John Keeton (born 19 May 1972) 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 1993 to 2009. He 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, ...

cruiserweight title and challenged twice for the Commonwealth cruiserweight title between 2006 and 2007.

Boxing career

Early professional career

Keeton had his first professional contest on 11 August 1993, scoring a stoppage win over Tony Colclough in Mansfield. For the first three years of his career Keeton's results were a mixture of victories and defeats losing to the likes of

Julius Francis Julius Francis (born 8 December 1964) is a British former professional boxer who participated in many noteworthy boxing matches in the mid 90s and 2000s. In 2007, he also participated in a mixed martial arts bout, having been a former European ...

, Bruce Scott and

Nicky Piper Nicky Piper MBE (born 5 May 1966) is a retired Welsh super middleweight and light heavyweight boxer from Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff. His career was at its peak in the 1990s; he became the Commonwealth Light-heavyweight champion in 1995. He was ...

. Following the Piper defeat on 7 July 1995, Keeton scored a run of five victories to earn a shot at the British title for the first time.

British challenger and champion

Keeton's first fight for the British title ended in failure, losing to

Terry Dunstan Terry Dunstan (born 28 October 1968) is a British former boxer who was British and European cruiserweight champion and fought for the IBF world title. Career Born in Vauxhall, London in 1968, Dunstan initially excelled at basketball and repre ...

in the first round of their meeting at the

York Hall The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure complex in Bethnal Green, London, and is situated on Old Ford Road. The building opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200 and is now an inter ...

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

on 11 May 1996. He earned another shot at the title on 16 December 2000, but lost once more, this time to Bruce Scott in the sixth round at the

Sheffield Arena Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centre. Opened in 1991 ...

. His final unsuccessful fight for the title came on 1 June 2006 against Mark Hobson when the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

belt was also on the line at the

Barnsley Metrodome The Barnsley Metrodome (Metrodome Leisure Complex) is a sports and leisure facility that was opened in 1989 by Neil Kinnock. The facility is 5 minutes from the Barnsley Interchange and close to Junction 37 off the M1. It is located along Queen ...

. Success finally came Keeton's way on 20 October 2006, when the now vacant cruiserweight title was contested between himself and

Lee Swaby Lee Swaby (born 14 May 1976) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2010. At regional level, he challenged twice for the British cruiserweight title in 2004 and 2006, and once for the Commonwealth cruiserweight title ...

resulting in a seventh round win and the championship belt. He lost the belt in his very first defence against former champion Mark Hobson on 29 September 2007, at the

Hallam FM Arena Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centre. Opened in 1991 ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Title wins and challenges

In between his challenges for the British title, Keeton won a number of fringe title belts including the WBO Inter-continental cruiserweight title against

Garry Delaney Gary Delaney (born ) is an English professional boxer of the 1990s and 2000s. He won the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) Southern Area light heavyweight title, World Boxing Board (WBB) light heavyweight title, World Boxing Organizatio ...

on 23 January 1999 in

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Hertfor ...

and the WBF cruiserweight title against Jake Kilrain on 19 March 2003 in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

. He challenged unsuccessfully for the WBO Inter-continental title prior to winning it, losing to the undefeated Kelly Oliver on 11 October 1997. He travelled to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to contest the WBC Youth World cruiserweight title on 11 June 2000 losing to

Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Krzysztof () is a Polish given name, equivalent to English '' Christopher''. The name became popular in the 15th century. Its diminutive forms include Krzyś, Krzysiek, and Krzysio; augmentative – Krzychu Individuals named Krzysztof may choose ...

(and travelled to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to challenge for the Commonwealth title losing to

Troy Ross Troy Amos-Ross (born July 17, 1975) is a Guyanese-Canadian boxer. As an amateur, he competed in the light heavyweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Personal life He is the son of ...

on 19 March 2007.

Prizefighter

After losing his British title to Mark Hobson in September 2007, Keeton took a break from the ring and only returned on 19 May 2009 to compete in the seventh Prizefighter tournament featuring the cruiserweights at

Earls Court Exhibition Centre Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...

. He faced Bruce Scott in the first round, Keeton scored a knock down and won on points over three rounds. In the semi-finals he met

Dean Francis Dean Temius Francis (23 January 1974 – 25 May 2018) was a British professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He held the British super middleweight title from 1997 to 1998; the EBU European super middleweight title in 1997; the Comm ...

, the former European and two-weight British champion, knocking him out in the first round. The final of the tournament pitched Keeton against

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 heavyweig ...

, who he lost to on points.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeton, John 1972 births Living people Cruiserweight boxers Prizefighter contestants Sportspeople from Sheffield English male boxers