1999, Corbett's next fight saw him also lose his IBO Inter-Continental Championship to a relative novice in Stephane Allouane, but he rebounded later that year by defeating future British & Commonwealth Light-Heavyweight Champion

Neil Simpson Neil Alexander Simpson (born 15 November 1961) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Aberdeen, Newcastle United, Motherwell and Scotland. Simpson, nicknamed "Simmie", was born in London to Scottish parents who soon moved back to Ne ...

to win the IBO Inter-Continental Light-Heavyweight Title, a belt he never lost in the ring. Corbett retired from the sport in 2004 but made his comeback in 2008 with a 6-rounds points win in Dublin. On 19 May 2009 he competed in the first cruiserweight instalment of the 'Prizefighter' series, defeating the former Southern Area Heavyweight Champion Micky Steeds on a 3-round points decision in the quarter-finals before losing on a 2nd-Round stoppage to the unfancied

Ovill McKenzie Ovill McKenzie (born 26 November 1979) is a Jamaican-born British former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2015. He challenged once for the IBF cruiserweight title in 2015. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth light heavywe ...

in the semi-finals. He returned a year later for the second cruiserweight instalment of the 'Prizefighter' series. Again he won his first bout, this time against John Anthony, but he suffered a shock points defeat in the semi-final to journeyman Nick Okoth, who had record of 8-27-5 going into the bout. Okoth started the tournament as a reserve and only came into the tournament after an injury to

Herbie Hide Herbie Hide (born Herbert Okechukwu Maduagwu; 27 August 1971) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010. He held the WBO heavyweight title twice between 1994 and 1999, as well as the British heavyweight title in 19 ...

. Corbett returned in April 2012, losing over 6 rounds to Michael Sweeney.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Darren 1972 births Living people Male boxers from Northern Ireland Boxers from Belfast Prizefighter contestants Commonwealth Boxing Council champions Cruiserweight boxers