Simon Vallily (born 15 August 1985) is an English

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 ...

. As an amateur, he was a member of the England elite squad as well as the Great British podium squad and won gold at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

. Vallily was born to English father and Jamaican mother.The Guardian , Boxer Simon Vallily gets redemption with gold
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Amateur career

Fighting for the South Bank Amateur boxing club in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, Vallily was formerly on the books of

Middlesbrough Football Club Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadiu ...

until disciplinary issues meant that his career in football ended prematurely. Vallily claimed that he started boxing after getting into trouble when he was a kid, and that what he would be doing if he were not boxing would be "not worth thinking about". In February 2006, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison following a knife attack. Halfway into his sentence he was released and started to concentrate on his boxing career.Gazette Live , Simon Vallily only now reaching his potential
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Domestic honours

In 2009, competing in the super heavyweight division, Vallily won the senior ABA title in Sheffield at the English Institute of Sport, beating Amin Isa 13-4. Despite touching the canvas himself, the victory included a knockdown of his opponent in the third round. Speaking of the win and of the fact that he himself had taken a count, Vallily said, "Getting caught gave me a kick up the backside and got me going". Reflecting on the turnaround in his life since being sentenced to jail in 2006 Vallily said, "I've changed since those days and I'm an ABA champion now...All that is behind me and I don't like to look back - I was just a daft kid...I want to look to the future. I'm grown up now and more focused and this is just the start". On 13 November 2010, Vallily was crowned the Great Britain champion after defeating experienced rival Danny Price 4-3 in the tournament held in Liverpool's Echo Arena and televised by the BBC.

Commonwealth Games

Vallily was part of the England team that competed at the

in Delhi. Picked at the 91kg Heavyweight category, Vallily fought his way to the final, defeating Dominic Winrow of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

in the first round, Arsene Foukou of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

in the quarter-finals and gaining a walkover against Awusone Yekeni of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

in the semifinals.Northern Echo , Vallily and Saunders through to final
/ref> In the final he claimed the gold medal with a first round stoppage over Northern Ireland's Steven Ward after knocking him to the canvas, having quickly established a 6-1 lead. Speaking of Vallily's performance, coach Rob McCracken said "He's frighteningly good. We've got two years to work with him and there's a real possibility he could win the Olympics".

Professional boxing record

Exhibition boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallily, Simon 1985 births Living people English male boxers Cruiserweight boxers Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England England Boxing champions Sportspeople from Middlesbrough Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing