Chris Edwards (boxer)

Chris Edwards (6 May 1976 – 30 March 2018) was a British professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2012. He held the British super flyweight title in 2007, the British flyweight title twice between 2009 and 2012, and the Commonwealth flyweight title from 2009 to 2010.

Chris Edwards
Statistics
Real nameChris Edwards
Weight(s)
NationalityBritish
Born(1976-05-06)6 May 1976
Stoke-on-Trent, England
Died30 March 2018(2018-03-30) (aged 41)
Stoke-On-Trent
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights36
Wins17
Wins by KO4
Losses15
Draws4
No contests0

Career

The journeyman

Edwards made his professional debut in the Welsh town of Ebbw Vale in April 1998, beating Chris Thomas via a technical knockout in the second round. The victory was to be his last for the next two years. Fighting a further six times between September 1998 and September 2000 Edwards went on to lose on all six occasions.[1] Despite his long run of defeats Edwards managed to stem the tide of defeat with two victories coming in October and November 2000 allowing him to end the year with a pro record of won three, lost six. The next year saw Edwards revert to the journeyman type with four fights resulting in a further two defeats against one draw and one win against Neil Read.[2][3]

Read was also to prove Edwards solitary opponent throughout the whole of 2002 when in October of that year the two men met one more. Edwards picked up his fifth pro win (2nd against Read) with a points victory over six rounds at the Kings Hall in Stoke-on-Trent. Only one fight followed in 2003 with Edwards this time losing to future British and Commonwealth champion Lee Haskins in June again over six rounds.[2]

In 2004, Edwards fought three times and scored a third victory over Neil Read to this time pick up the vacant Midlands Area super bantamweight title, the first professional title of his career.[3] At the time of the contest for the belt Read had a combined record of 3-20-1 against Edwards 5-9-2. The contest which took place during September at the Kings Hall saw Edwards claim victory via technical knockout in the second round. Further results during the year saw a draw against old foe Delroy Spencer in April and a defeat to future British title challenger Colin Moffett in October.[2][3]

After the Moffett fight another period of inactivity followed for Edwards and he would not fight again until November 2005, meeting Delroy Spencer for the third time, this time scoring a points victory over four rounds. In February 2006 he lost to Gary Ford and then travelled to Italy in March 2006 to meet Andrea Sarritzu the reigning European champion in a non-title fight. It was the first time Edwards had travelled abroad to fight professionally and the fight ended with the champion knocking Edwards out in the fourth round.[2]

The English champion

Edwards rebounded from his Italian adventure by scoring victories later in the year over novice fighters Gary Shiel and Usman Ahmed.[3] The wins set Edwards up for a shot at the vacant English flyweight title against Huddersfield's former Commonwealth champion, Dale Robinson who entered the contest with a professional record of 19-2-1 making him a strong favourite to win considering Edwards' record of 9-12-1. The fight, at the Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent in November 2006 resulted in one of the upsets of the year with Edwards scoring a TKO in the eighth round to lift his second professional title and the English championship.[4]

A rematch between the two fighters in April 2007 saw both fighters meet in Altrincham for the vacant British and Commonwealth flyweight titles. In one of the fights of the year, Edwards and Robinson battled to a draw over 12 rounds meaning that neither would leave with the belts. After the fight Robinson announced his retirement from the sport.[5]

British and Commonwealth champion

Following the introduction of the super-flyweight division to British boxing, Edwards was mandated to fight for the inaugural British title against Doncaster's undefeated Jamie McDonnell. The fight, in December 2007, saw Edwards claim the title in another close fight-of-the-year contender with a split-decision victory.[6] His reign as champion was short-lived, however, as he lost the title in his first defence, against Andy Bell, in a 12-round fight.[7]

Edwards fought once more for a title in January 2009, this time moving back down to flyweight to challenge once more for the still-vacant British and Commonwealth flyweight titles. The fight in Edwards' home town of Stoke against fellow challenger Wayne Bloy saw Edwards pick up both belts when Bloy retired hurt in the fourth round.[8][1] On 29 May 2009, Edwards made the first defence of his new title with a 12-round decision over a man he had defeated previously, Derby's Usman Ahmed.[9] Edwards lost the title, fighting in Bolton to Shinny Bayaar, a Mongolian fighter who had recently gained British nationality, making him eligible to the fight for the belt.[2]

The loss against Bayaar had also meant the loss of Edwards' Commonwealth title, which, despite not being on the line, had to be given up following the defeat to another Commonwealth fighter. On 19 February 2010, he returned to Stoke-on-Trent to fight for the now-vacant belt, beating Namibian Abmerk Shindjuu in 12 rounds, winning 115-114 on each of the judges' scorecards.[10] Edwards was victorious over Francis Croes in four rounds on 4 December 2010, and then regained the British title with a victory in a closely fought contest against Paul Edwards at the Olympia in Liverpool on 11 June 2011.[1][2][11] Edwards made a successful defence on 10 December 2011 over the man who had previously beaten him, Shinny Bayaar.[12][1]

Death

On 30 March 2018, Edwards died of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome.[13][14]

Professional boxing record

36 fights 17 wins 15 losses
By knockout 4 4
By decision 13 11
Draws 4
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
36 Loss 17-15-4 United Kingdom Kevin Satchell TKO 6 (12) 13 Oct 2012 United Kingdom Echo Arena, Liverpool, England Lost British flyweight title
35 Draw 17-14-4 United Kingdom Anwar Alfadli PTS 6 29 Jun 2012 United Kingdom Queens Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, England
34 Win 17-14-3 United Kingdom Shinny Bayaar UD 12 10 Dec 2011 United Kingdom Peterlee Leisure Centre, Peterlee, England Retained British flyweight title
33 Win 16-14-3 United Kingdom Paul Edwards SD 12 11 Jun 2011 United Kingdom Olympia, Liverpool, England Retained British flyweight title
32 Win 15-14-3 United Kingdom Francis Croes PTS 4 4 Dec 2010 United Kingdom Palace Hotel, Manchester, England
31 Win 14-14-3 Namibia Abmerk Shindjuu UD 12 19 Feb 2010 United Kingdom Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent, England Won vacant Commonwealth flyweight title
30 Loss 13-14-3 Monaco Shinny Bayaar SD 12 23 Oct 2009 United Kingdom Bolton Arena, Bolton, England Lost British flyweight title
29 Win 13-13-3 United Kingdom Usman Ahmed UD 12 29 May 2009 United Kingdom Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent, England Retained British and Commonwealth flyweight titles
28 Win 12-13-3 United Kingdom Wayne Bloy RTD 4 (12) 23 Jan 2009 United Kingdom Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent, England Won vacant British and Commonwealth flyweight titles
27 Loss 11-13-3 United Kingdom Andy Bell UD 12 28 Mar 2008 United Kingdom Metrodome, Barnsley, England Lost British super flyweight title
26 Win 11-12-3 United Kingdom Jamie McDonnell SD 12 8 Dec 2007 United Kingdom JJB Stadium, Wigan, England Won vacant British super flyweight title
25 Draw 10-12-3 United Kingdom Dale Robinson PTS 12 13 Apr 2007 United Kingdom Altrincham Leisure Centre, Cheshire, Wngland For vacant British and Commonwealth flyweight titles
24 Win 10-12-2 United Kingdom Dale Robinson TKO 8 (10) 24 Nov 2006 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England Won vacant English flyweight title
23 Win 9-12-2 United Kingdom Usman Ahmed PTS 6 30 Sep 2006 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
22 Win 8-12-2 United Kingdom Gary Sheil PTS 6 6 May 2006 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
21 Loss 7-12-2 Italy Andrea Sarritzu KO 4 (6) 10 Mar 2006 Italy Palasport, Bergamo, Italy
20 Loss 7-11-2 United Kingdom Gary Ford PTS 4 18 Feb 2006 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
19 Win 7-10-2 United Kingdom Delroy Spencer PTS 4 12 Nov 2005 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
18 Loss 6-10-2 United Kingdom Colin Moffett PTS 4 28 Oct 2004 United Kingdom Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
17 Win 6-9-2 United Kingdom Neil Read TKO 2 (10) 26 Sep 2004 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England Won vacant BBBofC Midlands Area super bantamweight title
16 Draw 5-9-2 United Kingdom Delroy Spencer PTS 6 23 Apr 2004 United Kingdom Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Leicester, England
15 Loss 5-9-1 United Kingdom Lee Haskins PTS 6 13 Jun 2003 United Kingdom Ashton Gate, Bristol, England
14 Win 5-8-1 United Kingdom Neil Read PTS 6 10 Oct 2002 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
13 Win 4-8-1 United Kingdom Neil Read PTS 8 6 Dec 2001 United Kingdom Moat House, Stoke-on-Trent, England
12 Loss 3-8-1 United Kingdom Levi Pattison PTS 4 8 Oct 2001 United Kingdom Metrodome, Barnsley, England
11 Draw 3-7-1 United Kingdom Darren Taylor PTS 6 3 Jun 2001 United Kingdom The Void, Hanley, England
10 Loss 3-7 United Kingdom Jamie Evans PTS 6 16 Mar 2001 United Kingdom Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth, England
9 Win 3-6 United Kingdom Levi Pattison PTS 4 27 Nov 2000 United Kingdom Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, England
8 Win 2-6 United Kingdom Andy Roberts PTS 4 7 Oct 2000 United Kingdom Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England
7 Loss 1-6 United Kingdom Paddy Folan PTS 6 15 May 2000 United Kingdom Stakis Hotel, Bradford, England
6 Loss 1-5 United Kingdom Daniel Ring PTS 4 3 Dec 1999 United Kingdom Bushfield Leisure Centre, Peterborough, England
5 Loss 1-4 United Kingdom Lee Georgiou TKO 2 (4) 19 Oct 1999 United Kingdom York Hall, London, England
4 Loss 1-3 United Kingdom Stevie Quinn TKO 4 (6) 17 Apr 1999 Republic of Ireland National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
3 Loss 1-2 United Kingdom Delroy Spencer PTS 6 26 Feb 1999 United Kingdom Gala Baths, West Bromwich, England
2 Loss 1-1 United Kingdom Russel Laing PTS 6 21 Sep 1998 United Kingdom Forte Post House Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
1 Win 1-0 United Kingdom Chris Thomas TKO 2 (6) 3 Apr 1998 United Kingdom Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre, Ebbw Vale, Wales

Titles

Information from the British Boxing Board of Control.[15]

References

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