Gary Mason (boxer)

Gary Mason (15 December 1962 – 6 January 2011) was a British professional boxer who was based in Chatham, Kent, England. He was born in Jamaica.[1] Mason fought at the heavyweight level and became the British heavyweight champion in 1989. Mason was a top ten contender, his main strengths being his punching power and physical strength.

Gary Mason
Statistics
Real nameGary Anthony Mason
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 1+34 in (1.87 m)
Nationality
Born(1962-12-15)15 December 1962
Jamaica
Died6 January 2011(2011-01-06) (aged 48)
Wallington, London, England
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights38
Wins37
Wins by KO34
Losses1

Mason died on 6 January 2011 in a cycling accident in South London.

Pro boxing career

Mason fought 38 times as a professional in a career that spanned 10 years from 1984 to 1994, with 37 wins (34 by knockout) and only one loss, that being to Lennox Lewis when he challenged for the European title in 1991. Mason gave Lewis his hardest fight up to that point in his career.

Mason defeated a number of well known heavyweights, including Tyrell Biggs, James Tillis, Alfonzo Ratliff, Ricky Parkey, James Pritchard, Louis Pergaud, Hughroy Currie and David Jaco.

Mason sparred with the former WBA World cruiserweight number one and British heavyweight champion David Pearce. Pearce helped him with sparring in preparation for Mason's title fights, he praised Pearce and said he was instrumental in his helping his career.

He suffered a detached retina in a bout with Everett Martin in 1990. After a short retirement he staged a comeback, which ended with a TKO defeat by Lennox Lewis, which aggravated Mason's eye injury. He came back once again, but after winning two fights in the US he retired for good.

Professional boxing record

37 Wins (34 knockouts, 3 decisions), 1 Loss (1 knockout, 0 decisions)[2]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 37–1 United States Martin Foster TKO 3 10 September 1994 United States Laughlin, Nevada, United States
Win 36–1 United States Kevin P Porter TKO 2 29 January 1994 United States Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the second round.
Loss 35–1 United Kingdom Lennox Lewis TKO 7 6 March 1991 United Kingdom Wembley, London BBBofC British/EBU Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 0:44 of the seventh round.
Win 35–0 United States James Pritchard TKO 9 12 December 1990 United Kingdom Kensington, London Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the ninth round.
Win 34–0 United States Everett Martin PTS 10 14 March 1990 United Kingdom Kensington, London 98.5–97.
Win 33–0 United States Mark Anthony Wills PTS 10 6 December 1989 United Kingdom Wembley, London 98.5–97.
Win 32–0 United States Tyrell Biggs KO 7 4 October 1989 United Kingdom Kensington, London
Win 31–0 United Kingdom Jess Harding TKO 2 28 June 1989 United Kingdom Brentwood, Essex BBBofC British Heavyweight Title.
Win 30–0 United States "Scary" Terry Armstrong TKO 3 29 March 1989 United Kingdom Wembley, London
Win 29–0 United Kingdom Hughroy Currie KO 4 18 January 1989 United Kingdom Kensington, London BBBofC British Heavyweight Title. Currie knocked out at 3:00 of the fourth round.
Win 28–0 United States James "Quick" Tillis TKO 5 30 November 1988 United Kingdom Southwark, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:50 of the fifth round.
Win 27–0 United States David Jaco TKO 4 24 October 1988 United Kingdom Windsor, Berkshire Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the fourth round.
Win 26–0 Brazil Manoel "Clay" De Almeida TKO 7 13 April 1988 United Kingdom Bethnal Green, London
Win 25–0 United States Ricky Parkey TKO 1 9 March 1988 United Kingdom Wembley, London
Win 24–0 United States Alfonzo Ratliff TKO 6 3 February 1988 United Kingdom Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:17 of the sixth round.
Win 23–0 United States "Slammin" Sammy Scaff TKO 2 3 December 1987 United Kingdom Southend, Essex
Win 22–0 United Kingdom Andrew Gerrard TKO 6 24 October 1987 United Kingdom Tottenham, London
Win 21–0 Netherlands Andre van den Oetelaar TKO 2 25 September 1987 United Kingdom Southend, Essex
Win 20–0 United States "Fast" Eddie Richardson TKO 7 30 August 1987 Spain Marbella, Andalucia, Spain
Win 19–0 United States Billy Joe Thomas KO 1 26 May 1987 United Kingdom Wembley, London
Win 18–0 United States Woody Clark TKO 2 18 April 1987 United Kingdom Kensington, London Referee stopped the bout at 2:39 of the second round.
Win 17–0 United States Richard Earl Scott TKO 1 24 March 1987 United Kingdom Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:27 of the first round.
Win 16–0 United States Rodney "King" Smith TKO 1 22 February 1987 United Kingdom Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:04 of the first round.
Win 15–0 United States Oscar Holman PTS 8 26 November 1986 United Kingdom Wolverhampton, West Midlands 79.5–76.5.
Win 14–0 United States Donnie "Master of Disaster" Long KO 1 4 November 1986 United Kingdom Wembley, London Long knocked out at 1:31 of the first round.
Win 13–0 United States Lorenzo Boyd KO 2 17 September 1986 United Kingdom Kensington, London
Win 12–0 United States Mark "The Storm" Young TKO 5 19 July 1986 United Kingdom Wembley, London
Win 11–0 United States "Poison" Ivy Brown KO 2 20 May 1986 United Kingdom Wembley, London
Win 10–0 Senegal Maurice Gomis TKO 3 24 April 1986 United Kingdom Bethnal Green, London
Win 9–0 Cameroon "King" Louis Pergaud TKO 4 9 April 1986 United Kingdom Kensington, London
Win 8–0 United States Charles "Tuffy" Hostetter TKO 1 4 March 1986 United Kingdom Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the first round.
Win 7–0 United Kingdom Denroy Bryan KO 1 19 February 1986 United Kingdom Kensington, London Bryan knocked out at 1:20 of the first round.
Win 6–0 United Kingdom Steve Gee TKO 5 4 December 1985 United Kingdom Kensington, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:25 of the fifth round.
Win 5–0 United Kingdom Steve Gee TKO 5 5 November 1985 United Kingdom Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:38 of the fifth round.
Win 4–0 Belgium Luc Goossens KO 1 6 March 1985 United Kingdom Kensington, London Luc knocked out at 2:33 of the first round.
Win 3–0 United Kingdom Frank "The Tank" Robinson KO 1 18 January 1985 United Kingdom Bethnal Green, London
Win 2–0 United Kingdom Al Malcolm TKO 2 14 December 1984 United Kingdom Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 0:20 of the second round.
Win 1–0 United Kingdom Al Malcolm KO 1 16 October 1984 United Kingdom Kensington, London

Rugby career

Mason played three rugby league matches for the London Crusaders (now London Broncos), scoring a try in his first game.[3] Mason also played in occasional soccer matches as part of an 'Arsenal Celebrities' team at the old 'Highbury' football ground in North London.

Television appearances

Mason appeared in a special celebrity show of Gladiators that raised money for charity in 1993 which John Fashanu won. Mason also appeared on the panel of the ITV show You Bet!, and the second episode of the first series of GamesMaster in 1992 playing Sonic Blast Man arcade. Mason's home was also one of those featured on the panel show Through the Keyhole.

Death

On the morning of 6 January 2011 Mason died after being hit by a van in Sandy Lane South, Wallington, South London whilst cycling. He was pronounced dead at the scene.[4]

References

  1. "boxer: Gary Mason". boxrec.com. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  2. "BoxRec - Gary Mason".
  3. Scott, Brough (21 April 2001). "Boxing: Mason still on the canvas". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  4. "Boxer Gary Mason dies in cycling collision in London". BBC News. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
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