Matt Godfrey (born January 16, 1981) is a

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 1 ...

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 2004 to 2012. He challenged for the WBO cruiserweight title in 2010.

Amateur career

Godfrey, who is a close friend of

Jason Estrada Jason Moses Estrada (born November 30, 1980) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2015. As an amateur, he competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in the super heavyweight division. He also won the gold medal at the 2003 ...

since his childhood, had an outstanding amateur career prior to turning professional. He was the 2000 U.S. National Amateur Champion at Middleweight, 2002

National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion This is a list of United States national Golden Gloves champions in the heavyweight division, along with the state or region they represented. There was originally no weight limit for heavyweights until 1982, when the super heavyweight division wa ...

, and 2004 U.S. National Amateur Heavyweight Champion. With a relaxed stick-and-move style but only average power he won a bronze medal at the 2001 Pan Am Games. He was also a second alternate for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team after losing 8-17 to

Devin Vargas Devin Vargas (born December 25, 1981) is an American professional boxer. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games and competed at the 2004 Olympics, both in the heavyweight division. Amateur career Vargas had a ...

(whom Godfrey had beaten before on another occasion). He lost three times to Aaron Williams; on the other hand, he holds three wins over Chazz Witherspoon. He compiled a 194-23 amateur record.

Amateur highlights

*2000 U.S. National Amateur Champion Middleweight (165 lbs) *2001 Bronze Medalist in Pan-American Games *2002 National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion *2004 U.S. National Amateur Heavyweight Champion *Second alternate for 2004 U.S. Olympic Team *6-time New England Golden Gloves Champion

Professional career

Godfrey, who is now trained by Dr. Roland Estrada and Ross Enamait, turned professional in 2004. He made his professional debut at the Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island, in May 2004. After defeating two veterans in the summer of 2005, Godfrey beat Billy Willis by decision at the Convention Center in Providence and improved to 10-0. Godfrey stopped

Ernest M-16 Mateen Ernest Mateen (June 3, 1966 – November 6, 2012, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York), nicknamed 'M-16', was a United States and IBU Cruiserweight (boxing) champion. He was shot to death by his wife in a case of probable self-defense. ...

in the second round in February 2006. Godfrey's next fight was the turning point in his career. He was matched up against amateur star Shaun George (also 11-0) in May 2006. George never had a chance, getting pummeled and knocked out in the first round. In April 2007 Godfrey was pitted against star of the Contender Series Felix Cora Jr. in the Main Event of the evening. In a fight that commentators noted was probably his first real test against a left-hander, Godfrey turned southpaw himself for two rounds to effectively outscore Cora, before knocking him down midway through the second round. Cora regained his feet, but did not provide any offense and the referee waved the fight off shortly thereafter. Four months later Godfrey defeated Derrick Brown by decision which earned him a world title eliminator against Czech amateur star

Rudolf Kraj Rudolf Kraj () (born 5 December 1977 in Mělník, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech boxer. Amateur He won the silver medal in the men's Light Heavyweight (81 kg) category at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He lost to Aleksandr Lebz ...

. Godfrey was 16-0 while Kraj was 13-0. The fight took place in Kraj's adopted home country of Germany, and Kraj won on points. Nearly six months later one of Godfrey's most exciting fights took place at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. He fought Emmanuel Nwodo, who proved to be a tough fight for Godfrey, but in the end Godfrey knocked him out in the 4th round. Godfrey earned his 18th win against Edward Gutierrez in November 2008, pitched a shutout against undefeated Shawn Hawk (18-0) and improved to 20-1 with 10 KOs with a split decision win over veteran Michael Simms. The win earned Godfrey a shot at

Marco Huck Muamer Hukić (born 11 November 1984), best known as Marco Huck, is a German professional boxer.. Retrieved 2015-12-01. He held the WBO cruiserweight title from 2009 to 2015, and is the joint-longest reigning cruiserweight world champion of all ...

's WBO title, which he lost by KO5. He lost again to the undefeated Lateef Kayode on points.

Professional boxing record

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References

External links

*
CES Boxing official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Matt 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Providence, Rhode Island Native American boxers Cruiserweight boxers Boxers from Rhode Island National Golden Gloves champions Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers American male boxers