Christophe Girard (born July 21, 1967) is a French former

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who fought at

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

and cruiserweight. Girard challenged for a world title on three occasions, twice against

Dariusz Michalczewski Dariusz Tomasz Michalczewski (born 5 May 1968) is a Polish-German professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2005. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA, IBF, WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles ...

in 1996 for the WBO Light-Heavyweight title and against

Johnny Nelson Ivanson Ranny "Johnny" Nelson (born 4 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight title from 1999 to 2006, and remains t ...

for the WBO Cruiserweight title in 1999. Christophe is the older brother of two weight World Champion

Bruno Girard Bruno Girard (born November 25, 1970) was a French professional boxer who competed in the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, he held the World Boxing Association, WBA title in both divisions. Professional boxing career The light ...

Career

Girard made his debut in 1988. In his tenth fight he became French Light-Heavyweight champion. In 1992 unsuccessfully fought

Tom Collins The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. This "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically served in a Collins glass over ice with a cherry garnish. A non-alcoholic "Collins mix" drink mi ...

for the

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

Light Heavyweight Title, suffering his first defeat. After building up a record 30-1, Girard would challenge for that same European title again and was defeated by Dutchman

Eddy Smulders Eddy may refer to: * Eddy (surname), surname used by descendants of a number of English, Irish and Scottish families * Eddy (given name), male given name * Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the f ...

. In June 1996 Girard challenged the eventually undisputed champion

for the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

title in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. Girard lost by unanimous decision but was given a rematch. Six months later the rematch took place in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, this time Girard suffered an eighth round knockout defeat. Girard moved up to cruiserweight and had initial success, beating Antoine Palatis to become French champion. In 1999 Girard went back to Germany to face Alexey Ilyin for the vacant

Cruiserweight title but was stopped in the tenth. Despite the loss at European level, Girard was chosen to face

for his

Cruiserweight Title and was stopped in the fourth. Girard won three more fights in France before retiring.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girard, Christophe 1967 births Living people French male boxers Cruiserweight boxers Light-heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from Blois 20th-century French sportsmen