Glenn McCrory (born 23 September 1964) is a British former

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 ...

who competed from 1984 to 1993. He held the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

cruiserweight title from 1989 to 1990, and at regional level held the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth cruiserweight title between 1987 and 1988. He has worked as a commentator and pundit for

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

since 1989.

Professional boxing career

Early career

McCrory was born in Annfield Plain in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. He made his professional debut in February 1984, scoring a 1st round knock out against Barry Ellis. Over the next 15 months he fought a further 12 times, winning on each occasion before suffering his first defeat against John Westgarth in September 1985. The defeat was to be the first in a series of losses for McCrory as he went on to lose a further four fights out of his next five. In November 1986 this run came to an end when a visit to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, Kentucky saw him get back to winning ways against the inexperienced Joe Adams.

British and Commonwealth champion

The Adams win provided the springboard for a run of form which would take him first to the Commonwealth cruiserweight title and then to the British. Four straight victories set him up for a shot at Zambian Chisanda Mutti, the reigning Commonwealth champion, in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, Tyne and Wear on 4 September 1987. The fight went the distance with McCrory picking up a points win. In January 1988 he defended his title for the first time and picked up the British belt with a win over Tee Jay in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

. A further defence of both titles occurred in April 1988 when he returned to Gateshead to defeat challenger Lou Gent.

World champion

Three more wins over

journeymen A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

opponents followed the Gent victory before, in June 1989, McCrory challenged Patrick Lumumba for the vacant

cruiserweight title, winning the belt via a unanimous points decision. He made one defence of the belt against Siza Makathini in October 1989 before losing it to American

Jeff Lampkin Jeff Lampkin (born September 21, 1961) is an American former professional boxer. During his 11-year professional career, Lampkin won the USBA cruiserweight title and IBF cruiserweight belt. Amateur career Lampkin had a stellar amateur caree ...

in March 1990.

Further challenges

Following the Lampkin defeat, McCrory moved up to heavyweight and in September 1991 lost in a challenge to future world champion Lennox Lewis, failing in his bid to win Lewis's British and European titles. Two victories and a draw against journeymen followed the Lewis defeat before a trip to Moscow in July 1993 resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to win back his IBF belt, losing over 12 rounds to reigning champion Alfred Cole. The fight was to prove his last as a professional as McCrory retired from the sport with a record of won 30, lost 8, drawn 1.

Post-boxing career

Since retirement, McCrory has become a television commentator and occasional actor, employed by Sky Television as the long time sidekick of

Ian Darke Ian Darke (born 1954) is an English association football and boxing commentator who currently works for ESPN and BT Sport. Darke was previously one of Sky's "Big Four" football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawthorne. ...

. He has also made occasional appearances as an actor on television and on stage. McCrory gained a professional trainers license and opened a gym in the Newbiggin area. Wider ambitions for the gym included McCrory's wish for it to be used as a possible training camp for the Team GB boxers before the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCrory, Glenn 1964 births Living people People from Annfield Plain Sportspeople from County Durham English male boxers Cruiserweight boxers Heavyweight boxers International Boxing Federation champions British Boxing Board of Control champions Commonwealth Boxing Council champions