Fred Evans (boxer)
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Freddie William Evans (born 4 February 1991) is a British
professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
fighting in the 69 kg welterweight category. As an amateur, he won gold at the 2007 World Cadet Championships in Hungary and won gold for Wales at the 2011 European Amateur Boxing Championships in
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. He was the first Welsh boxer to achieve the feat in 86 years. Evans won Olympic silver for Great Britain in the
welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
division, losing in the final to Kazakh boxer
Serik Sapiyev Serik Zhumangaliyevich Sapiyev (, born 16 November 1983) is an amateur boxer from Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in ...
. His achievement made him the most successful Welsh boxer in Olympic history, surpassing the record of Ralph Evans at the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
. He turned professional in 2015.


Early life

Evans was born in
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, Wales to Tracey and Fred Evans. From a young age, he showed a keen interest in boxing, first attending a gym at the age of four with his father. He took up the sport himself, initially joining Cwmavon Hornets' gym, and fought his first bout at the age of ten. In March 2006, Evans' mother and younger sister Scarlett were killed in an automobile accident on the
A48 A48 may refer to: * A48 motorway (France), a road connecting the A43 and Grenoble * A48 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Gloucester, England and Carmarthen, Wales * Autovía A-48, a motorway under construction connecting Cadiz and Algecira ...
near Cardiff. Evans is a member of the travelling community and is the cousin of fellow boxer Gary Buckland.


Amateur career

Evans joined St Joseph's Amateur Boxing Club in
Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...
as a teenager. He developed a reputation as a talented fighter and won a gold medal at the Four Nations Championships, a tournament between fighters from the Home Nations, at the age of 15 weeks after the death of his mother. Evans went on to win gold at the 2007 World Cadet Championships in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
.GB Boxing , Fred Evans profile
He also entered the 2008 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
but was defeated by eventual winner, Irish fighter
Ray Moylette Raymond Peter Moylette (born 11 April 1990), sometimes spelled Moylett, is an Irish professional boxer. As an amateur he represented Ireland, winning gold medals at the 2008 Youth World Championships and 2011 European Championships. Amateur ...
. In the same year, Evans was picked to travel with the British side to the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
in
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at the age of 17 in order to experience the atmosphere at the games before being selected for the GB development squad. Evans was also one of eight fighters from St Josephs who were chosen to represent Wales in the Senior Novice Welsh Championships against a team from the United States in 2009. The following year, he was selected in a British side for an event against boxers representing the
Rest of the World Within sports and games played at the international competitive level, the Rest of the World refers to a team of players from many countries of origin that compete against a single individual or a team from a single group, such as a club or coun ...
organised by the
World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
(WBC). Evans met American fighter Errol Spence Jr. where, despite a strong start to the fight, he eventually suffered a 15–9 points defeat. The same year Evans competed in the
2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...
in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
but suffered a first round points defeat to Mauritanian fighter
Kennedy St-Pierre Joseph Kennedy St-Pierre (born 23 October 1992) is a Mauritian boxer who represented Mauritius at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he competed in the men's heavyweight competition. He is a two time African Games gold medalist ( ...
. In 2011, Evans competed in the
European Amateur Boxing Championships The European Amateur Boxing Championships is the highest competition for boxing amateurs in Europe, organised by the continent's governing body EUBC, which stands for the '' European Boxing Confederation''. The first edition of the tournament t ...
in
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
. He defeated Belarusian Magomed Nurutdinov 15–9 on points to win a gold medal. His victory, along with that of flyweight
Andrew Selby Andrew Selby (born 25 December 1988) is a Welsh professional boxer who held the British flyweight title from 2016 to 2019. As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, Bronze at the 2013 World Championships, and gold a ...
, was the first time a Welsh fighter had won gold at the event for 86 years and only the third time a British fighter had won since 1961. Later the same year, Evans reached the quarter-finals of the
2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships The 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships was held at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan from September 22 to October 10, 2011. The competition ran under the supervision of the world's governing body for amateu ...
in
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
, being stopped by Lithuanian
Egidijus Kavaliauskas Egidijus Kavaliauskas (born June 29, 1988) is a Lithuanian professional boxer. As an Amateur boxing, amateur, he represented Lithuania at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Olympic Games, and won a bronze medal at the ...
.


2012 Olympics

Following his performances at the European and World Championships, Evans was confirmed as the youngest member of Britain's boxing squad for the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in late 2011 at the age of 21, entering the tournament as the number two ranked amateur welterweight in the world. Evans was one of two Welsh fighters included in the squad, along with Andrew Selby, the first time any Welsh fighter had made the GB Olympic boxing squad since 1984. His selection fulfilled a childhood dream of competing at an Olympic Games having idolised Amir Khan following his breakthrough at the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
. In preparation for the games, Evans relocated to the Team GB gym run by
Robert McCracken Robert Chad “Bob” McCracken (born 31 May 1969) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2001, and has since worked as a boxing trainer. He once challenged for the WBC middleweight title in 2000. At regional level, ...
and also sparred with
Carl Froch Carl Martin Froch (; born 2 July 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple world championships in the super-middleweight division, i ...
ahead of his IBF super-middleweight title fight with
Lucian Bute Lucian Bute (born February 28, 1980) is a Romanian-Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2017. He held the IBF super-middleweight title from 2007 to 2012. Personal life Lucian Bute was born on February 28, 1980, in Peche ...
. Evans made his Olympic debut on 29 July 2012 against Algerian
Ilyas Abbadi Ilyas Abbadi (born 21 October 1992) is an Algerian professional boxer. As an amateur, he competed in the men's welterweight event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but was defeated in the first round by British fighter Fred Evans. At the 2016 Summer ...
in front of a partisan home crowd at the ExCeL London. His quarter-final exit in the previous years world championships resulted in Evans losing out on a
first round bye The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. Boxing pundit
Steve Bunce Steve Bunce, nicknamed "Buncey", is a British freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. Career He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme '' Inside Sport'' and on BBC Radio Five Live's '' Figh ...
commented the Evans "picked his punches with ease" as he won the fight by a comfortable 18–10 points decision. His victory set-up a rematch with Egidijus Kavaliauskas who had defeated Evans at the world championships the previous year. Kavaliauskas proved a much sterner test in the second round, as the Lithuanian took the first round of the bout. Evans fought back to tie the fight at 5–5 at the end of the second round before producing a "masterclass" in the third to secure an 11–7 victory and advance to the quarter-finals. Evans met Canadian
Custio Clayton Custio Clayton (born October 5, 1987) is a Canadian professional boxer who has held the WBA- NABA welterweight title since 2019. As an amateur he is a six-time Canadian national champion and represented Canada at 2 commonwealth games and the 201 ...
in the quarter-final, ending the first round with a five-point advantage over his opponent. However, Clayton fought back, trailing by two points after the second round before tying the fight at 14 each at the end of the fight. As a result, the fight was decided by countback, handing Evans victory. The Canadian team unsuccessfully appealed the decision, claiming Evans should have been deducted points for receiving persistent warnings from the referee. Victory guaranteed Evans at least a bronze medal and Evans was one of the five boxers that had equalled Britain's best ever boxing medal tally at an Olympic Games since
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
. In the semi-final, Evans met the world number one ranked fighter, Ukrainian
Taras Shelestyuk Taras Oleksandrovych Shelestyuk (; born 30 November 1985) is a Ukrainian undefeated professional boxer. His professional record 19-0-1 with 11 knockouts. He trained by legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach from 2013 to 2015. Taras Shelestyuk w ...
. The first round of the fight was subdued as both fighters settled and but Evans took a 4–1 lead. He maintained his lead through the second round which finished 8–5 as Shelestyuk pushed forward. Although Shelestyuk won the third round, Evans held on to claim an 11–10 victory. In the final, Evans met
Serik Sapiyev Serik Zhumangaliyevich Sapiyev (, born 16 November 1983) is an amateur boxer from Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in ...
of Kazakhstan on 12 August. However, Evans struggled to establish himself in the fight and Sapiyev won a comfortable 17–9 victory. Despite his defeat, Evans' silver medal made him the most successful Welsh Olympic boxer ever, surpassing the bronze medal won by Ralph Evans at the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
.


Post Olympics

Evans returned to the ring in November 2012 to compete for the
British Lionhearts The British Lionhearts are a British amateur boxing team that competed in the World Series Boxing tournament. History The British Lionhearts are an amateur team that was established in 2012 to compete in the third season of the World Series Box ...
team in the
World Series of Boxing 250px, LA Matadors vs. Moscow Dynamo in Hollywood, CA on 4 December 2011. Both amateur boxers compete without vests or head guards. The World Series of Boxing or WSB was an international boxing tournament that allowed amateur boxers to compete p ...
event. He defeated Michel Tavares of the Italia Thunder in his debut in the competition via split decision. Evans was named in the British squad to compete at the
2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships The 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships were held at the Baluan Sholak Palace of Culture and Sports in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 14 to 26 October 2013. Results Medal table Medal summary References External links Official website 201 ...
in Kazakhstan. He entered the tournament as the number one ranked welterweight but suffered a defeat to German
Arajik Marutjan Arajik Marutjan (born 15 August 1992) is an amateur welterweight boxer who represents Germany. In 2013, he won a bronze medal at the world championships and a silver at the European championships. He was eliminated in the first bout at the 2016 ...
in the early rounds of the competition. He was selected in the Welsh team for the
2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...
and was regarded as one of his nation's biggest hopes of a medal. However, he was denied accreditation to compete at the tournament due to a conviction for assault earlier in the year.


Professional career

In December 2015, Evans announced he would be turning professional and signed with manager Chris Sanigar. He made his professional debut in May 2017, defeating Najim Fennane on points in Cardiff. Evans won four further fights in the following year to advance his record to 5–0. In October 2018, Evans suffered a surprise defeat to Ryan Toms in his sixth professional fight. Toms knocked Evans down for the first time in his career during the second round and won the fight with a second knockdown in the same round.


Personal life

In April 2014, Evans plead guilty to Common assault following a fight at a lap-dancing club in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
two months earlier. He was fined £435 as well as being ordered to pay £500 compensation to the victim. In October 2014, Evans was given a suspended jail term after punching a man in a pub in Gloucestershire – despite a judge saying he "deserved" prison. Evans admitted unlawfully wounding the victim, breaking his jaw.


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Fred Welsh male boxers Welterweight boxers Sportspeople from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan 1991 births Living people Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic boxers for Great Britain Olympic medalists in boxing Welsh Olympic competitors Boxers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics 21st-century Welsh sportsmen