James Martin Tennyson (born 6 August 1993) is a Northern Irish former

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 ...

who competed from 2012 to 2021. who challenged for the IBF

super-featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although firs ...

title in 2018 and the IBO

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

title in May 2021. At regional level he held the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and

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 ...

super-featherweight titles in 2018 and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

lightweight title from 2020 to May 2021.

Professional career

Two-Time Irish champion

Tennyson is a two-time

Irish champion. In 2013, he became the youngest ever modern era Irish champion by defeating former champion Mickey Coveney by

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

(KO) in the second round in what was only his sixth professional contest at the now demolished old St. Kevins Hall. In 2017, he won the title for the second time with a sixth-round

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(TKO) over Dublin's former highly decorated amateur stand out Declan Geraghty at the

Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Corp ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, live on

BoxNation BoxNation was a British dedicated boxing subscription television channel, operated by Viaplay. The brand is licensed from George Warren's Queensbury Commercial. History BoxNation was launched by Frank Warren Promotions as a free-to-air channe ...

Celtic champion

He became Celtic

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

champion in 2015 by way of disqualification after his opponent, Kris Hughes of Scotland, continued to hold after having already been deducted three points in the fight for persistent holding while heavily behind on points. This contest was also a final eliminator for the British featherweight title.

British Featherweight title challenge

Tennyson challenged

Ryan Walsh Ryan Walsh (born 18 May 1986) is an English professional boxer. Personal life Ryan's twin brother Liam and older brother Michael are also professional boxers, and in 2015 Ryan and Liam became the first twins to hold British titles at the sam ...

for the British featherweight title, losing by fifth-round TKO after having been dropped twice in the fight by body shots. This contest proved to be his last at featherweight having struggled to make the weight.

Lightweight run

After a fifth round TKO loss at Super-Featherweight to then IBF Champion,

Tevin Farmer Tevin Farmer (born July 30, 1990) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF super featherweight title from 2018 to 2020. Farmer, who is right handed but fights in a southpaw stance, is known for his excellent boxing skills and speed. ...

in 2018 (once again via body shots), it became apparent that Tennyson was still having to drain himself significantly to make weight and it was affecting his performances in the ring. He made the smart decision to move up to Lightweight the next year. Since making the move, Tennyson had won six straight fights by knockout, including wins over the likes of Atif Shafiq, Craig Evans,

Gavin Gwynne Gavin Gwynne (born 25 April 1990) is a Welsh professional boxer who has held the European lightweight title since 2023. He previously held the British lightweight title between 2022 and 2024 and the Commonwealth lightweight title between 2021 an ...

(against whom he won the vacant British Lightweight title), and previously unbeaten Josh O’Reilly, before losing to unheralded Mexican Jovanni Straffon by 1st-round TKO.

Tennyson vs. O'Reilly

On December 4, 2020, Tennyson fought Josh O'Reilly, who was ranked #7 at lightweight by the WBA, in a world title eliminator. Tennyson won the fight easily via a first round TKO.

Tennyson vs. Straffon

In his next bout, Tennyson faced Jovanni Straffon. Tennyson started the fight aggressively but Straffon retaliated with a few power punches of his own. As the pair went toe-to-toe, Straffon had more success, landing the better shots and dropping Tennyson twice before the referee decided to wave the fight off and award him the victory.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
James Tennyson - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennyson, James 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Lisburn Male boxers from Northern Ireland Featherweight boxers Lightweight boxers British Boxing Board of Control champions European Boxing Union champions Commonwealth Boxing Council champions Boxers from County Antrim 21st-century British sportsmen