Gary Cornish (born 10 April 1987) is a Scottish former professional boxer who competed from 2011 to 2018. He challenged once for the vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title in 2015.
Gary Cornish | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 April 1987 Inverness, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Other names | Highlander |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) |
| Reach | 84 in (213 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 27 |
| Wins | 25 |
| Wins by KO | 13 |
| Losses | 2 |
Amateur career
editAs a youngster, he played football for Brora Rangers.[1] He decided to go to the local boxing gym only to improve his fitness for football. He fell in love with boxing, quickly discovering his talent for the sport. Trainers and seasoned fighters were not used to 6 ft 7in boxers who possessed such speed and athleticism, and as such it proved difficult to find suitable opponents. After a pursuit of football, he eventually returned to boxing, the sport where he had shown most ability, at age of 19. His amateur career was short, due to the difficulty in finding suitable opponents, and he turned professional with an amateur record of 9–0.
Professional career
editHis break out fight came in 2015, when he challenged Hungarian Zoltan Csala for the vacant IBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight title. Cornish dominated Csala and won the fight via a technical knockout in the fourth round.
Cornish vs. Joshua
editOn 12 September 2015, Cornish fought Anthony Joshua for the Vacant Commonwealth Belt. Cornish was stopped by the referee just 90 seconds into the fight.[2] He was the first Scottish heavyweight to fight for the commonwealth heavyweight title.
Cornish remained largely absent from the public eye following the Joshua fight, but since regrouped in 2016 with two points victories in bouts fought in Scotland.
In 2017, he became the first Scottish boxer to fight for the British heavyweight title against Sam Sexton. His bid for the title proved unsuccessful, as he lost by unanimous decision to Sexton.[3]
In March 2019, Cornish announced that he would be retiring from boxing on medical grounds after a brain scan. He described his decision to retire as "devastating".[4]
Personal life
editCornish is proud of his Scottish heritage. He has a tattoo on his chest, saying "Alba gu bràth,"[5] which is a Scottish Gaelic phrase used to express allegiance to Scotland as it means 'Scotland forever'. He’s happily married to Briony, who’s also from Scotland, Inverness, where they currently reside.
Professional boxing record
edit| 27 fights | 25 wins | 2 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 13 | 1 |
| By decision | 12 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Win | 25–2 | TKO | 1 (6), 1:29 | 26 Jan 2018 | |||
| 26 | Loss | 24–2 | UD | 12 | 6 Oct 2017 | For vacant British heavyweight title | ||
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | PTS | 6 | 18 Feb 2017 | |||
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | PTS | 6 | 24 Jun 2016 | |||
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | PTS | 8 | 25 Mar 2016 | |||
| 22 | Loss | 21–1 | TKO | 1 (12), 1:37 | 12 Sep 2015 | For WBC International, and vacant Commonwealth heavyweight titles | ||
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | TKO | 4 (12), 0:47 | 23 May 2015 | Won vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title | ||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | TKO | 1 (10), 0:59 | 28 Feb 2015 | |||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | PTS | 8 | 9 Jun 2014 | |||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | TKO | 2 (6) | 28 Apr 2014 | |||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | TKO | 3 (6), 2:50 | 30 Nov 2013 | |||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | TKO | 7 (8), 2:47 | 20 Sep 2013 | |||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | KO | 5 (10), 3:08 | 7 Jun 2013 | Won vacant International Masters heavyweight title | ||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | RTD | 4 (8), 3:00 | 15 Mar 2013 | |||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | TKO | 4 (8), 2:03 | 15 Feb 2013 | |||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | PTS | 6 | 21 Jan 2013 | |||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | TKO | 5 (6), 0:52 | 7 Dec 2012 | |||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | PTS | 6 | 22 Oct 2012 | |||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | PTS | 6 | 28 Sep 2012 | |||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | PTS | 4 | 2 Jun 2012 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | TKO | 2 (6), 0:15 | 11 May 2012 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | PTS | 4 | 25 Feb 2012 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | PTS | 4 | 21 Jan 2012 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | PTS | 8 | 2 Dec 2011 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | PTS | 4 | 23 Sep 2011 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | RTD | 4 (6), 2:00 | 11 Jun 2011 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | TKO | 2 (6), 0:43 | 4 Aug 2011 |
References
edit- ^ Gary Cornish: Scotland's Great White Hope? Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Scotzine (26 February 2013). Retrieved on 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Anthony Joshua stops Gary Cornish in 90 seconds to win Commonwealth heavyweight title". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Gary Cornish v Sam Sexton: Scottish heavyweight's historic title bid ended". BBC Sport. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Gary Cornish: Scottish boxer who fought Anthony Joshua retires after brain scan". BBC Sport. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ Gary Cornish says he's set to be Scotland’s first British heavyweight champion after winning the IBO Intercontinental title. Daily Record (23 May 2015). Retrieved on 18 July 2015.
External links
edit- Boxing record for Gary Cornish from BoxRec (registration required)