Graham Earl

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Graham Earl
Graham Earl - 2011-11-05.jpg
Earl in 2011
Born (1978-08-26) 26 August 1978 (age 46)
Luton, Bedfordshire,
England
Other namesThe Duke (of Earl)
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 5+1⁄2 in (166 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights32
Wins26
Wins by KO12
Losses6

Graham Earl (born 26 August 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2014. He held the British lightweight title twice between 2003 and 2006, the Commonwealth lightweight title from 2005 to 2006, and challenged once for the WBO interim lightweight title in 2007.

Contents

Amateur career

Earl began boxing at the age of eight. As an amateur boxer, he fought for England Schools and won his first eighteen fights. [1]

Professional career

Earl made his professional debut on 2 September 1997, scoring a second-round stoppage over Mark O'Callaghan. He would spend the next eight years undefeated, winning 21 consecutive fights. During this time Earl won the British lightweight title twice, on 17 July 2003 and 5 June 2004, both times against Bobby Vanzie. On 25 February 2005, Earl lost for the first time to Ricky Burns, who won an eight-round points decision. In Earl's next fight, on 19 June 2005, he bounced back to retain his British lightweight title and win the Commonwealth lightweight title against Kevin Bennett.

On 17 February 2007, a bout for the newly created and vacant WBO interim lightweight title was made between Earl and Michael Katsidis. In an action-packed and fast-paced fight, Earl and Katsidis went toe-to-toe and traded many heavy blows, during which Earl was knocked down twice in the opening round and again in the second. However, soon after getting back to his feet following the third knockdown and having the towel being thrown in seconds later (only for it to be thrown back out again by referee Mickey Vann), Earl managed to floor Katsidis momentarily with a heavy right hand at close quarters, rendering the latter visibly stunned and unsteady on his feet. Earl's comeback would ultimately be short-lived, as Katsidis recovered swiftly and finished the round strongly. At the very end of round three, a low blow cost Katsidis a point, but in the following rounds he went on to deliver a barrage of largely unanswered punches to Earl until the decision was made Earl's cornermen to stop the fight after the fifth round. [2]

Earl suffered his third loss and second in a row on 8 December 2007, when he was stopped in the first round by Amir Khan. [3] This was repeated by Henry Castle on 17 October 2008, who stopped Earl in one round. [4] After a five-year retirement, Earl returned to the sport on 4 July 2014. He travelled to Australia to face Michael Katsidis in a rematch from their 2007 bout, this time at light-welterweight. Katsidis won a wide twelve-round unanimous decision. [5] Earl's final professional fight was a ten-round stoppage loss to Steve Martin on 22 August 2014. [6]

Personal life

The youngest of three brothers, Earl grew up in the Limbury council estate of Luton and attended Icknield High School. He has two children with his ex-wife. [1] In April 2015, Earl was sentenced to seven years in prison for illegal drug trafficking. [7]

Professional boxing record

32 fights26 wins6 losses
By knockout124
By decision142
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
32Loss26–6Steve MartinTKO10 (12), 0:5122 Aug 2014Hilton Hotel Portomaso, St. Julian's, MaltaFor vacant World Boxing Foundation welterweight title
31Loss26–5 Michael Katsidis UD124 Jul 2014Rumours International, Toowoomba, AustraliaFor vacant WBU (German) light-welterweight title
30Win26–4Karl TaylorPTS628 Jun 2009Liquid & Envy, Luton, England
29Loss25–4Henry CastleTKO1 (8), 1:0917 Oct 2008York Hall, London, England
28Loss25–3 Amir Khan TKO1 (12), 1:128 Dec 2007 Bolton Arena, Bolton, EnglandFor Commonwealth lightweight title
27Loss25–2 Michael Katsidis RTD5 (12), 3:0017 Feb 2007Wembley Arena, London, EnglandFor vacant WBO interim lightweight title
26Win25–1Angel Hugo RamirezUD1228 Oct 2006York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant WBU lightweight title
25Win24–1Yuri RamanauPTS1227 Jan 2006Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
24Win23–1Kevin BennettTKO9 (12), 2:1019 Jun 2005York Hall, London, EnglandRetained British lightweight title;
Won Commonwealth lightweight title
23Loss22–1 Ricky Burns PTS825 Feb 2005Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
22Win22–0Steve MurrayTKO6 (12), 2:3730 Jul 2004York Hall, London, EnglandRetained British lightweight title
21Win21–0Bobby VanziePTS125 Jun 2004York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant British lightweight title
20Win20–0Jon HonneyPTS811 Oct 2003 Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth, England
19Win19–0 Bobby Vanzie PTS1217 Jul 2003Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, EnglandWon British lightweight title
18Win18–0Nikolay EremeevPTS824 May 2003York Hall, London, England
17Win17–0Steve MurrayTKO2 (12), 2:0215 Feb 2003Wembley Conference Centre, London, EnglandRetained Southern Area lightweight title
16Win16–0Chill JohnPTS1012 Oct 2002York Hall, London, EnglandRetained Southern Area lightweight title
15Win15–0Mark WintersPTS1015 Dec 2001Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
14Win14–0Liam MaltbyKO1 (10)22 Sep 2001York Hall, London, EnglandRetained Southern Area lightweight title
13Win13–0Brian GentryTKO8 (10)10 Mar 2001York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant Southern Area lightweight title
12Win12–0Leeroy WilliamsonTKO3 (6)21 Oct 2000 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
11Win11–0Marco FattorePTS629 Apr 2000Wembley Arena, London, England
10Win10–0Ivo GolakovTKO1 (6)4 Mar 2000Werrington Sports Centre, Peterborough, England
9Win9–0Simon ChambersKO6 (6), 2:4815 Jul 1999Werrington Sports Centre, Peterborough, England
8Win8–0Benny JonesPTS68 May 1999York Hall, London, England
7Win7–0Leeroy WilliamsonTKO4 (4), 2:3316 Jan 1999York Hall, London, England
6Win6–0Marc SmithTKO1 (6), 2:0210 Dec 1998 The Broadway, London, England
5Win5–0Brian ColemanPTS412 Sep 1998York Hall, London, England
4Win4–0David KirkPTS423 May 1998 York Hall, London, England
3Win3–0Danny LutaayaTKO2 (4), 1:3511 Apr 1998Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England
2Win2–0Mark McGowanPTS46 Dec 1997 Wembley Arena, London, England
1Win1–0Mark O'CallaghanTKO2 (4)2 Sep 1997 Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England

References

  1. 1 2 Earl Cunliffe, James (1 July 2007). "Graham Earl: 'I'm going to be a champion and put Luton on the map'" [ permanent dead link ]. Luton on Sunday. Local World. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "Earl left to rue Katsidis battle". BBC Sport . BBC. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Gilmour, Rod et al. (8 December 2007). "Amir Khan defeats Graham Earl in first round". The Daily Telegraph . Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Turner, Mike (20 October 2008). "Henry is king of the castle". Western Telegraph . Newsquest. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Donovan, Jake (4 July 2014). "Michael Katsidis Settles For Decision In Rout of Graham Earl". BoxingScene. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  6. ↑ James, Marc (25 August 2014). "Martin crowned World Boxing Champion". Malta Today . MediaToday Ltd. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Parris-Long, Adam (30 April 2015). "Luton boxing star Graham Earl jailed for drug offences". Leighton Buzzard Observer. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Colin Dunne 		Southern Area
lightweight champion
10 March 2001 – 17 July 2003
Won British title		Vacant
Title next held by
Peter McDonagh
Preceded by British lightweight champion
17 July 2003 – 2004
Vacated		Vacant
Title next held by
Himself
Vacant
Title last held by
Himself 		British lightweight champion
5 June 2004 – May 2006
Vacated		Vacant
Title next held by
Lee Meager
Preceded by
Kevin Bennett
 Commonwealth
lightweight champion
19 June 2005 – November 2006
Vacated		Vacant
Title next held by
Willie Limond
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Tontcho Tontchev 		WBU lightweight champion
28 October 2006 – February 2007
Vacated		Vacant
Title next held by
Lee McAllister
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