Ryan Rhodes

Ryan Rhodes is a British former professional boxer who had an awe-inspiring career spanning over 17 years, from 1995 to 2012. Born on November 20, 1976, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, he first laced up his gloves at a young age, training at Brendan Ingle's gym in the Wincobank district of Sheffield. With an impressive record of 46 wins and 6 losses in a total of 52 fights, Rhodes had an illustrious career that included numerous impressive victories, knockout wins, and title fights.

At the age of 18 in 1995, Rhodes made his professional boxing debut against Lee Crocker, winning via 2nd round Technical Knock Out (TKO). Following his debut, Rhodes went on a 15-fight winning streak, with 12 of those wins coming by stoppage.

One of the highlights of Rhodes' career was his win over Peter Waudby and Del Bryan to win the British super welterweight title twice, first from 1996 to 1997 and again in 2008. In April 2008, Rhodes knocked out Gary Woolcombe just 37 seconds into the 9th round to regain the British light-middleweight title 11 years after he first won it, and he defended his title for the first time as the main event on the Hayemaker Promotions boxing show in Sheffield.

In May 2010, Rhodes defended his European light-middleweight title against the Italian Luca Messi, with a technical knock out in the sixth round. He also won the WBC International light-middleweight title by defeating Vincent Vuma of South Africa, providing him a ranking in the top ten in the world.

Rhodes had his first world title fight at the age of 21 on December 13, 1997, after 16 professional fights, against Otis Grant for the WBO (vacant) title. Unfortunately, he lost the fight via the 12 round unanimous decision. Rhodes went on to challenge for the WBO middleweight title against Otis Grant and the WBC super welterweight title against Canelo Álvarez in 1997 and 2011, respectively.

In total, Rhodes had six losses in his professional boxing career, four of which ended in knockouts. Among those who defeated him were Otis Grant, who won via a 12 round unanimous decision, and Gary Lockett, who defeated Rhodes in a 12 round unanimous decision for the WBU middleweight title. Rhodes was stopped four times throughout his career and lost two times via decision.

Some of Rhodes' notable fights include Olufemi Moses whom he knocked out in just two rounds, Peter Mason whom Rhodes knocked out in the third round, and Manoocha Salari whom Rhodes knocked out in the fourth round. Rhodes also scored an impressive win over the highly regarded American middleweight Eddie Haley in a fight held in Delhi, India. In a specific fight against Jamie Moore, Ryan won the European light-middleweight title in a seventh-round technical knockout after crippling Moore with body punches throughout the contest to become the first boxer from Sheffield to win the belt outright in a record time of just 90 days.

Rhodes had his last professional fight against Sergey Rabchenko, a non-title bout held on June 16, 2012, in which he lost in the seventh round via TKO.

Throughout his career, Rhodes was known for his height and stance, standing at 5ft 8+1⁄2in (174cm) with a southpaw stance. He also went by the nickname of "Spice Boy".

After his retirement, Rhodes remained involved with boxing as a pundit for Sky Sports, providing astute analysis and insight to bouts.

Ryan Rhodes is indeed a boxer to remember, a former British and European super welterweight champion, who had an impressive record of 46 wins in 52 fights, with 31 of those victories coming via knockout. His attacking approach coupled with his height and stance entertained the audience throughout his career. Ryan's illustrious career will forever be remembered, as he remains a beloved figure in the sport of boxing.

Ryan Rhodes Fight Record