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
Professional record summary
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 Kevin Satchell TKO 6 (12) 13 Oct 2012 Echo Arena, Liverpool, England Lost British flyweight title
35 Draw 17-14-4 Anwar Alfadli PTS 6 29 Jun 2012 Queens Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, England
34 Win 17-14-3 Shinny Bayaar UD 12 10 Dec 2011 Peterlee Leisure Centre, Peterlee, England Retained British flyweight title
33 Win 16-14-3 Paul Edwards SD 12 11 Jun 2011 Olympia, Liverpool, England Retained British flyweight title
32 Win 15-14-3 Francis Croes PTS 4 4 Dec 2010 Palace Hotel, Manchester, England
31 Win 14-14-3 Abmerk Shindjuu UD 12 19 Feb 2010 Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent, England Won vacant Commonwealth flyweight title
30 Loss 13-14-3 Shinny Bayaar SD 12 23 Oct 2009 Bolton Arena, Bolton, England Lost British flyweight title
29 Win 13-13-3 Usman Ahmed UD 12 29 May 2009 Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent, England Retained British and Commonwealth flyweight titles
28 Win 12-13-3 Wayne Bloy RTD 4 (12) 23 Jan 2009 Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent, England Won vacant British and Commonwealth flyweight titles
27 Loss 11-13-3 Andy Bell UD 12 28 Mar 2008 Metrodome, Barnsley, England Lost British super flyweight title
26 Win 11-12-3 Jamie McDonnell SD 12 8 Dec 2007 JJB Stadium, Wigan, England Won vacant British super flyweight title
25 Draw 10-12-3 Dale Robinson PTS 12 13 Apr 2007 Altrincham Leisure Centre, Cheshire, Wngland For vacant British and Commonwealth flyweight titles
24 Win 10-12-2 Dale Robinson TKO 8 (10) 24 Nov 2006 Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England Won vacant English flyweight title
23 Win 9-12-2 Usman Ahmed PTS 6 30 Sep 2006 Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
22 Win 8-12-2 Gary Sheil PTS 6 6 May 2006 Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
21 Loss 7-12-2 Andrea Sarritzu KO 4 (6) 10 Mar 2006 Palasport, Bergamo, Italy
20 Loss 7-11-2 Gary Ford PTS 4 18 Feb 2006 Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
19 Win 7-10-2 Delroy Spencer PTS 4 12 Nov 2005 Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
18 Loss 6-10-2 Colin Moffett PTS 4 28 Oct 2004 Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
17 Win 6-9-2 Neil Read TKO 2 (10) 26 Sep 2004 Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England Won vacant BBBofC Midlands Area super bantamweight title
16 Draw 5-9-2 Delroy Spencer PTS 6 23 Apr 2004 Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Leicester, England
15 Loss 5-9-1 Lee Haskins PTS 6 13 Jun 2003 Ashton Gate, Bristol, England
14 Win 5-8-1 Neil Read PTS 6 10 Oct 2002 Kings Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
13 Win 4-8-1 Neil Read PTS 8 6 Dec 2001 Moat House, Stoke-on-Trent, England
12 Loss 3-8-1 Levi Pattison PTS 4 8 Oct 2001 Metrodome, Barnsley, England
11 Draw 3-7-1 Darren Taylor PTS 6 3 Jun 2001 The Void, Hanley, England
10 Loss 3-7 Jamie Evans PTS 6 16 Mar 2001 Mountbatten Centre, Portsmouth, England
9 Win 3-6 Levi Pattison PTS 4 27 Nov 2000 Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, England
8 Win 2-6 Andy Roberts PTS 4 7 Oct 2000 Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England
7 Loss 1-6 Paddy Folan PTS 6 15 May 2000 Stakis Hotel, Bradford, England
6 Loss 1-5 Daniel Ring PTS 4 3 Dec 1999 Bushfield Leisure Centre, Peterborough, England
5 Loss 1-4 Lee Georgiou TKO 2 (4) 19 Oct 1999 York Hall, London, England
4 Loss 1-3 Stevie Quinn TKO 4 (6) 17 Apr 1999 National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
3 Loss 1-2 Delroy Spencer PTS 6 26 Feb 1999 Gala Baths, West Bromwich, England
2 Loss 1-1 Russel Laing PTS 6 21 Sep 1998 Forte Post House Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
1 Win 1-0 Chris Thomas TKO 2 (6) 3 Apr 1998 Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre, Ebbw Vale, Wales

Titles

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

Preceded by
Inaugural Title		 British Super Flyweight Champion
WPTS 12 vs Jamie McDonnell
8 December 2007 – 28 March 2008		 Succeeded by
Andy Bell
Preceded by
Jason Booth (vacated)
Paul Edwards		 British Flyweight Champion
23 January 2009 – 23 October 2009
11 June 2011 - 13 October 2012		 Succeeded by
Kevin Satchell
Preceded by
Lee Haskins
Chris Edwards (stripped)		 Commonwealth Flyweight Champion
23 January 2009 – 23 October 2009
19 February 2010 - 19 May 2012		 Succeeded by
Kevin Satchell
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gollark: Ooh, xenowyrms!
gollark: I think I got a CB copper for one.
gollark: You actually count them accurately enough to get percentages?

References
  1. "Chris Edwards was our answer to Rocky - a tribute to the city's first British champion in 85 years". Stoke Sentinel. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  2. Boxrec | Chris Edwards professional boxing record
  3. "Chris Edwards - Statistics". FightStats. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  4. Eastside boxing | Chris Edwards lifts English title
  5. Britishboxing.net | Moore dominates Lujan (with undercard report Edwards vs Robinson Archived 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Britishboxing.net | Super fly Edwards pays tribute to team Archived 18 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. BBC Sport | Bell outscores Edwards for title
  8. BBC Sport | Edwards reigns again at Flyweight
  9. BBC Sport | Edwards too strong for Ahmed
  10. This is Staffordshire | Potteries boxer Edwards feeds off Fenton roar to lift Flyweight belt
  11. BBC Sport | Chris Edwards reclaims British flyweight title
  12. BBC Sport | Theophane and Edwards retain titles
  13. "Chris Edwards: Former British and Commonwealth champion dies aged 41". BBC News. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  14. Jay, Phil (31 March 2018). "Ex-opponents Paul Edwards, Kevin Satchell react with sadness to Chris Edwards' premature death". World Boxing News. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  15. "National Titles". British Boxing Board of Control. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
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