Mark Simmons (born May 23, 1974) is a professional boxing referee and a former 4 time Canadian senior National Champion, who boxed in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, Australia. As an amateur boxer, he had a record of 201 wins in 241 recorded bouts.

Boxing career

Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Simmons first began training at the Toronto Newsboys Boxing Club in

in 1979. He was a member of the Canadian National Boxing Team travelling to over 20 countries from 1993 to 2000. In 1996, Simmons was the Canadian Olympic alternate in the 91 kg weight division to David Defiagbon (1996 Atlanta, Olympics, Silver medalist). In 1995, Simmons won the Detroit Golden Gloves in the 91 kg Heavyweight division when Canadians were still allowed to compete at the US Golden Glove Championships. He would then represent Detroit competing at the 1995 National Golden Gloves in Lowell, Mass winning his first two bouts, losing in the quarter-finals. At the 1997 World Championships in

Budapest, Hungary Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, he defeated Macedonia via a first round knock out, then won a decision on points 18-10 over USA's Davaryll Williamson and lost in the quarter-finals on points, 15-4 to Cuba's Félix Savón, who has been regarded as one of the world's greatest amateur boxers. In 1997,

AIBA The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is a sports organization that sanctions amateur and professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships. ...

ranked Mark Simmons the 5th best boxer in the 91 kg division in the world. In 1997, Simmons won a silver medal at the Francophone games in Antananarivo, Madagascar with a first round knock out over Madagascar in the first fight, a second-round decision victory over France and a 14-15 loss to Cameroon in the final. At the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Simmons won the gold medal in the 91 kg heavyweight division with victories over Ghana, Wales, and the Seychelles. At the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Simmons defeated Jamaica in the quarter-finals, USA in the semi-final, and lost to

Odlanier Solís Odlanier Solís Fonte (born 5 April 1980) is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2016. He challenged once for the World Boxing Council, WBC heavyweight title in 2011. As an Amateur boxing, amateur, he won a gold medal ...

of Cuba in the final by a 4-2 score, taking home the silver medal, despite boxing with a broken hand. As a result of his broken hand suffered while competing at the Pan Am Games, Simmons was unable to participate in the 1999 World Championships that took place two weeks later. With 16 countries competing, Simmons qualified 1 of only 2 spots by winning a Gold medal in the 91 kg

division at the 2000 Olympic Qualification tournament in

Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

with victories over Venezuela, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. At the

Simmons defeated Iran's Rouhollah Hosseini in the round of 16 by a score of 11–6, once again suffering a broken hand in this bout. Simmons then lost the guaranteed bronze medal match to Germany's

Sebastian Köber Sebastian Köber (born 28 May 1979) is a German boxing, boxer, who won the Olympic medalists in boxing, Heavyweight bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Three years later, at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in ...

in the quarterfinal. On Saturday May 31st 2025, Mark Simmons was inducted into the Boxing Canada Hall of Fame along with Russ Anber, Jean Pascal, Jean Francois Bergeron, and Benoit Gaudet.

Personal life

Simmons has also appeared in movies, including ''

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...

'', '' Phantom Punch'' and ''

Cinderella Man ''Cinderella Man'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger and Paul Giamatti. It tells the true story of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock, who was dubbed ...

, and Flint Strong.'' In ''Cinderella Man'', Simmons played 1930s heavyweight boxer Art Lasky, and was also the stunt double for

Craig Bierko Craig Philip Bierko (born August 18, 1964) is an American actor. Early life Bierko was born in Rye Brook, New York, where, for a brief time, his mother Pat was president of The Harrison Players, a local community theatre. After graduating Bl ...

, who played Max Baer. In 2011, Simmons joined the Ontario Athletic Commission as a professional boxing referee and judge.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Mark 1974 births Living people Boxers from Toronto Canadian male boxers Heavyweight boxers Olympic boxers for Canada Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Boxers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists in boxing Boxers at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists in boxing