Richie Woodhall (born 17 April 1968) 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 fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1990 to 2000. He held the WBC

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 ( ...

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. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

title from 1992 to 1995, and the European middleweight title from 1995 to 1996. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, Woodhall won a gold medal at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () 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. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

and bronze at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, both in the

light-middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...

division. Following his retirement from the sport, Woodhall has developed a broadcasting career with both the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

BT Sport TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group, they first launched as B ...

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 Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Iris ...

at other times. Woodhall has commentated on numerous

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

for the BBC, starting with Athens 2004 alongside Jim Neilly. This partnership continued into

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

and

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. For the Rio 2016,

Tokyo 2020 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

and

Paris 2024 Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, Woodhall has been ringside alongside Ronald McIntosh. After appearing as a body double for

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

in the 2000 film '' Snatch'', he has dedicated himself to developing as a performer.

Amateur career

Bronze Medalist, Seoul South Korea 1988, losing to Roy Jones, Jr.. *

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

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. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. As an amateur he r ...

(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, Art Serwarno, Heath Todd, Jacques LeBlanc, Zdravko Kostic, Derek Wormald, Vito Gaudiosi and Royan Hammond. 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 captured the WBC super middleweight title with a unanimous decision win over

Thulani Malinga Thulani Malinga (born 11 December 1955) is a South African former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 2000, and held the WBC super-middleweight title twice between 1996 and 1998. Professional career Known as "Sugar Boy", Malinga t ...

. He successfully defended the title twice, defeating fellow Briton and future World Champion Glenn Catley and former World Champ

Vincenzo Nardiello Vincenzo Nardiello (born 11 June 1966) is a retired former world champion Italian boxer in the super middleweight division. He was a WBC world champion in that division. Early life and amateur career Nardiello was born in Stuttgart, Baden-Wür ...

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, setting him up for his final bout against

Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified and lineal titles at super-middleweight, and ...

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 Boxin ...

super middleweight title. Woodhall was TKO'd in 10 rounds by

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 and attended the local William Reynolds Primary and Junior School and Abraham Darby School. He is also a keen supporter of

West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

He currently resides in Lightmoor, Telford, Shropshire. Woodhall also is a reporter for BBC Midlands' Inside Out Programme . He is married to childhood sweetheart Jayne and has 3 children, Jack, Jake and eldest daughter and aspiring actress Amey Woodhall, who has appeared in television shows such as

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

and

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

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

in a fight scene in the movie '' Snatch'', directed by

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

. He trained Matthew Marsden for his role in the movie '' Shiner''.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodhall, Richie English male boxers Olympic boxers for 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 Sportspeople from Telford 1968 births Living people Olympic medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics World super-middleweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions Commonwealth Boxing Council champions European Boxing Union champions Light-middleweight boxers Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists in boxing