Mickey Cantwell (born 23 November 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 1991 to 2001. He challenged for multiple world titles; the WBO

light flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920 ...

and mini flyweight titles in 1997; and 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 ...

mini flyweight title in 2000. At regional level, 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, ...

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

title in 1996.

Career

Amateur

Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Cantwell represented

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 the

division at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1990 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Partic ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Boxing for the Eltham & District ABC, he was twice winner of the prestigious ABA light-flyweight championship (1988 and 1989).

Professional

Cantwell turned professional in 1991 and, unbeaten in his first seven fights, beat Darren Fifield in April 1993 to take the vacant

BBBofC The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

Southern Area

title. Five months later he challenged for Pablo Tiznado's WBC International light flyweight title, losing on points - his first professional defeat.Maloney, Frank & Breenan, Kevin (2003) ''No Baloney: A Journey From Peckham To Las Vegas'', Mainstream Publishing, In April 1994 he challenged for Luigi Camputaro's

EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...

European flyweight title, and again lost on points. In March 1996 he faced

Keith Knox Keith Knox (born 6 August 1964 in Stranraer) is a Scottish former football player and was the manager of Creetown F.C. until his resignation in September 2017. Playing career Knox started his career with his hometown team, before moving to ...

for the vacant British flyweight title, winning on points to become British champion. Aiming for higher honours he relinquished the title, and in December 1997 faced

Eric Jamili Eric Jamili (born May 20, 1977 in Silay, Negros Occidental, Philippines) is a retired Filipino professional boxer. He won the vacant WBO minimumweight title in December 1997 with an eighth round technical knockout of Englishman Mickey Cantwell ...

for the vacant WBO mini flyweight title; A cut to Cantwell's nose caused the fight to be stopped in the eighth round. In June 2000 he challenged

Zolani Petelo Zolani Petelo (born 21 September 1975) is a South African former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2005. He held the IBF mini-flyweight title from 1997 to 2000 and challenged for the IBF junior-flyweight title in 2001. Profession ...

for the

mini flyweight title, again stopped in the eighth round. Cantwell had a small role in the 2000 film '' Snatch'', playing Liam. Cantwell's final fight came in September 2001 when he unsuccessfully challenged

Jacob Matlala Jacob "Baby Jake" Matlala (1 August 1962 – 7 December 2013) was a South African boxer and junior flyweight champion from Meadowlands, Johannesburg. He won 4 world championship titles. In 2004, Matlala was voted #72 in the " 100 Greatest Sou ...

for the

WBU The World Boxing Union (WBU) was a boxing sanctioning body. The original WBU was founded in January 1995 by IBF European representative, boxing journalist, actor and former holder of the title of Britain's heaviest man Jon W. Robinson. It san ...

light flyweight title, the South African stopping him in the fifth round. After retiring from boxing, Cantwell served as Chief Executive of the Professional Boxing Association and as a project worker for the Educational Sports Forum.Cridland, Alison (2009)
Boxing champ boots boss in the bottom during Brighton conference row
, '' The Argus'', 16 October 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2015 After an incident in September 2008 in which Cantwell knocked his manager Alan Irwin out during an argument at the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, he was convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm and sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work. Cantwell became a patron of the Boxing Futures charity and in 2011 opened Cantwell's Gym in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

.Micky Cantwell opens gym with help of Ricky Hatton
, boxing.com, 9 December 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2015

References

External links

Career record
at boxrec.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantwell, Mickey 1964 births Living people English male boxers Flyweight boxers Light-flyweight boxers Boxers from Greater London Boxers at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England