Richie Woodhall (born 17 April 1968) is a British former
professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2000.
He held the
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
super-middleweight title from 1998 to 1999, as well as the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...
middleweight title from 1992 to 1995, and the
European middleweight title from 1995 to 1996. As an
amateur, Woodhall won a gold medal 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. Parti ...
and bronze at the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
, both in the
light-middleweight division.
Following his retirement from the sport, Woodhall has developed a broadcasting career with both the
BBC and
BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Broad ...
as a sports pundit, on both television and radio. He currently co-commentates with
Mike Costello on radio for some shows, while co-commentating with
John Rawling on
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...
at other times. He was also involved with the
2012 Olympics held in London, commentating on the fights alongside
Jim Neilly and coaching the Olympic boxing squad. After appearing as a body double for
Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
in the 2000 film ''
Snatch'', he has dedicated himself to developing as a performer.
Amateur career
*
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
Bronze Medalist, Seoul South Korea 1988, losing to
Roy Jones, Jr..
*
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...
Gold Medallist, Auckland New Zealand 1990
*England International Contests – 43
Olympic results
**1st round bye
**Defeated
Desmond Williams (Sierra Leone) 5-0
**Defeated
Apolinario Silveira (Angola) 5-0
**Defeated
Rey Rivera (Puerto Rico) 5-0
**Lost to
Roy Jones Jr. (United States) 5-0
Professional career
Woodhall turned pro in 1990 and was undefeated as the Commonwealth Middleweight Champion from 1992 to 1995. He was then undefeated as the European Middleweight Champion from 1995 to 1996.
Woodhall defeated a number of useful fighters during this period, including; Future World Super Middle and World Light Heavyweight Champion
Silvio Branco
Silvio Branco (born 26 August 1966) is an Italian former professional boxer of Romani origin.
Career
1992 he was outpointed by undefeated southpaw Agostino Cardamone for the Italian middleweight title.
When Cardamone vacated he could win the ...
,
Art Serwarno
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of ...
,
Heath Todd,
Jacques LeBlanc
Jacques LeBlanc (born August 5, 1964 in Memramcook, New Brunswick, Canada) is a Canadian retired Middleweight Boxer. LeBlanc is of Acadian ancestry.
Early career
LeBlanc started his boxing career in 1982, Knocking out Tim Parson in 2 rounds. I ...
,
Zdravko Kostic
Zdravko () is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin derived from word "zdrav" meaning "healthy". Notable people with the name include:
*Zdravko Čolić, Bosnian singer
*Zdravko Ježić, Croatian water polo player
*Zdravko Kovačić, Croat ...
,
Derek Wormald
Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of ''Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of " people- ruler".
Common variants of the nam ...
,
Vito Gaudiosi
Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning " life".
It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...
and
Royan Hammond
Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; oc, Roian) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its inhabitants are known as ''Royannais'' and ''Royannaises''. C ...
.
In late 1996 he fought WBC middleweight title holder
Keith Holmes. Woodhall went into this fight carrying an injury, but took the fight anyway. Woodhall did not perform as well has he might otherwise have, losing by 12th-round TKO.
In 1998 he moved up to Super Middleweight and after a tune up against
Bernice Barber
Bernice may refer to:
Places In the United States
* Bernice, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Bernice, Louisiana, a town
* Bernice, Nevada, a ghost town
* Bernice, Oklahoma, a town
* Bernice Coalfield, a coalfield in Sullivan County, P ...
captured the WBC super middleweight title with a unanimous decision win over
Thulani Malinga.
He successfully defended the title twice, defeating fellow Briton and future World Champion
Glenn Catley and former World Champ
Vincenzo Nardiello before losing it to
Markus Beyer by decision in 1999, a fight in which Woodhall was down in the 1st and twice in the 3rd. Woodhall rallied late in the fight and came close to stopping Beyer, however his revival came too late.
Woodhall bounced back with a win over the experienced
Errol McDonald
Errol may refer to:
People with the given name
*Errol Barnett (born 1983), anchor and correspondent for CBS News
*Errol Barrow (1920–1987), first Prime Minister of Barbados
*Errol Brown (1943–2015), British-Jamaican songwriter, lead singer ...
, setting him up for his final bout against
Joe Calzaghe for 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 ...
super middleweight title.
Woodhall was TKO'd in 10 rounds by
Joe Calzaghe in an exciting fight in which Calzaghe always had the edge.
Woodhall retired after this bout which took place on 16 December 2000.
Personal life
Woodhall grew up in
Woodside, Telford but also lived in
Malinslee and attended the local
Abraham Darby School. He is also a keen supporter of
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...
He currently resides in Lightmoor, Telford, Shropshire.
Woodhall also is a reporter for
BBC Midlands BBC Midlands may refer to:
*BBC East Midlands, the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland, headquartered in Nottingham
*BBC West Midlands
BBC Midlands (known as the Midland Region from 1927 until c. 1 ...
' Inside Out Programme . He is married to childhood sweetheart Jayne and has 3 children, Jack, Jake and eldest daughter and aspiring actress Amy Woodhall, who has appeared in television shows such as
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffa ...
and
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...
.
In film
Woodhall was a
body double
In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
for
Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
in a fight scene in the movie ''
Snatch'', directed by
Guy Ritchie. He trained
Matthew Marsden
Matthew David Marsden (born 3 March 1973) is an English-American actor, producer, singer and former model. He has appeared in films such as ''Helen of Troy'', '' Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid'', '' Tamara'', '' Resident Evil: Extincti ...
for his role in the movie ''
Shiner''.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodhall, Richie
English male boxers
Olympic boxers of Great Britain
World boxing champions
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Boxers at the 1990 Commonwealth Games
People from Telford
1968 births
Living people
Olympic medalists in boxing
Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing
World super-middleweight boxing champions
World Boxing Council champions
Commonwealth Boxing Council champions
European Boxing Union champions
Light-middleweight boxers