Henry Wharton (born 23 November 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 1998. He challenged three times for super middleweight world championships; the WBC twice, firstly in 1994 and again in 1997, and the WBO title in 1994. At regional level, he held the British super middleweight title in 1992; the Commonwealth super middleweight title from 1991 to 1996; and the EBU European super middleweight title from 1995 to 1996. Wharton is best remembered for his world title fights with Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank in 1994.

Henry Wharton
Born (1967-11-23) 23 November 1967 (age 56)
Leeds, England
NationalityEnglish
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Boxing record
Total fights31
Wins27
Wins by KO20
Losses3
Draws1

Personal life

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In 2012, Wharton was involved in a fight where he was cut with a machete as he fought three men. North Yorkshire Police said when speaking to The Press, "He's lucky to be alive". A few days earlier he was hit by a car after he reportedly tried to intervene in a pre-arranged bare-knuckle fight between members of the English Romany Travelling travelling community (which he is part of).[1]

He currently resides in York. In 2013, Henry's Gym opened up on York Road. He is currently training professional George Davey who is signed under Frank Warren.

Professional career

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Early career

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Wharton made his professional debut on 21 September 1989, scoring a first-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over Dean Murray at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, England. After winning his next 9 fights, 7 by knockout, Wharton won the vacant Commonwealth super middleweight title on 27 June 1991, beating Australian Rod Carr via points decision. On 30 October, Wharton fought Lou Gent to a draw, retaining his Commonwealth title. He won his next three fights, two by stoppage, before challenging Fidel Castro Smith for the British super middleweight title on 23 September 1992, winning the title by points decision. Wharton won his next three fights, all by stoppage, bringing his record to 18-0-1 (13 KOs).

World championship attempts

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On 26 February 1994, Wharton challenged Nigel Benn (37-2-1 32 KOs) for the WBC super middleweight title at Earls Court Exhibition Hall, London, England. It would be Benn's fifth defence of the WBC title. Wharton went the distance with Benn, but ultimately lost by unanimous decision, with the three judges scoring the bout 117-112, 116-114 and 116-113.[2]

His second attempt at a world title came just 10 months later on 10 December 1994, against undefeated WBO super middleweight champion Chris Eubank (40-0-2 19 KOs) at G-Mex Centre, Manchester, England. It would be Eubank's fifteenth defence of his world title. Wharton again lost by unanimous decision, with the judges’ scorecards reading 118-112, 116-112 and 115-113.[3]

Wharton's third and final chance at world honours came on 3 May 1997 at Nynex Arena, Manchester, England, against undefeated WBC super middleweight champion Robin Reid in what was Reid's second defence of the belt. Wharton lost by majority decision with scores of 118-111, 117-113 and 114-114.[4]

Professional boxing record

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43 fights 27 wins 15 losses
By knockout 20 0
By decision 7 3
By disqualification 0 12
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
31 Win 27-3-1   Kostiantyn Okhrei TKO 6 (10) 26 Sep 1998   Barbican Centre, York, England
30 Win 26-3-1   Franklin Edmondson UD 8 28 Mar 1998   Boardwalk Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
29 Loss 25-3-1   Robin Reid MD 12 3 May 1997   Nynex Arena, Manchester, England For WBC super middleweight title
28 Win 25-2-1   Rick Thornberry TKO 5 (12) 23 Oct 1996   North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax, England Retained Commonwealth super middleweight title
27 Win 24-2-1   Stephane Nizard PTS 10 4 Jun 1996   Barbican Centre, York, England
26 Win 23-2-1   Vincenzo Nardiello TKO 6 (12) 13 Jan 1996   North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax, England Retained EBU European super middleweight title
25 Win 22-2-1   Sam Storey KO 4 (12) 11 Nov 1995   North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax, England Retained Commonwealth & EBU European super middleweight titles
24 Win 21-2-1   Mauro Galvano KO 4 (12) 8 Jul 1995   Barbican Centre, York, England For vacant EBU European super middleweight title
23 Loss 20-2-1   Chris Eubank UD 12 10 Dec 1994   G-Mex Centre, Manchester, England For WBO super middleweight title
22 Win 20-1-1   Sipho Moyo KO 1 (12) 26 Oct 1994   Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, England Retained Commonwealth super middleweight title
21 Win 19-1-1   Guy Stanford RTD 3 (10) 10 Sep 1994   National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
20 Loss 18-1-1   Nigel Benn UD 12 26 Feb 1994   Earls Court Exhibition Hall, London, England For WBC super middleweight title
19 Won 18-0-1   Ron Amundsen TKO 8 (8) 7 Oct 1993   Barbican Centre, York, England
18 Won 17-0-1   Royan Hammond TKO 3 (8) 1 Jul 1993   Barbican Centre, York, England
17 Win 16-0-1   Ray Domenge TKO 3 (8) 7 Apr 1993   Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, England
16 Win 15-0-1   Fidel Castro Smith PTS 12 23 Sep 1992   Banqueting Suite, Elland Road, Leeds, England Retained Commonwealth super middleweight title;
Won British super middleweight title
15 Win 14-0-1   Rod Carr TKO 8 (12) 8 Apr 1992   Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, England Retained Commonwealth super middleweight title
14 Win 13-0-1   Kenny Schaefer KO 1 (10) 19 Mar 1992   Barbican Centre, York, England
13 Win 12-0-1   Nicky Walker PTS 10 23 Jan 1992   Barbican Centre, York, England
12 Draw 11-0-1   Lou Gent Draw 12 30 Oct 1991   Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, England Retained Commonwealth super middleweight title
11 Win 11-0   Rod Carr PTS 12 27 Jun 1991   Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, England Won vacant Commonwealth super middleweight title
10 Win 10-0   Frank Minton KO 7 (8) 9 May 1991   Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, England
9 Win 9-0   Francisco Lara KO 1 (8) 21 Mar 1991   Leisure Centre, Dewsbury, England
8 Win 8-0   Dino Stewart PTS 8 31 Oct 1990   Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
7 Win 7-0   Chuck Edwards KO 1 (8) 18 Oct 1990   Leisure Centre, Dewsbury, England
6 Win 6-0   Juan Elizondo TKO 3 (8) 11 Apr 1990   Leisure Centre, Dewsbury, England
5 Win 5-0   Joe Potts KO 4 (6) 3 Mar 1990   Wembley Arena, London, England
4 Win 4-0   Guillermo Chavez KO 1 (8) 11 Jan 1990   Leisure Centre, Dewsbury, England
3 Win 3-0   Ron Malek TKO 1 (6) 5 Dec 1989   Leisure Centre, Dewsbury, England
2 Win 2-0   Mike Aubrey PTS 6 25 Oct 1989   Wembley Arena, London, England
1 Win 1-0   Dean Murray TKO 1 (6) 21 Sep 1989   Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, England

References

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  1. ^ "Henry Wharton's new gym opens". 22 January 2013.
  2. ^ "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  3. ^ "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  4. ^ "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
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