Junior Witter

Junior Witter (born 10 March 1974) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2015. He held the WBC light welterweight title from 2006 to 2008 and challenged once for the IBF light welterweight title in 2000. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth light welterweight title from 2002 to 2005; the EBU European Union light welterweight title in 2003; and the EBU European light welterweight title from 2004 to 2005; and the British welterweight title in 2012.

Junior Witter
Statistics
Nickname(s)The Hitter
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Reach67 in (170 cm)
NationalityBritish
Born (1974-03-10) 10 March 1974
Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
StanceOrthodox
Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights53
Wins43
Wins by KO23
Losses8
Draws2

Professional career

Early professional years

Witter's first fight as a professional took place in January 1997 and scored a draw over Cameron Raeside at the Green Bank Leisure Centre in Derbyshire. He scored his first win as a professional in his next fight, travelling to Yarm to beat John Green over six rounds. Five more fights happened in 1997 (all wins) for Witter to end the year with a record of 6-0-1. Witter's next year as a professional started in the same way as his first; a draw over Mark Grundy! Despite this he fought four more times during the year meaning that at the end of only his second year as a pro he had compiled of record of 12-0-2 scoring decent wins along the way over the likes of Jan Piet Bergman (35-1) and Mark Winters (13-1). The beginning of 1999 begun with a two-round win over Malcolm Melvin.

IBF light-welterweight title challenge

Witter gained four more victories, then in June 2000, with a record of 15-0-2, he was given a late-notice shot at a world title against American Zab Judah. The fight, which took place in Glasgow in Scotland on the undercard of Mike Tyson's fight with Lou Savarese, ended with first career defeat for the Englishman.[1] Witter lasted the distance but lost on points to the champion. Speaking of the fight later on in his career and when he himself had finally won a World title, Witter said "It was a shot in the dark. During my first few years as a pro, I was struggling like mad financially, so when the shot came about it meant a really big payday. I thought: if I don't take it, I've got nothing - all my savings were gone and all my loans were on top of me. As far as the fight went, I didn't have enough experience. I wasn't even British champion and I had nine days to prepare for a shot at Judah, one of the best fighters in the world. I lost on points, but I learned so much. It taught me that I deserved to be at that level."[2]

British, Commonwealth and European champion

Witter's response to his first defeat was to go the traditional route towards another crack at a World belt. Witter fought six more times since the Judah defeat beating the likes of Steve Conway (TKO 4) and Colin Mayisela (TKO 2) before, in March 2002, meeting Alan Bosworth for the vacant British light welterweight title claiming the belt with a stoppage in the third round. Witter's next fight saw him pick up the vacant Commonwealth title with a win over Ghanain Laatekwei Hammond. Two more fights in 2002 saw him beat Lucky Sambo in a non-title fight and Italian Giuseppe Lauri in an eliminator for the WBO light welterweight title.

Only two fights in 2003 saw the double champion add to his collection when in April 2003 he beat Belgian Jurgen Haeck for the European Union title. A first defence of his Commonwealth title took place in September at the MEN Arena in Manchester with a win in the 2nd round giving victory over Kenyan Fred Kinuthia. Witter finally challenged for the full European title in June 2004 beating Italian Salvatore Battaglia at the Ice Arena in Nottingham. The year ended for Witter with a first defence of his European crown at the Conference Center in Wembley beating Polish fighter Krzyztof Bienias.[3]

Route to a second world title challenge

In February 2005, Witter travelled to Los Angeles for a WBC Light Welterweight eliminator against Australian-based Lovemore N'dou. The fight which also doubled as a further defence of his Commonwealth title ended with a 12-round points decision win for the man from Bradford. In July of the same year Witter returned to the Ice Arena in Nottingham to score a win over Ukrainian Andriy Kotelnik in a close fought fight which was also a defence of his European title.[4] Witter finished the year with a win over fellow Brit Colin Lynes in a fight which saw his British, Commonwealth and European titles all on the line at the same time. The fight, this time at the York Hall in London, ended with another points victory over 12 rounds for Witter.

WBC light-welterweight champion

September 2006 finally saw Witter win a world title when he challenged American Demarcus Corley for the vacant WBC light welterweight belt at the Alexandra Palace in Wood Green.[5] Eighteen fights and eighteen wins since losing to Zab Judah in 2000 Witter had finally achieved the pinnacle of his career so far. Two defences of the title followed in 2007 with wins over Mexican Arturo Morua (TKO 9) and Guyanese Vivian Harris (KO 7) before on 10 May 2008, losing the belt to mandatory challenger Timothy Bradley via split decision. Following his loss to Bradley, Witter declared he would continue fighting at a professional level and vowed to return to the ring to reclaim his WBC crown. Bradley commented that he would be happy to offer Witter a rematch if the money was right.

Comeback

Following the Bradley defeat Witter returned to the ring on 8 November 2008 and scored a third-round knockout of Argentinian Victor Hugo Castro. He knocked his opponent down in the second but was unable to finish it due to the bell instead finishing the fight early in the following round. Witter was then given the chance to fight for his old WBC title when in May 2009, Timothy Bradley was stripped of the belt for choosing not to fight his mandatory challenger Devon Alexander.[6] This handed Witter an opportunity to fight Alexander for the now vacant belt. The contest took place in California on 1 August 2009 with Alexander proving too strong for the former champion with Witter, claiming an elbow injury in round four, having to retire at the end of round eight.[7] The injury meant that Witter did not fight again til 19 February 2011, a year and a half since the loss to Alexander.[8] The fight, this time in Ontario, Canada, resulted in another loss for Witter as he was beaten over 10 rounds by Romanian boxer Victor Puiu for the WBC International silver welterweight title.[9] On 7 June 2011 Witter entered the welterweight version of the Prizefighter tournament at the York Hall in London and defeated Nathan Graham and Kevin McIntyre on the way to the final. In the final, Witter lost a majority points decision to Moroccan born fighter Yassine El maachi, who claimed the tournaments top prize award of £32,000.[10]

On 16 November 2013 Witter faced an Albanian upcoming boxer Timo Schwarzkopf. He lost by majority decision

Personal life

Witter trained at the Bradford Police Boys amateur boxing club, as an amateur boxer he represented England and captained a England school's team.

Early life

Witter studied at Carlton Bolling College, a high school located in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Witter is Bradford's first World Boxing Champion.

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
53 fights 43 wins 8 losses
By knockout 23 1
By decision 20 7
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
53 Loss 43–8–2 Ahmed El Mousaoui SD 12 17 Apr 2015 La Palestre, Le Cannet, France For European Union welterweight title
52 Win 43–7–2 Arvydas Trizno TKO 4 (6), 0:41 17 May 2014 Town Hall, Leeds, England
51 Win 42–7–2 Max Maxwell PTS 6 22 Mar 2014 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England
50 Loss 41–7–2 Festim Kryeziu MD 10 16 Nov 2013 MHPArena, Ludwigsburg, Germany
49 Loss 41–6–2 Frankie Gavin UD 12 12 Nov 2012 York Hall, London, England Lost British welterweight title
48 Win 41–5–2 Colin Lynes UD 12 12 May 2012 Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, Yorkshire Won British welterweight title
47 Win 40–5–2 Arvydas Trizno PTS 6 7 Sep 2011 King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
46 Loss 39–5–2 Yassine El maachi MD 3 7 Jun 2011 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 19: welterweight final
45 Win 39–4–2 Kevin McIntyre UD 3 7 Jun 2011 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 19: welterweight semi-final
44 Win 38–4–2 Nathan Graham UD 3 7 Jun 2011 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter 19: welterweight quarter-final
43 Loss 37–4–2 Victor Lupo Puiu UD 10 19 Feb 2011 Hershey Centre, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada For vacant WBC Silver International welterweight title
42 Loss 37–3–2 Devon Alexander RTD 8 (12), 3:00 1 Aug 2009 Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, Rancho Mirage, California, US For vacant WBC light-welterweight title
41 Win 37–2–2 Victor Hugo Castro KO 3 (10), 1:10 8 Nov 2008 York Hall, London, England
40 Loss 36–2–2 Timothy Bradley SD 12 10 May 2008 Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Lost WBC light-welterweight title
39 Win 36–1–2 Vivian Harris KO 7 (12), 1:00 7 Sep 2007 The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster, England Retained WBC light-welterweight title
38 Win 35–1–2 Arturo Morua TKO 9 (12), 2:12 20 Jan 2007 Alexandra Palace, London, England Retained WBC light-welterweight title
37 Win 34–1–2 DeMarcus Corley UD 12 15 Sep 2006 Alexandra Palace, London, England Won vacant WBC light-welterweight title
36 Win 33–1–2 Colin Lynes UD 12 21 Oct 2005 York Hall, London, England Retained European, British, and Commonwealth light-welterweight titles
35 Win 32–1–2 Andreas Kotelnik UD 12 9 Jul 2005 Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Retained European light-welterweight title
34 Win 31–1–2 Lovemore N'dou UD 12 19 Feb 2005 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, US
33 Win 30–1–2 Krzysztof Bienias TKO 2 (12), 2:04 12 Nov 2004 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England Retained European light-welterweight title
32 Win 29–1–2 Salvatore Battaglia TKO 2 (12), 1:18 2 Jun 2004 Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Won vacant European light-welterweight title
31 Win 28–1–2 Oscar Hall TKO 3 (10), 2:41 16 Apr 2004 Pennington's, Bradford, England
30 Win 27–1–2 Fred Kinuthia KO 2 (12), 2:51 27 Sep 2003 MEN Arena, Manchester, England Retained Commonwealth light-welterweight title
29 Win 26–1–2 Jurgen Haeck RTD 4 (10), 3:00 5 Apr 2003 MEN Arena, Manchester, England Won European Union light-welterweight title
28 Win 25–1–2 Giuseppe Lauri TKO 2 (12), 1:21 23 Nov 2002 Storm Arena, Derby, England
27 Win 24–1–2 Lucky Sambo TKO 2 (8), 2:52 19 Oct 2002 Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
26 Win 23–1–2 Laatekwei Hammond TKO 2 (12), 1:56 8 Jul 2002 Grosvenor House, London, England Won vacant Commonwealth light-welterweight title
25 Win 22–1–2 Alan Bosworth TKO 3 (12) 16 Mar 2002 Royal & Derngate, Northampton, England Won vacant British light-welterweight title
24 Win 21–1–2 Colin Mayisela TKO 2 (12), 0:45 27 Oct 2001 MEN Arena, Manchester, England WBU International light-middleweight title
23 Win 20–1–2 Alan Temple KO 5 (6), 2:25 27 Oct 2001 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England
22 Win 19–1–2 Brice Faradji TKO 1 (6) 22 May 2001 Telde, Spain
21 Win 18–1–2 David Kirk TKO 2 (4), 1:10 10 Mar 2001 York Hall, London, England
20 Win 17–1–2 Christopher Henry TKO 3 (8) 25 Nov 2000 Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester, England
19 Win 16–1–2 Steve Conway TKO 4 (8) 20 Oct 2000 Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
18 Loss 15–1–2 Zab Judah UD 12 24 Jun 2000 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland For IBF light-welterweight title
17 Win 15–0–2 Arv Mittoo PTS 4 8 Apr 2000 York Hall, London, England
16 Win 14–0–2 Mihai Iorgu TKO 1 (8) 21 Mar 2000 Telde, Spain
15 Win 13–0–2 Harry Butler PTS 6 6 Nov 1999 Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, England
14 Win 12–0–2 Isaac Cruz PTS 8 17 Jul 1999 The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster, England
13 Win 11–0–2 Malcolm Melvin TKO 2 (12), 1:33 13 Feb 1999 Telewest Arena, Newcastle, England Won vacant WBF (Federation) light-welterweight title
12 Win 10–0–2 Karl Taylor PTS 4 28 Nov 1998 Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England
11 Win 9–0–2 Mark Winters PTS 8 5 Sep 1998 Ice Rink, Telford, England
10 Win 8–0–2 Jan Piet Bergman PTS 6 18 Apr 1998 NYNEX Arena, Manchester, England
9 Win 7–0–2 Brian Coleman PTS 6 5 Mar 1998 Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, England
8 Draw 6–0–2 Mark Ramsey PTS 6 7 Feb 1998 Grundy Park Leisure Centre, Cheshunt, England
7 Win 6–0–1 Michael Alexander PTS 4 4 Oct 1997 Stadionsporthalle, Hanover, Germany
6 Win 5–0–1 Brian Coleman PTS 4 2 Aug 1997 Metrodome, Barnsley, England
5 Win 4–0–1 Andreas Panayi TKO 5 (6) 15 May 1997 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England
4 Win 3–0–1 Trevor Meikle PTS 6 25 Apr 1997 Golf and Country Club, Mere, England
3 Win 2–0–1 Lee Molyneux TKO 6 (6), 1:43 20 Mar 1997 The Willows, Salford, England
2 Win 1–0–1 John Green PTS 6 4 Mar 1997 Tall Trees Hotel, Yarm, England
1 Draw 0–0–1 Cam Raeside PTS 6 18 Jan 1997 Green Bank Leisure Centre, Swadlincote, England
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References
  1. Boxrec | Results for 24 June 2000
  2. The Guardian | Interview with Junior Witter
  3. Britishboxing.net | Witter tells us to recognise
  4. BBC Sport | Laboured Witter defeats Kotelnik
  5. BBC Sport | Witter handed World title chance
  6. ESPN | Bradley stripped of WBC title
  7. BBC Sport | Witter loses to classy Alexander
  8. Boxingnews24 | Junior witter vs. Victor Puiu
  9. Eastsideboxing | Have we seen the last of Junior Witter?
  10. Daily Mail | Witter loses out as El Maachi is crowned Prizefighter welterweight king at York Hall
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Ricky Hatton		 British light-welterweight champion
16 March 2002 – 2006
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Lenny Daws
Vacant
Title last held by
Eamonn Magee		 Commonwealth
light-welterweight champion
8 July 2002 – 2006
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Ajose Olusegun
Vacant
Title last held by
Oktay Urkal		 European
light-welterweight champion
2 June 2004 – 2006
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Ted Bami
Preceded by
Colin Lynes		 British welterweight champion
12 May 2012 – 1 November 2012		 Succeeded by
Frankie Gavin
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Ricky Quiles		 WBF (Federation)
light-welterweight champion
13 February 1999 – June 2000
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Johnny Bizzarro
Major world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Floyd Mayweather Jr.		 WBC light-welterweight champion
15 September 2006 – 10 May 2008		 Succeeded by
Timothy Bradley
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