Richie Wenton (born 28 October 1967) is a British former

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who was British

super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...

champion between 1994 and 1996, and fought for European and World titles.

Career

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, Wenton was encouraged to take up boxing by his father who had been a successful amateur boxer in his time,Wenton's Tribute to Dad Terry
, ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...

'', 8 August 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2016 and won several schoolboy and junior tiles as an amateur as well as representing England.Dix, Tommy
WBF Welcomes Richie Wenton as Our UK Coordinator
,

World Boxing Foundation List of boxing organisations in chronological order by the year of their establishment. The four major sanctioning bodies are in bold. See also * List of judo organizations *List of kickboxing organizations References {{DEFAULTSORT:List o ...

. Retrieved 1 January 2016 He made his professional debut in December 1988 with a second-round knockout of Miguel Matthews, and won 16 of his first 17 fights, including a win over Mark Johnson, the only loss to Floyd Churchill in September 1992. In April 1994 he faced Bradley Stone for the newly created British super bantamweight title 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 ...

. Wenton stopped Stone in the tenth round to become British champion. Stone appeared not to be badly hurt but collapsed hours later and died two days later after suffering a blood clot on the brain. Wenton considered quitting boxing but returned to the ring in October, retiring in the fifth round against Neil Swain, later stating "My mind just wasn't there. I had a lot of things on my mind tonight, a lot on my shoulders." In March 1995 he made a successful defence of his British title, stopping Paul Lloyd in the fifth round, and dedicating the win to Stone.What ever happened to Richie Wenton?
, ''

North Devon Journal The ''North Devon Journal'' is a weekly newspaper published in Barnstaple, North Devon. History The newspaper was established in 1824 by Lex Scott, a local bookseller. It cost 7''d''. until 1836, when the price was reduced to 4''d''. For a short ...

'', 25 June 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2016 In June 1995 Wenton won by unanimous decision over Guianan Michael Parris to take the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

Inter-Continental super bantamweight title. Four months later he challenged for Vincenzo Belcastro's European title, the defending champion getting the decision.Boxer Richie Wenton recalls his battle for the Lonsdale Belt
, ''

'', 1 August 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2016 He made a second defence of the British title in February 1996, beating

Wilson Docherty Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...

on points to win the

Lonsdale Belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), inten ...

outright. He fought only once again that year, and only once in 1997, but in October 1998, after more than a year out of the ring, faced

Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...

for the vacant WBO World super bantamweight title; Wenton retired at the end of the third round after twice being knocked down. He then moved up to

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

, and in May 2000 fought for the vacant British title against

Gary Thornhill Gary Thornhill (born 11 February 1968) is a former English professional boxer who fought at featherweight and super featherweight. He is a former World Boxing Organization ( WBO) Intercontinental super featherweight champion, as well as a BBB ...

; Thornhill stopped him in the eighth round, but failed a drugs test after the fight, testing positive for

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

s, and was stripped of the title at a hearing four months later. Wenton faced Commonwealth champion Scott Harrison in March 2001 with both titles at stake; Wenton was stopped in the fourth round, and subsequently retired from boxing. He went on to work as an electrician in the gas and oil industry.Big-hitters from Ross enjoy success in the ring
, ''Ross-shire Journal'', 29 January 2000. Retrieved 1 January 2016 He also acted as UK coordinator for the

. Richie's brother

Nigel Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published ...

was also a professional boxer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wenton, Richie 1967 births Living people English male boxers Super-bantamweight boxers Featherweight boxers Boxers from Liverpool