Michael Armstrong (boxer)

Last updated

Michael Armstrong
Statistics
Real nameMichael Morris
Weight(s) Featherweight, super featherweight
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
NationalityBritish
Born (1968-12-18) 18 December 1968 (age 54)
Moston, Cheshire, England
Boxing record
Total fights26
Wins18
Wins by KO9
Losses7
Draws1

Michael Morris (born 18 December 1968), who fought under the name Michael Armstrong, is a British former boxer, who was British super featherweight champion in 1992.

Contents

Career

Born in Moston, Cheshire and based in Stoke-on-Trent, Armstrong moved into boxing from kickboxing and made his professional debut in January 1988, knocking John Hales out in the first round. Beaten only twice in his first 15 fights, in September 1990 he challenged for Modesty Napunyi's Commonwealth featherweight title, losing in a ninth round knockout.

He won his next three fights, including a final eliminator against Darren Elsdon, setting up a challenge for John Doherty's British super featherweight title in April 1992 at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester. Armstrong stopped Doherty in the seventh round to become British champion. In July 1993, he was fined £1,000 and given an 18-months suspended sentence after being found guilty of a drug offence. [1] He lost the British title in October when he was stopped in the sixth round by Neil Haddock.

He was out of the ring until May 1993, when he faced Jon Jo Irwin for the vacant WBO Penta-Continental super featherweight title, losing on points. Armstrong was stopped in the third round by Bamana Dibateza in October 1994 when an arm wound that had been stitched reopened. In May 1995 he challenged Floyd Havard for the British super featherweight title, losing by knockout in the ninth round. [2]

He went on to start Armstrong's Gym in Salford. [3]

In 2010, he received a four year prison sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of blackmail, eight of criminal damage and single counts of affray and illegal money lending, and ordered to pack back £268,992. [3] After being released from prison in 2012, he returned to working as a boxing trainer and promoter.

Related Research Articles

Juan Molina, better known as John John Molina in the world of boxing, is a former boxer whose career transcended boxing in Puerto Rico. A multiple time world champion, this boxer was also known as quite a socialite. Molina is a native of Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

Azumah Nelson is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC super-featherweight title twice between 1988 and 1997. He also challenged once for the unified WBC and IBF lightweight titles in 1990. At regional level, he held the ABU, and Commonwealth featherweight titles between 1980 and 1982. Widely considered one of the greatest African boxers of all time, he is currently ranked as the 31st greatest pound for pound boxer of all time by BoxRec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boxing in the 1980s</span> Overview of boxing in the 1980s

Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter, the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad, and major rule changes. In 1986, Mike Tyson emerged as a fresh new face in the heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.

Billy Hardy is a former bantamweight and featherweight boxer champion. He held the British championship at bantamweight and featherweight, as well as the European and Commonwealth featherweight titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Seldon</span> American boxer

Bruce Samuel Seldon is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1996, and 2004 to 2009. He held the WBA heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996, most notably losing to Mike Tyson via knockout in his second defense.

Manuel Medina is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2008. He is a five-time featherweight champion, having held the IBF title thrice between 1991 and 2002, the WBC title in 1995, and the WBO title in 2003.

Michael John Nunn is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF middleweight title from 1988 to 1991, and the WBA super middleweight title from 1992 to 1994. During both those reigns, he also held the lineal championship. In 2004, Nunn was sentenced to 24 years in prison for drug trafficking; he was released in February 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Manuel Márquez</span> Mexican world champion boxer (born 1973)

Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is the third Mexican boxer to become a world champion in four weight classes, having held nine world major titles from featherweight to light welterweight, including the lineal championship at lightweight.

Duke McKenzie is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1998. He is a three-weight world champion, having held the IBF flyweight title from 1988 to 1989; the WBO bantamweight title from 1991 to 1992; and the WBO junior-featherweight title from 1992 to 1993. At regional level he held the British flyweight title from 1985 to 1988; the European flyweight title from 1986 to 1988; and the British featherweight title from 1993 to 1994. After retiring from the sport, McKenzie has worked as a boxing commentator for broadcaster ITV.

Steve Cruz is a retired American professional boxer who became the WBA World Featherweight Champion on June 23, 1986. His trainer for much of his career was Don Gorman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicky Cook</span> English boxer

Nicky Cook, sometimes known by his ring name Cookie, is a British retired professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2011. He held the WBO super featherweight title from 2008 to 2009. He challenged once for the WBO featherweight title in 2007 and again for the WBO super featherweight title in 2011. At the regional level, he held the Commonwealth featherweight title from 2003 to 2005, the British featherweight title in 2005, and the EBU European featherweight title from 2004 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Gomez</span> British boxer

Michael Gomez is a former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2009. He was born to an Irish Traveller family in Longford, Ireland, spending his early years in Dublin before moving to London and later Manchester, England, with his family at the age of nine. In boxing he was affectionately known as "The Predator", "The Irish Mexican" and "The Mancunian Mexican".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Dickie (boxer)</span> Wales boxer

Robert Dickie was a Welsh professional boxer, fighting at both featherweight and super-featherweight. He was Scottish champion at featherweight, British champion at both weights and became WBC International super-featherweight champion in 1988. He is one of only four Welshmen to hold a British boxing title at different weights, the others being Johnny Basham, Pat Thomas and Jack Petersen.

Neil Haddock is a Welsh former lightweight and super featherweight boxer. Before turning professional he won a silver medal as a lightweight at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. His early career as a professional lightweight was not very notable, but after a year out from boxing caused by an eye injury, he returned fitter and lighter as a super featherweight. In 1992 he became the Welsh super featherweight champion, taking the British title just five months later. He retired from boxing in 1994.

Floyd Havard is a Welsh former super featherweight boxer. He was twice British super featherweight champion, from 1988–1989 and 1994-1996. In 1994 he made an unsuccessful bid for the IBF super featherweight title against John John Molina.

Leigh Wood is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world featherweight champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) title between May 2023 and October 2023 and previously between 2021 and February 2023. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth featherweight title in 2019 and the British featherweight title in 2021. As of May 2023, Wood is ranked as the world's second-best active featherweight by BoxRec, sixth by The Ring magazine, and seventh by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Dramani "Sugar" Gibiliru is a British former boxer who was British super featherweight champion in 1991.

John Doherty is a British former boxer who was British super featherweight champion for three periods between 1986 and 1992.

Kevin Pritchard is a British former boxer who was British super featherweight champion between 1990 and 1991.

Viviane Obenauf is a Brazilian former professional boxer who competed from 2014 to 2019. She has challenged three times for world titles; the IBO female lightweight title in 2017; the IBF female super featherweight title in 2018; and the IBO female super featherweight title in 2019.

References

  1. "Sport in Short:Boxing", The Independent , 9 July 1992. Retrieved 23 December 2017
  2. Harding, John (2016) Lonsdale's Belt: Boxing's Most Coveted Prize, Pitch Publishing Ltd., ISBN   978-1785311956
  3. 1 2 "Salford boxer turned loan shark jailed for threats", BBC, 16 July 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2017