Mark Delaney is an English boxer who fought professionally between 1993 and 2000. He is the younger brother of former Commonwealth Cruiserweight Champion Garry "The Hammer" Delaney.
He was born in
Bromley-by-Bow
Bromley, commonly known as
Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. It is an inner-city suburb located 4.7 mil ...
on 1 December 1971 and boxed as a schoolboy and amateur before his first professional fight against Lee Sara in October 1993. He rose steadily through the British rankings until in April 1996 he eventually earned a British
Super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...
title fight against
Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified and lineal titles at super-middleweight, and ...
. The referee stopped the fight in Round 5 with the Welshman comfortably on top, but Calzaghe has acknowledged that the fight, fought in front of a ferociously partisan crowd in Brentwood, Essex, near to Delaney's native
East End, hardened him as a professional. Delaney fought on for another four years, and at one stage was in line for another shot at the British title against Henry Wharton, but the fight never materialized.
Proposed bout with Delaney
His final fight was a British Light Heavyweight Title challenge against Neil Simpson, in which Delaney was caught cold and stopped in the first round. He was hit with a decent headshot by Simpson and went down from a couple of shots to the body. He rose but still looked shaky and the referee stepped in shortly afterwards with Delaney taking punishment on the ropes.
Notes
1971 births
People from Bromley-by-Bow
Boxers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Living people
English male boxers
Super-middleweight boxers
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