Scott Roy Welch[1] (born 21 April 1968) is a retired British professional boxer. As an amateur, Welch became one of the ABA champions at heavyweight. He travelled the world as a professional boxer, winning the Southern Area belt, the British, Commonwealth and WBO Intercontinental titles. In 1997, he contended the WBO World Title fight in Nashville, losing to Henry Akinwande by a wide points margin. In the course of his career Welch had 26 professional fights, with 22 wins and an impressive 17 knock-outs.

Scott Welch
Welch at Brighton & Hove ABC, in 2010
Born
Scott Roy Welch

(1968-04-21) 21 April 1968 (age 56)
NationalityBritish
Other namesThe Brighton Rock
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Reach75 in (191 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights26
Wins22
Wins by KO17
Losses4
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  England
English National Championships
Gold medal – first place 1992 London Heavyweight

Amateur career

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Welch's formative years were spent in the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth. Welch got into boxing at a local club. Welch moved to Brighton when he was 16 and found it "a massive wow factor after Yarmouth." At 86 kg (190 lb), he was too big to find a match on the amateur circuit. It took a couple more years, and some intensive coaching at the Hove ABC (Amateur Boxing Club) under Dave Brown, before his amateur career started. Over the next few years, Welch racked up an impressive amateur record of 30 wins against 8 defeats (5 of which he later reversed), culminating in the ABA Heavyweight title of Great Britain in May 1992. "In amateur boxing, every fight was a tough fight as we were all so well matched," Welch remembers.

Personal life

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Still a fitness fanatic, Welch has raised huge sums for charity, completing the gruelling 250-mile Marathon des Sables in the Sahara, climbing Kilimanjaro and has tackled the Atacama desert. Welch is Head Trainer at the Brighton and Hove ABC, working alongside his old coach Dave Brown. "I really enjoy it," he says, "I'm putting it all back in. We've got a few good prospects, and there's a lot of younger lads coming through, too". iBoxing Trainer is Welch's smartphone app designed to help youngsters get into boxing and is approved by the World Boxing Council and the British Boxing Board of Control.[2] By keeping things simple but comprehensive, Welch covers everything an aspiring boxer needs to get started and progress. "Learning the basics properly is vital. I wish I had something like this when I first started".[3]

Welch is proud of his work with young boxers and has been recognised for his efforts with a WBC honorary belt. Welch purchased and restored Thorington Gate Lodge in Suffolk, which had been derelict for 20 years. The project was featured on the television series The Restoration Man in 2010.[4]

Other ventures

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Since his retirement in 1999, Welch has worked alongside his old coach Dave Brown, as head trainer at the Brighton and Hove ABC.[5] In Guy Ritchie's bare-knuckle movie Snatch (2000) Welch played Horace 'Good Night' Anderson. His big fight scene with Brad Pitt has achieved notoriety, famously sending Pitt skyward a round before being 'knocked out'. Welch takes his acting fame with a big pinch of salt: "A film star lifestyle would be great if I hadn't done anything in my life, but I'm very pleased with what I've achieved. I've had my career. My career was boxing."

Professional boxing record

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26 fights 22 wins 4 losses
By knockout 17 2
By decision 5 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
26 Loss 22–4 Julius Francis PTS 12 26 Jun 1999 London Arena, London, England For British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
25 Win 22–3 Micheal Murray PTS 8 30 Jan 1999 Europa Point Sports Complex, Gibraltar
24 Win 21–3 Peter Oboh PTS 6 1 Nov 1997 Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
23 Win 20–3 Yuriy Yelistratov TKO 1 (8), 1:04 28 Jun 1997 Sports Village, Norfolk, England
22 Loss 19–3 Henry Akinwande UD 12 11 Jan 1997 Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. For WBO heavyweight title
21 Win 19–2 Daniel Eduardo Neto UD 8 9 Nov 1996 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
20 Win 18–2 Mike Sedillo TKO 1 (8) 8 Jun 1996 Telewest Arena, Newcastle, England
19 Win 17–2 Joe Bugner TKO 6 (12) 16 Mar 1996 Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
18 Win 16–2 James Oyebola TKO 10 (12) 27 Oct 1995 Hilton Brighton Metropole, Brighton, England Won British and vacant Commonwealth heavyweight titles
17 Win 15–2 Julius Francis KO 10 (10), 2:26 1 Jul 1995 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Won Southern Area heavyweight title
16 Win 14–2 Eduardo Antonio Carranza KO 1 (8), 1:54 13 May 1995 Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
15 Win 13–2 Michael Murray PTS 8 10 Dec 1994 G-Mex Centre, Manchester, England
14 Win 12–2 Roger McKenzie TKO 1 (8), 1:23 17 Sep 1994 Leisure Centre, Crawley, England
13 Loss 11–2 James Oyebola KO 5 (12), 1:00 6 May 1994 Boardwalk Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. For vacant WBC International heavyweight title
12 Win 11–1 Steve Garber TKO 4 (8), 2:31 15 Mar 1994 Grosvenor House, London, England
11 Win 10–1 Carl Gaffney TKO 3 (6) 21 Dec 1993 Grosvenor House, London, England
10 Win 9–1 Chris Coughlan KO 1 (6) 30 Nov 1993 Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff, Wales
9 Win 8–1 Joey Paladino TKO 3 (6) 6 Nov 1993 York Hall, London, England
8 Win 7–1 Cordwell Hylton TKO 1 (6) 5 Oct 1993 Grosvenor House, London, England
7 Win 6–1 George Carmen TKO 3 (6) 28 Sep 1993 York Hall, London, England
6 Win 5–1 Des Vaughan TKO 2 (6), 2:46 18 Sep 1993 Granby Halls, Leicester, England
5 Win 4–1 John Harewood TKO 3 (6), 2:05 29 Jun 1993 Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England
4 Win 3–1 Denroy Bryan TKO 4 (6) 11 May 1993 Sports Village, Norfolk, England
3 Loss 2–1 Gary Charlton TKO 3 (6) 23 Feb 1993 Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England
2 Win 2–0 Gary Williams UD 4 6 Oct 1992 Arenahal, Antwerp, Belgium
1 Win 1–0 John Williams TKO 5 (6) 8 Sep 1992 Sports Village, Norfolk, England

References

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  1. ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2004. Gives name at birth as "Scott Roy Welch".
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Home". southcoastproductions.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. ^ "The Restoration Man Series 1 - 6. Thorington Gate Lodge, Suffolk". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Want your own website? | 123 Reg". brightonandhoveabc.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
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