Shane Sutcliffe | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Nickname(s) | Kid Thunder |
Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
Nationality | Canadian |
Born | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | June 17, 1975
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 40 |
Wins | 25 |
Wins by KO | 15 |
Losses | 14 |
Draws | 1 |
Shane Sutcliffe (born June 17, 1975) is a Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2004. He is referred to as "Kid Thunder" by his fans.
Sutcliffe was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, before moving to Nanaimo, British Columbia at age 12. He had no formal amateur boxing career; after winning 22 "Toughman Contests" in Canada, he made his professional boxing debut in 1992 at the age of 17. His first fight resulted in a sixth-round decision victory over Joe Wade. Shortly afterward he moved to Los Angeles, California and eventually Las Vegas, Nevada, to train with the legendary Eddie Futch. He won other fights by unexpected margins, including a 3-round defeat of Ray Phillips [1]
In 1997, Sutcliffe moved to and fought out of Montreal, Quebec, after signing a contract with International Boxing Management Interbox. On April 3, 1998, he defeated Ben Perlini via sixth round knockout to win the Canadian Heavyweight championship. In his third defense of the title on February 5, 1999, Sutcliffe lost via 12th-round TKO to former World titleholder Trevor Berbick in Montreal. His contract was then dropped by Interbox as a result. He challenged Berbick again for the title on May 26, 2000, in Vancouver. However, he dropped a close 12 round unanimous decision in that contest. [2]
Sutcliffe took over 2 years off from boxing to start a family after losing to fellow Canadian Patrice L'Heureux on November 30, 2001. After the birth of his son, Sutcliffe worked construction to provide a steadier source of income for his new family. However, he returned to the sport in 2004, dropping decisions to Wesley Martin and Louis Monaco.
Sutcliffe is what is termed a journeyman fighter, one who "journeys" to a variety of places (often on short notice) to provide relatively easy competition for up-and-coming prospects or fading former champions. He counted Tyrell Biggs, Leon Spinks, Trevor Berbick, Oleg Maskaev, Brian Nielsen, and David Tua among the opponents he faced. [3] As of the beginning of 2006, his ring record stands at 25 wins (15 knockouts), 14 losses, and one draw in 40 professional contests.
Tommy Burns was a Canadian professional boxer. He is the only Canadian-born World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. The first to travel the globe in defending his title, Burns made 13 title defences against 11 different boxers, despite often being the underdog due to his size. Burns took on all challengers as Heavyweight Champion, leading to his legendary bout with the African American Jack Johnson. According to his biographer, Burns insisted, "I will defend my title against all comers, none barred. By this I mean white, black, Mexican, Indian, or any other nationality. I propose to be the champion of the world, not the white, or the Canadian, or the American. If I am not the best man in the heavyweight division, I don't want the title."
Michael Spinks is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal heavyweight title from 1985 to 1988. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Leon Spinks was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision, in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Spinks was later stripped of the WBC title for facing Ali in an unapproved rematch seven months later, which he lost by a unanimous decision.
Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC title again from 2005 to 2006. He was ranked as the world's top 10 heavyweight by BoxRec from 2000 to 2005, and reached his highest ranking of world No.6 at the conclusion of 2004.
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.
Trevor Berbick was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to Mike Tyson. Berbick was the last boxer to fight Muhammad Ali, defeating him in 1981 by unanimous decision.
During the 1950s, a couple of relatively new developments changed the world: World War II had only been over for five years when the 1950s began, and television was beginning to make a major impact internationally. In boxing, changes connected to these developments could be seen too, as boxers who fought at the 1940s conflict returned to their homes and many of them were back in the ring. Television producers were in love with sports, which provided the viewer with an opportunity to observe sporting events live, and boxing was not the exception to the rule; many television networks began to feature fights live during the weekends, and the Gillette Friday Night Fights proved to be one of the most popular boxing television series in American history.
John Tate was the WBA heavyweight champion of the world from 1979 to 1980. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Tim Witherspoon is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2003. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title in 1984, and the WBA title in 1986. Witherspoon also worked as a regular sparring partner for Muhammad Ali.
Bernardo Mercado was a Colombian professional boxer briefly ranked as the top contender for the title of champion in 1980 by the WBC.
Louis "The Facelifter" Monaco is a professional boxer in the heavyweight division and the former CAM heavyweight champion. Nicknamed "The Facelifter," Monaco is a clubfighter who fought several significant fighters of his era including world champions Buster Douglas, Trevor Berbick, Vitali Klitschko, Lamon Brewster, Michael Dokes, and Eric Esch.
Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson for the WBA heavyweight championship on November 9, 1996, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The bout was Tyson's first defense of the WBA title that he had won from Bruce Seldon on September 7 of that year.
Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev is a Russian-Canadian professional boxer. He is a unified light heavyweight champion, having held the IBF title since 2017, the WBC title since 2019 and the WBO title since June 2022.
Trevor Berbick vs. Mike Tyson, billed as Judgment Day, was a professional boxing match contested on November 22, 1986 for the WBC heavyweight championship.
Mike Tyson vs. James Smith, billed as Super Fight, was a professional boxing match contested on March 7, 1987 for the WBA and WBC heavyweight championships, as part of the heavyweight unification series.
Mike Tyson vs. Tony Tucker, billed as The Ultimate, was a professional boxing match contested on August 1, 1987 for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships.
Mike Tyson vs. Pinklon Thomas, billed as Hard Road to Glory, was a professional boxing match contested on May 30, 1987, for the WBA and WBC heavyweight championships.
Mike Tyson vs. Marvis Frazier was a professional boxing match contested on July 26, 1986. The fight took place at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York, USA.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Bernard Hopkins, billed as It's History, was a professional boxing match contested on September 18, 2004 for Hopkins' WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, and The Ring middleweight championships, and Oscar De La Hoya's WBO middleweight championship.
The heavyweight unification series, also known as the Heavyweight World Series, was a sequence of professional boxing matches held in 1986 and 1987 to crown an undisputed champion of the heavyweight class. The series was produced by HBO Sports and promoted by Don King. It ended with Mike Tyson as undisputed champion, holding the championship belts of the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association, and World Boxing Council.