Michael Holden (born 13 March 1968) 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 1994 to 2012. 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, ...

heavyweight title in 2000.

Career

Born in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

and based in

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 ...

, Holden began his professional career in October 1994 with a 4th round stoppage of Gary Williams. After a win and two defeats from his next three fights he fought Julius Francis in July 1996, losing on points. He also did some acting work, including as an extra in '' Coronation Street''.Brennan, Scott (2009)
Holden Tips Colossus Fury
, ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'', 19 February 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2014 He won five of his next six fights, earning him a shot at the British title in March 2000 that was then held by Francis; Holden won on points to become British champion.Boxing: Francis loses British heavyweight title
, RTÉ, 14 June 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2014 Only two months earlier Holden had acted as bodyguard for Francis during the latter's fight against Mike Tyson and acted as a sparring partner for Francis. After being forced to relinquish his title, he fought Francis again in April 2001 in a fight for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title that was also a final eliminator for the British title; This time Francis got the points decision. In September Holden fought

Keith Long Keith Long (born 14 November 1973) is an Irish football manager and former footballer. He was most recently the manager of League of Ireland Premier Division team Bohemians Long is a former Bray Wanderers player, assistant manager and was ...

in another eliminator for the British title but again lost on points. Holden won only two more fights and lost three of his last five fights, including defeats to Michael Sprott and

Matt Skelton Matt Skelton (born 23 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. In boxing he competed from 2002 to 2014. He challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2008. At regional level, he held the ...

, the latter a fight for the vacant English title in 2003, after which he retired. After retiring from boxing, Holden joined the police force. In 2008 he began training for a comeback and sparred with

Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and '' The Ring'' magazine title from 2020 to August 202 ...

. He made his return to the ring in September 2009 against Tomáš Mrázek, a boxer who had lost 22 of 28 fights. The 4-round fight ended in a draw. In 2010 Holden was scheduled to compete in television knockout series but was omitted at the last minute''

Prizefighter 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 ...

''.Holyfield Conducts Prizefighter Heavyweight Draw
, prizefighter.co.uk, 1 September 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2014 Holden returned again in 2012 to fight the undefeated

Dillian Whyte Dillian Whyte (; born 11 April 1988) is a British professional boxer. He has formerly competed as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He held the WBC interim heavyweight title twice, between 2019 and 2020, and again from 2021 to April 2022 ...

, with Whyte winning by a TKO in the third round after putting Holden down three times.

References

1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Ashton-under-Lyne English male boxers Heavyweight boxers {{England-boxing-bio-stub