Clinton Woods (born 1 May 1972) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2009, and held the IBF light-heavyweight title from 2005 to 2008. At regional level he held the Commonwealth super-middleweight title from 1997 to 1998, the British light-heavyweight title from 1999 to 2000, and the European and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles from 1999 to 2001.

Clinton Woods
Born (1972-05-01) 1 May 1972 (age 52)
NationalityBritish
Other namesClint
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Reach76 in (193 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights48
Wins42
Wins by KO24
Losses5
Draws1

Early life

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Woods was born in Sheffield, England.[citation needed]

Career

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Woods started his professional career with a points win over Dave Proctor in his home town of Sheffield. After compiling a record of 13–0 he stepped in with Craig Joseph and beat him over 10 rounds to win the Central Area super middleweight title. After a series of victories, Woods, with a record of 18–0, fought for the vacant Commonwealth belt against Mark Baker, who had a record of 20–1. Woods won the fight and claimed the belt with a 12-round points decision.[1]

In his next fight the unbeaten Woods found himself opposite former British champion David Starie. The fight ended in a first defeat for Woods.

Woods bounced back from the Starie defeat by moving up a weight division to light heavyweight and winning his next two fights before landing a shot at fellow Yorkshireman and current holder of the British, Commonwealth and European light-heavyweight titles Crawford Ashley. Woods knocked out Ashley in the eighth round to capture the three belts.

He ended up defending his Commonwealth and European titles twice each and adding the WBC International light-heavyweight title to his résumé. The latter victory being for a WBC strap, when Woods set himself up for an eliminator for the full WBC light heavyweight title. The fight took place in Sheffield, in September 2001. Woods beat the experienced ItalianUgandan Yawe Davis in a unanimous decision that would allow him to attempt a world title.

World title fights

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Clinton travelled to the United States for his big chance in September 2002. He stepped into the ring at the Rose Garden in Oregon to oppose Roy Jones, with the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles on the line. Woods lost after being stopped in the sixth round and later said that he wasn't really ready for a fight of that magnitude.[2]

Woods rebuilt from the defeat by Jones with three straight wins and then found himself in the ring with Glen Johnson. His second world title attempt was for the IBF belt and took place in November 2003 at Sheffield's Hillsborough Leisure Centre and the fight ended in a draw. Three months later in February 2004 the two met once again in Sheffield this time at the Ponds Forge Centre, the result this time going Johnson's way after 12 rounds.[3]

IBF champion

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In his next fight Woods found himself in an IBF title eliminator. Eight months after his defeat to Johnson, Woods took on the Australian Jason DeLisle at the Octagon Centre in Sheffield. He won the fight despite being put down in the first round and set himself up for world title fight number 4. The title was vacant again and this time Woods found himself in the ring with undefeated American Rico Hoye. The fight took place in Rotherham and ended with Woods winning on a technical knockout (T.K.O.) when the referee stopped the fight in the fifth round.

In September 2005 at the Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, Woods defeated mandatory challenger and former WBO and Lineal champion Julio César González via a clear unanimous decision. A successful voluntary defence against DeLisle followed, before Woods fought Jamaican Glen Johnson for a third time. In the ninth round Woods sustained heavy punishment to the head at the hands of Johnson, but fought back to win the subsequent rounds. The American judge, Richard Bays scored the fight 115–112 in favour of Woods, Mickey Vann scored the contest 115–113 in favour of Johnson and Roberto Ramírez 116–112 scored in favour of Woods. It was a split decision but Woods had defeated the man who beat him in 2004.[4]

In September 2007, Woods again successfully defended his IBF title against Julio César González with a unanimous decision.

Defeat and comeback

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In April 2008 at St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida in the United States, Woods gave a lacklustre display against American Antonio Tarver and lost his IBF title. Tarver out-boxed the Sheffield man on the way to a comfortable points victory. Following the defeat, a dejected Woods hinted that he may quit the sport.[5] A change of trainer followed, with Woods replacing Richard Poxon for Glyn Rhodes.[6] The change seemed to have paid off when on 14 February 2009 Woods travelled to the Channel Island of Jersey to defeat Kosovar-Albanian fighter Elvir Muriqi in an eliminator match for his old IBF title.[7]

Retirement

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Star on the Walk of Fame outside Sheffield Town Hall

In August 2009, Woods once more fought on the world stage when he again travelled to Florida, to challenge Tavoris Cloud for the then-vacant IBF title. Woods went on to lose a 12-round decision. When asked about retirement after the defeat, Woods said "To be honest, the thought of that upsets me more than losing the world title, retiring from the sport I love".[8] However, Woods announced his retirement from boxing on 8 September 2009.[9][10]

Professional boxing record

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48 fights 42 wins 5 losses
By knockout 25 1
By decision 17 4
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
48 Loss 42–5–1 Tavoris Cloud UD 12 28 Aug 2009 Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, US For vacant IBF light-heavyweight title
47 Win 42–4–1 Elvir Muriqi UD 12 14 Feb 2009 Hotel de France, Jersey, Channel Islands
46 Loss 41–4–1 Antonio Tarver UD 12 12 Apr 2008 St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida, US Lost IBF light-heavyweight title;
For IBO light-heavyweight title
45 Win 41–3–1 Julio César González UD 12 29 Sep 2007 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England Retained IBF light-heavyweight title
44 Win 40–3–1 Glen Johnson SD 12 2 Sep 2006 Bolton Arena, Bolton, England Retained IBF light-heavyweight title
43 Win 39–3–1 Jason DeLisle TKO 6 (12) 13 May 2006 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England Retained IBF light-heavyweight title
42 Win 38–3–1 Julio César González UD 12 9 Sep 2005 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England Retained IBF light-heavyweight title
41 Win 37–3–1 Rico Hoye TKO 5 (12), 2:59 4 Mar 2005 Magna Science Adventure Centre, Rotherham, England Won vacant IBF light-heavyweight title
40 Win 36–3–1 Jason DeLisle TKO 12 (12), 1:50 24 Oct 2004 Octagon Centre, Sheffield, England
39 Loss 35–3–1 Glen Johnson UD 12 6 Feb 2004 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England For vacant IBF light-heavyweight title
38 Draw 35–2–1 Glen Johnson SD 12 7 Nov 2003 Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England For vacant IBF light-heavyweight title
37 Win 35–2 Demetrius Jenkins TKO 7 (10), 2:26 10 Jun 2003 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England
36 Win 34–2 Arturo Rivera TKO 2 (10), 0:49 18 Mar 2003 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England
35 Win 33–2 Sergio Martin Beaz TKO 3 (10), 1:40 24 Jan 2003 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England
34 Loss 32–2 Roy Jones Jr. TKO 6 (12) 7 Sep 2002 Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon, US For WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, IBO, IBA, WBF, and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
33 Win 32–1 Clint Johnson TKO 3 16 Mar 2002 York Hall, London, England
32 Win 31–1 Yawe Davis UD 12 13 Sep 2001 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England
31 Win 30–1 Paul Bonson PTS 6 27 Jul 2001 Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield, England
30 Win 29–1 Ali Forbes RTD 10 (12), 3:00 24 Mar 2001 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England Won vacant WBC International light-heavyweight title
29 Win 28–1 Greg Scott Briggs TKO 3 (10) 15 Jul 2000 London Arena, London, England
28 Win 27–1 Ole Klemetsen TKO 9 (12) 29 Apr 2000 Wembley Arena, London, England Retained European light-heavyweight title
27 Win 26–1 Juan Nelongo UD 12 12 Feb 2000 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England Retained European light-heavyweight title
26 Win 25–1 Terry Ford TKO 4 10 Dec 1999 Warsaw, Poland
25 Win 24–1 John Lennox Lewis KO 10 (12), 2:29 11 Sep 1999 Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England Retained Commonwealth light-heavyweight title
24 Win 23–1 Sam Leuii TKO 6 (12), 2:37 10 Jul 1999 Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England Retained Commonwealth light-heavyweight title
23 Win 22–1 Crawford Ashley TKO 8 (12), 1:38 13 Mar 1999 Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England Won European, British, and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles
22 Win 21–1 Mark Smallwood TKO 7 (8), 2:19 30 Nov 1998 Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England
21 Win 20–1 Peter Mason RTD 4 (6), 3:00 18 Jun 1998 Grosvenor House Hotel, Sheffield, England
20 Loss 19–1 David Starie PTS 12 28 Mar 1998 Hull Arena, Hull, England Lost Commonwealth super-middleweight title
19 Win 19–0 Mark Baker PTS 12 6 Dec 1997 Wembley Arena, London, England Won vacant Commonwealth super-middleweight title
18 Win 18–0 Jeff Finlayson PTS 8 26 Nov 1997 Grosvenor House Hotel, Sheffield, England
17 Win 17–0 Danny Juma PTS 8 25 Oct 1997 Deeside Leisure Centre, Queensferry, Wales
16 Win 16–0 Darren Ashton PTS 6 26 Jun 1997 Pinegrove Country Club, Sheffield, England
15 Win 15–0 Darren Littlewood TKO 6 (10), 1:41 10 Apr 1997 Pinegrove Country Club, Sheffield, England Retained British Central Area super-middleweight title
14 Win 14–0 Steve Shelley TKO 2 (4), 2:24 20 Feb 1997 Leisure Centre, Mansfield, England
13 Win 13–0 Craig Joseph PTS 10 14 Nov 1996 Pinegrove Country Club, Sheffield, England Won vacant British Central Area super-middleweight title
12 Win 12–0 Ernie Loveridge PTS 6 13 Jun 1996 Pinegrove Country Club, Sheffield, England
11 Win 11–0 John Duckworth PTS 8 16 Mar 1996 Pinegrove Country Club, Sheffield, England
10 Win 10–0 Chris Walker TKO 6 (6) 5 Feb 1996 Norfolk Gardens Hotel, Bradford, England
9 Win 9–0 Andy Ewen TKO 3 22 Nov 1995 Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England
8 Win 8–0 Phil Ball TKO 4 20 Oct 1995 Leisure Centre, Mansfield, England
7 Win 7–0 Paul Murray PTS 6 21 Sep 1995 Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England
6 Win 6–0 Kevin Burton TKO 6 (6), 1:02 16 Jun 1995 Variety Club, Batley, England
5 Win 5–0 Kevin Burton PTS 6 16 May 1995 Winter Gardens, Cleethorpes, England
4 Win 4–0 Japhet Hans TKO 3 (6), 1:59 6 Apr 1995 Pinegrove Country Club, Sheffield, England
3 Win 3–0 Paul Clarkson TKO 1 23 Feb 1995 Quality Royal Hotel, Cottingham, England
2 Win 2–0 Earl Ling TKO 5 (6) 12 Dec 1994 Winter Gardens, Cleethorpes, England
1 Win 1–0 Dave Proctor PTS 6 17 Nov 1994 Pinegrove Country Club, Sheffield, England

References

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Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Glenn Campbell
British Central Area
super-middleweight champion

14 November 1996 – December 1997
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Mike Gormley
Vacant
Title last held by
Henry Wharton
Commonwealth
super-middleweight champion

7 December 1997 – 28 March 2998
Succeeded by
Preceded by European
light-heavyweight champion

13 March 1999 – March 2001
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Yawe Davis
British
light-heavyweight champion

13 March 1999 – May 2000
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Neil Simpson
Commonwealth
light-heavyweight champion

13 March 1999 – January 2001
Vacated
Vacant
Title last held by
Yawe Davis
WBC International
light-heavyweight champion

24 March 2001 – April 2001
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Dzhabrail Dzhabrailov
World boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Glen Johnson
IBF light-heavyweight champion
4 March 2005 – 12 April 2008
Succeeded by