Steve McCarthy (born 30 July 1962 – 30 June 2017) was 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 eel, ...

who had been British

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 cruis ...

champion in 1990.

Career

Southampton local McCarthy began his professional career in February 1987 with a win over Russell Burnett. He was unbeaten in his first 10 fights, which included a win over Serg Fame in November 1988 to take the

BBBofC 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 ...

Southern Area light heavyweight title at Applemore Recreation Centre, and a points victory over former Belgian Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion Yves Monsieur. Highly rated and tipped for potential stardom, he suffered his first defeat in September 1989 to

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

in an eliminator for the English title at Southampton Guildhall, in one of boxing's most unusual fights. Entering the fight as the underdog against the former British Champion, McCarthy dominated the opening stanzas proceeding to knock Wilson down in the third round and was looking to finish the fight with Wilson pinned on the ropes. The fight was stopped when Wilson's 62-year-old mother climbed into the ring and started attacking McCarthy with her shoe, and Wilson's corner man also entered the ring. McCarthy believed he had won and left the ring, but bizarrely referee Adrian Morgan insisted that the fight should continue. McCarthy refused (the injury caused by Wilson's mother required four stitches) and Wilson was declared the winner by technical knockout. A riot ensued and Wilson's mother had to be dragged from the ring by her hair by a security guard; McCarthy returned to the ring but only to calm the crowd. A BBBofC enquiry upheld the result but ordered a rematch, but McCarthy pulled out, suffering from

flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

. McCarthy's next fight came in October 1990 at Battersea Town Hall in a rematch against Fame for the British light-heavyweight title vacated by

Tom Collins The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically serv ...

; McCarthy won on points to become British champion in what was dubbed as a "masterclass" from the new British Champion. McCarthy suffered his first defeat at the hands of another boxer in April 1992 when he was disqualified in the ninth round against German Olympic gold medallist

Henry Maske Henry Maske (, ; born 6 January 1964) is a German former professional boxer and one of Germany's most popular sports figures. He held the IBF light heavyweight title from 1993 until 1996. Amateur career Maske was born in Treu ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

. He also lost via disqualification to

Dariusz Michalczewski Dariusz Tomasz Michalczewski (born 5 May 1968) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2005. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA, IBF, WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

in September that year. In April 1993 he was stopped by Simon Harris in the fifth round,Sporting Digest:Boxing
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 15 April 1992. Retrieved 12 March 2015 and he finished his career in February 1994 with a points win over Karl Barwise.

References

External links

Career record
at boxrec.com {{DEFAULTSORT:MCCarthy, Steve 1962 births 2017 deaths English male boxers Light-heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from Southampton