Ryan Walsh (born 18 May 1986) is a British professional boxer.

Ryan Walsh
Walsh in 2016
Born (1986-05-18) 18 May 1986 (age 38)
NationalityBritish
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 6+12 in (169 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights35
Wins29
Wins by KO13
Losses4
Draws2

Personal life

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Ryan's twin brother Liam and older brother Michael are also professional boxers, and in 2015 Ryan and Liam became the first twins to hold British titles at the same time.[1][2]

Professional career

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Raised in Rochdale and based in Cromer, Norfolk, Walsh made his professional debut on 2 February 2008 with a first-round knockout of Riaz Durgahed.[3] By April 2011 he had won his first twelve fights, and on 21 October scored a unanimous decision (UD) over Liam Richards to win the English super-bantamweight title.[4]

In October 2013, Walsh challenged Lee Selby for the British and Commonwealth featherweight titles. The fight went the full twelve-round distance, with Selby winning a clear UD to hand Walsh his first loss.[5] Two years later, on 26 September 2015, Walsh faced Samir Mouneimne for the now-vacant British featherweight title.[1] The fight went the distance, with Walsh scoring a split decision to become British champion.[2]

Walsh was set to make his first defence of the title in January 2016 against Ryan Doyle,[6] but instead faced the undefeated Darren Traynor, stopping the challenger in five rounds.[7][8]

On 28 June 2019, Walsh defended his British featherweight belt against Lewis Paulin. The fight was considered a significant step up in quality for Paulin. Walsh was the better man for most of the fight, although Paulin had a couple of rounds where he boxed well and took the fight to Walsh. In the end, two judges scored the fight in favor of Walsh, 117-111 and 115–114, while the third judge gave the fight 115–113 to Paulin, thus awarding the split-decision victory to Walsh to retain his British featherweight belt.[9]

In his next fight, Walsh fought Harion Socarras as a part of the quarter-final of The Golden Contract featherweight tournament. After a close start, a brawl started in the fifth round, in which Walsh managed to score a knockdown over Socarras. In the ninth round, Walsh sent Socarras to the ropes with a flurry of shots, which prompted the referee to stop the fight.[10]

In the semi-final, Walsh faced Tyrone McCullagh. McCullagh started the fight strong, and was winning for the first half of the fight. However, Walsh managed to drop McCullagh twice in the remainder of the fight, even coming close to stopping him in the ninth. McCullagh made it to the final bell, but Walsh was announced the winner via unanimous decision, earning him a ticket to The Golden Contract tournament final.[11]

Walsh is scheduled to challenge British, Commonwealth and European lightweight champion Sam Noakes at Wembley Arena in London on 7 December 2024.[12]

Professional boxing record

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35 fights 29 wins 4 losses
By knockout 13 0
By decision 16 4
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
29 Win 29–4–2 Reece Mould TKO 1 (10), 1:58 27 Sep 2024 Park Community Arena, Sheffield, England
34 Win 28–3–2 Rustem Fatkhullin PTS 4 10 Dec 2023 Holiday Inn, Norwich Airport, Norwich, England
33 Loss 27–4–2 Maxi Hughes UD 12 26 Mar 2022 First Direct Arena, Leeds, England For IBO lightweight title
32 Win 27–3–2 Ronnie Clark PTS 6 18 Dec 2021 Norfolk Showground, Norwich, England
31 Loss 26–3–2 Jazza Dickens UD 10 2 Dec 2020 Production Park Studios, South Kirkby, England For WBO European featherweight title;
The Golden Contract: Featherweight – final
30 Win 26–2–2 Tyrone McCullagh UD 10 21 Feb 2020 York Hall, London, England The Golden Contract: Featherweight – semi-final
29 Win 25–2–2 Hairon Socarras TKO 9 (10), 2:39 4 Oct 2019 York Hall, London, England The Golden Contract: Featherweight – quarter-final
28 Win 24–2–2 Lewis Paulin SD 12 28 Jun 2019 York Hall, London, England Retained British featherweight title
27 Win 23–2–2 Reece Bellotti SD 12 22 Dec 2018 The O2 Arena, London, England Retained British featherweight title
26 Draw 22–2–2 Isaac Lowe SD 12 17 Feb 2018 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Retained British featherweight title
25 Win 22–2–1 Marco McCullough TKO 11 (12), 1:58 20 May 2017 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained British featherweight title
24 Loss 21–2–1 Dennis Ceylan SD 12 15 Oct 2016 Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark For vacant European featherweight title
23 Win 21–1–1 James Tennyson TKO 5 (12), 2:34 30 Apr 2016 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained British featherweight title
22 Win 20–1–1 Darren Traynor TKO 5 (12), 2:06 22 Jan 2016 York Hall, London, England Retained British featherweight title
21 Win 19–1–1 Samir Mouneimne SD 12 26 Sep 2015 The SSE Arena, London, England Won vacant British featherweight title
20 Win 18–1–1 Reynaldo Cajina PTS 8 14 Nov 2014 Pabellón Polideportivo Las Torres, Adeje, Canary Islands
19 Win 17–1–1 Ibrar Riyaz PTS 6 27 Jun 2014 Epic Centre, Norwich, England
18 Loss 16–1–1 Lee Selby UD 12 5 Oct 2013 The O2 Arena, London, England For British and Commonwealth featherweight titles
17 Win 16–0–1 Jose Antonio Elizabeth TKO 3 (8), 2:37 15 Jun 2013 Epic Centre, Norwich, England
16 Win 15–0–1 Oszkar Fiko TKO 3 (6) 22 Mar 2013 Epic Centre, Norwich, England
15 Draw 14–0–1 Ronnie Clark PTS 10 10 Nov 2012 Norfolk Showground, Norwich, England
14 Win 14–0 Mikheil Gogebashvili TKO 1 (8), 2:37 15 Sep 2012 Norfolk Showground, Norwich, England
13 Win 13–0 Liam Richards UD 10 21 Oct 2011 York Hall, London, England Won English super-bantamweight title
12 Win 12–0 Gavin Reid TKO 7 (8), 2:43 2 Apr 2011 York Hall, London, England
11 Win 11–0 James Ancliff PTS 8 23 Oct 2010 York Hall, London, England
10 Win 10–0 Eugene Heagney TKO 1 (6), 0:49 15 May 2010 Boleyn Ground, London, England
9 Win 9–0 Ian Bailey PTS 6 13 Feb 2010 Wembley Arena, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Michael O'Gara TKO 5 (6), 1:26 9 Oct 2009 York Hall, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Marc Callaghan RTD 3 (6), 3:00 22 May 2009 York Hall, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Sid Razak PTS 4 30 Jan 2009 York Hall, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Johnny Greaves PTS 4 6 Dec 2008 ExCeL, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Robin Deakin PTS 4 26 Sep 2008 York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Gheorghe Ghiompirica PTS 4 16 Jun 2008 York Hall, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Robin Deakin PTS 4 8 Mar 2008 The O2 Arena, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Riaz Durgahed KO 1 (4), 0:21 2 Feb 2008 ExCeL, London, England

References

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  1. ^ a b Lakey, Chris (25 September 2015). "The life of Ryan – the Cromer boxer aiming to make history". Eastern Daily Press. Archant. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Ryan Walsh eyes Norfolk family landmark with twin Liam". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  3. ^ Westlake, Amy (2014). "Boxing brothers from Rochdale return to the ring". Rochdale Online. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Ryan Walsh delighted by brothers' big-fight influence". BBC Sport. BBC 24 October 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Lee Selby beats Ryan Walsh to defend British and Commonwealth featherweight titles". Sky Sports. Sky. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  6. ^ Lakey, Chris (12 December 2015). "Opponent named for Cromer boxer Ryan Walsh's first British title defence". Eastern Daily Press. Archant. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  7. ^ Lakey, Chris (27 December 2015). "Ryan Walsh remains focused after change of opponent". North Norfolk News. Archant. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Ben (25 January 2016). "Ryan Walsh impresses in first defence of British featherweight title". Sky Sports. Sky. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Ryan Walsh Retains, Defeats Lewis Paulin By Split Decision". BoxingScene.com. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Golden Contract Results: Wood, Walsh, Dickens, McCullagh Advance". BoxingScene.com. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Ryan Walsh Drops, Outpoints Gutsy Tyrone McCullagh At York Hall". BoxingScene.com. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Ryan Walsh to fight for British and Commonwealth titles". North Norfolk News. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
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Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Matthew Marsh
English super-bantamweight champion
21 October 2011 – November 2012
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Jazza Dickens
Vacant
Title last held by
Josh Warrington
British featherweight champion
26 September 2015 – present
Incumbent