Gary Mason (boxer)

Gary Mason (15 December 1962 – 6 January 2011) was a British 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, heart and physical strength.

Gary Mason
Statistics
Real nameGary Michael Mason
Weight(s)Heavyweight
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
Draws0
No contests0

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.[2]

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{[who|date=July 2020}}, and avoided British heavyweight champion David Pearce. Pearce helped him with sparring in preparation for Mason's title fights. Mason 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)[3]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 37–1 Martin "Bananas" Foster TKO 3 10 September 1994 Laughlin, Nevada, United States
Win 36–1 Kevin P Porter TKO 2 29 January 1994 Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the second round.
Loss 35–1 Lennox Lewis TKO 7 6 March 1991 Wembley, London BBBofC British/EBU Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 0:44 of the seventh round.
Win 35–0 James Pritchard TKO 9 12 December 1990 Kensington, London Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the ninth round.
Win 34–0 Everett Martin PTS 10 14 March 1990 Kensington, London 98.5–97.
Win 33–0 Mark Anthony Wills PTS 10 6 December 1989 Wembley, London 98.5–97.
Win 32–0 Tyrell Biggs KO 7 4 October 1989 Kensington, London
Win 31–0 Jess Harding TKO 2 28 June 1989 Brentwood, Essex BBBofC British Heavyweight Title.
Win 30–0 "Scary" Terry Armstrong TKO 3 29 March 1989 Wembley, London
Win 29–0 Hughroy Currie KO 4 18 January 1989 Kensington, London BBBofC British Heavyweight Title. Currie knocked out at 3:00 of the fourth round.
Win 28–0 James "Quick" Tillis TKO 5 30 November 1988 Southwark, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:50 of the fifth round.
Win 27–0 David Jaco TKO 4 24 October 1988 Windsor, Berkshire Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the fourth round.
Win 26–0 Manoel "Clay" De Almeida TKO 7 13 April 1988 Bethnal Green, London
Win 25–0 Ricky Parkey TKO 1 9 March 1988 Wembley, London
Win 24–0 Alfonzo Ratliff TKO 6 3 February 1988 Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:17 of the sixth round.
Win 23–0 "Slammin" Sammy Scaff TKO 2 3 December 1987 Southend, Essex
Win 22–0 Andrew Gerrard TKO 6 24 October 1987 Tottenham, London
Win 21–0 Andre van den Oetelaar TKO 2 25 September 1987 Southend, Essex
Win 20–0 "Fast" Eddie Richardson TKO 7 30 August 1987 Marbella, Andalucia, Spain
Win 19–0 Billy Joe Thomas KO 1 26 May 1987 Wembley, London
Win 18–0 Woody Clark TKO 2 18 April 1987 Kensington, London Referee stopped the bout at 2:39 of the second round.
Win 17–0 Richard Earl Scott TKO 1 24 March 1987 Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:27 of the first round.
Win 16–0 Rodney "King" Smith TKO 1 22 February 1987 Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:04 of the first round.
Win 15–0 Oscar Holman PTS 8 26 November 1986 Wolverhampton, West Midlands 79.5–76.5.
Win 14–0 Donnie "Master of Disaster" Long KO 1 4 November 1986 Wembley, London Long knocked out at 1:31 of the first round.
Win 13–0 Lorenzo Boyd KO 2 17 September 1986 Kensington, London
Win 12–0 Mark "The Storm" Young TKO 5 19 July 1986 Wembley, London
Win 11–0 "Poison" Ivy Brown KO 2 20 May 1986 Wembley, London
Win 10–0 Maurice Gomis TKO 3 24 April 1986 Bethnal Green, London
Win 9–0 "King" Louis Pergaud TKO 4 9 April 1986 Kensington, London
Win 8–0 Charles "Tuffy" Hostetter TKO 1 4 March 1986 Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the first round.
Win 7–0 Denroy Bryan KO 1 19 February 1986 Kensington, London Bryan knocked out at 1:20 of the first round.
Win 6–0 Steve Gee TKO 5 4 December 1985 Kensington, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:25 of the fifth round.
Win 5–0 Steve Gee TKO 5 5 November 1985 Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 1:38 of the fifth round.
Win 4–0 Luc Goossens KO 1 6 March 1985 Kensington, London Luc knocked out at 2:33 of the first round.
Win 3–0 Frank "The Tank" Robinson KO 1 18 January 1985 Bethnal Green, London
Win 2–0 Al Malcolm TKO 2 14 December 1984 Wembley, London Referee stopped the bout at 0:20 of the second round.
Win 1–0 Al Malcolm KO 1 16 October 1984 Kensington, London

Rugby career

Mason played three rugby league matches for the London Crusaders (now London Broncos) reserve team, scoring a try in his first game although ending up on the losing side against Scarborough Pirates.[4] 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. Though the panel were able to ascertain that the property was home to a British boxer, they plumped for its being Lennox Lewis's abode.

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.[5]

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gollark: 18MB now.
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gollark: No.
gollark: Well, it listens to every message sent everywhere.

References
  1. "boxer: Gary Mason". boxrec.com. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  2. "Lennox Lewis joins 1,000-strong crowd in paying tribute at boxer Gary Mason's funeral". Daily Mail. London. 12 February 2011.
  3. "BoxRec - Gary Mason".
  4. Scott, Brough (21 April 2001). "Boxing: Mason still on the canvas". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  5. "Boxer Gary Mason dies in cycling collision in London". BBC News. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Achievements
Preceded by
Horace Notice
Retired		 British Heavyweight Champion
18 January 1989 – 6 March 1991		 Succeeded by
Lennox Lewis
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