Junior Witter

Junior Witter
Statistics
Real name	Junior Witter
Nickname(s)	The Hitter
Rated at	Welterweight Light welterweight
Nationality	British
Born	(1974-03-10) 10 March 1974 Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Stance	Orthodox Switch hitter
Boxing record
Total fights	53
Wins	43
Wins by KO	22
Losses	8
Draws	2

Junior Witter (born 10 March 1974) is a British professional boxer. He is a former WBC, European, British, and Commonwealth light welterweight champion.

Career

Early professional career

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. Witters 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.

Defeat to Judah

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. 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."

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.

Route to the World title

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. 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 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. 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 Guyanan 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. 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. The injury meant that Witter did not fight again til 19 February 2011, a year and a half since the loss to Alexander. 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. 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.

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

Personal life

Witter trained at the Police Boys Gym located in Bradford as an amateur boxer. He also supports Doncaster Rovers.

Early life

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

Professional boxing record

41 Wins (22 knockouts), 6 Defeats, 2 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	41-7-2	Festim Kryeziu	MD	10	2013-11-16	Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germanyn
Loss	41-6-2	Frankie Gavin	UD	12	2012-11-12	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Lost BBBofC British Welterweight title
Win	41-5-2	Colin Lynes	UD	12	2012-05-12	Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, Yorkshire	For BBBofC British Welterweight title
Win	40-5-2	Arvydas Trizno	PTS	6	2011-09-07	Kings Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Loss	39-5-2	Yassine El maachi	MD	3	2011-06-07	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Prizefighter tournament, welterweight final.
Won	39-4-2	Kevin McIntyre	PTS	3	2011-06-07	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Prizefighter tournament, welterweight semi-final.
Won	38-4-2	Nathan Graham	PTS	3	2011-06-07	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Prizefighter tournament, welterweight quarter-final.
Loss	37-4-2	Victor Lupo Puiu	UD	10	2011-02-19	Hershey Centre, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada	vacant WBC International Silver welterweight title
Loss	37-3-2	Devon Alexander	RTD	8	2009-08-01	Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, California, United States	vacant WBC light welterweight title
Won	37-2-2	Victor Hugo Castro	KO	3	2008-11-08	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
Loss	36-2-2	Timothy Bradley	SD	12	2008-05-10	Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom	WBC light welterweight title
Won	36-1-2	Vivian Harris	KO	7	2007-09-07	Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, Yorkshire, United Kingdom	WBC light welterweight title
Won	35-1-2	Arturo Morua	TKO	9	2007-01-20	Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, London, United Kingdom	WBC light welterweight title
Won	34-1-2	DeMarcus Corley	UD	12	2006-09-15	Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, London, United Kingdom	vacant WBC light welterweight title
Won	33-1-2	Colin Lynes	UD	12	2005-10-21	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom	EBU Light welterweight, British light welterweight, Commonwealth Light welterweight titles
Won	32-1-2	Andriy Kotelnyk	UD	12	2005-07-09	Ice Arena, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom	EBU light welterweight title
Won	31-1-2	Lovemore Ndou	UD	12	2005-02-19	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, United States	WBC Light Welterweight Title Eliminator
Won	30-1-2	Krzysztof Bienias	TKO	2	2004-11-12	Conference Centre, Wembley, London, United Kingdom	EBU light welterweight title
Won	29-1-2	Salvatore Battaglia	TKO	2	2004-06-02	Ice Arena, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom	vacant EBU light welterweight title
Won	28-1-2	Oscar Hall	TKO	3	2004-04-16	Penningtons Nightclub, Bradford, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Won	27-1-2	Fred Kinuthia	KO	2	2003-09-27	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom	Commonwealth (British Empire) light welterweight title
Won	26-1-2	Juergen Haeck	RTD	4	2003-04-05	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom	EBU-EU (European Union) light welterweight title
Won	25-1-2	Giuseppe Lauri	TKO	2	2002-11-23	Derby Storm Arena, Derby, Derbyshire, United Kingdom	WBO Light Welterweight Title Eliminator
Won	24-1-2	Lucky Sambo	TKO	2	2002-10-19	Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Won	23-1-2	Laatekwei Hammond	TKO	2	2002-07-08	Grosvenor House, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom	vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) light welterweight title
Won	22-1-2	Alan Bosworth	TKO	3	2002-03-16	Derngate Centre, Northampton, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom	vacant BBBofC British light welterweight title
Won	21-1-2	Colin Mayisela	TKO	2	2001-10-27	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom	WBU International Light Middleweight Title
Won	20-1-2	Alan Temple	KO	5	2001-10-27	Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Won	19-1-2	Brice Faradji	TKO	1	2001-05-22	Telde, Islas Canarias, Spain
Won	18-1-2	David Kirk	TKO	2	2001-03-10	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
Won	17-1-2	Christopher Henry	TKO	3	2000-11-25	Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester, United Kingdom
Won	16-1-2	Steve Conway	TKO	4	2000-10-20	Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Loss	15-1-2	Zab Judah	UD	12	2000-06-24	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom	IBF light welterweight title
Won	15-0-2	Arv Mittoo	PTS	4	2000-04-08	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
Won	14-0-2	Mihai Iorgu	TKO	1	2000-03-21	Telde, Islas Canarias, Spain
Won	13-0-2	Harry Butler	PTS	6	1999-11-06	Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Won	12-0-2	Isaac Cruz	PTS	8	1999-07-17	Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Won	11-0-2	Malcolm Melvin	TKO	2	1999-02-13	Telewest Arena, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom	vacant WBF light welterweight title
Won	10-0-2	Karl Taylor	PTS	4	1998-11-28	Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Won	9-0-2	Mark Winters	PTS	8	1998-09-05	Ice Rink, Telford, Shropshire, United Kingdom
Won	8-0-2	Jan Piet Bergman	PTS	6	1998-04-18	Nynex Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom
Won	7-0-2	Brian Coleman	PTS	6	1998-03-05	Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Draw	6-0-2	Mark Ramsey	PTS	6	1998-02-07	Grundy Park Leisure Centre, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Won	6-0-1	Michael Alexander	PTS	4	1997-10-04	Stadionsporthalle, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Won	5-0-1	Brian Coleman	PTS	4	1997-08-02	Metrodome, Barnsley, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Won	4-0-1	Andreas Panayi	TKO	5	1997-05-15	Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Won	3-0-1	Trevor Meikle	PTS	6	1997-04-25	Golf and Country Club, Mere, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Won	2-0-1	Lee Molyneux	TKO	6	1997-03-20	The Willows (Salford RLFC), Salford, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
Won	1-0-1	John Green	PTS	6	1997-03-04	Tall Trees Hotel, Yarm, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Draw	0-0-1	Cam Raeside	PTS	6	1997-01-18	Green Bank Leisure Centre, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, United Kingdom	Professional Debut

External links

• Professional boxing record for Junior Witter from BoxRec
• Retain WBC world light-welterweight Title

References

Preceded by Ricky Hatton Vacated	British Light Welterweight Champion 16 March 2002 – 21 October 2005 Vacated	Succeeded by Lenny Daws
Preceded by Eamonn Magee Vacated	Commonwealth Light Welterweight Champion 8 July 2002 – 21 October 2005 Vacated	Succeeded by Ajose Olusegun
Preceded by Oktay Urkal Vacated	European Light Welterweight Champion 2 June 2004 – 21 October 2005 Vacated	Succeeded by Ted Bami
Preceded by Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Vacated	WBC Super Lightweight Champion 15 September 2006 – 10 May 2008	Succeeded by Timothy Bradley
Preceded by Colin Lynes	British Welterweight Champion 12 May 2012 – 12 November 2012	Succeeded by Frankie Gavin