Ray Close (born 20 January 1969 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

) is a British retired boxer who fought for most of his career in the

Super Middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

division, ending his career in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

division. He is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

, commonly

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

. He grew up in east Belfast and attended

Knockbreda High School Breda Academy is a controlled secondary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which opened in September 2015. History Breda Academy opened in 2015 as an amalgamation between Newtownbreda High School and Knockbreda High School. Enrollment ...

Professional career

Close turned professional in October 1988, winning his first fight at the

Ulster Hall The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. History ...

, Belfast, when he knocked out

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 ...

's Steve Foster in the second of six rounds on a card that included fellow Northern Irish boxers Eammon Loughran and

Sam Storey Sam Storey (born 9 August 1963 in Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that ...

. In his seventh bout he beat Rocky McGran to win the vacant Irish Super Middleweight title. He successfully defended the title against

Terry Magee Terry Magee (born 1 November 1964, Belfast) is a retired professional Irish boxer. Magee, the older brother of Eamonn Magee, Eamonn and Noel Magee, Noel, fought at Light Middleweight but also fought at heavier weights towards the end of his car ...

, the older brother of Eamonn and Noel, in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1991. In 1993, he defeated

Vincenzo Nardiello Vincenzo Nardiello (born 11 June 1966) is a retired former world champion Italian boxer in the super middleweight division. Early life & amateur career Nardiello was born in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany. A former world champion i ...

to win the

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 Super Middleweight title in Italy.

Eubank fights

Later the same year Close faced

Chris Eubank Christopher Livingstone Eubank (born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, and is ranked by BoxRec as the thir ...

for the WBO Super Middleweight title. In what would be the first of his two fights against Eubank, the match was declared a draw. After an October win against Ray Domenge, Close again faced Eubank in a rematch at Belfast's King's Hall. Despite having the partisan Belfast crowd behind him, Close lost the match on a split points decision. Both fights with Eubank caused considerable controversy, as Eubank floored Close in the first and had him on the verge of a knockout, yet the fight was declared a draw. The second fight, in which Close performed better, was deemed a points loss.

Revoked licence and retirement

A third fight with Eubank was scheduled in 1995. However shortly before the match the

British Boxing Board of Control 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. ...

revoked Close's licence after he failed an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

scan. Two lesions were subsequently found on his brain. Although Close had his British licence revoked he obtained a licence in the US from the Illinois State Boxing Commission. Close generally fought journeyman boxers in the United States, and finished his career with a run of five straight victories with his last fight being against

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

's Larry Willis in which Close won by a knockout in the fifth of eight rounds. There was some press speculation in 2002 that Close was going to make a return to the ring in an unlicensed boxing event in Belfast, however the fight did not materialise.irish-boxing.com

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Close, Ray 1969 births Living people Boxers from Belfast Male boxers from Northern Ireland Super-middleweight boxers