Matt Godfrey (born January 16, 1981) is a Wampanoag former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2012. He challenged 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 Boxing ...

cruiserweight Cruiserweight is a term associated with: *Cruiserweight (boxing), a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight * Cruiserweight (MMA), a weight class in mixed martial arts with an upper weight limit at . *Cruiserweight (profess ...

title in 2010.

Amateur career

Godfrey, who is a close friend of Jason Estrada since his childhood, had an outstanding amateur career prior to turning professional. He was the 2000

U.S. National Amateur Champion The United States National Boxing Championships bestow the title of United States Champion on Olympic boxers for winning the annual national Olympic boxing tournament organized by USA Boxing, which is the national governing body for Olympic boxin ...

at Middleweight, 2002 National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion, and 2004 U.S. National Amateur Heavyweight Champion. With a relaxed stick-and-move style but only average power he won a bronze medal at the 2001 Pan Am Games. He was also a second alternate for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team after losing 8-17 to Devin Vargas (whom Godfrey had beaten before on another occasion). He lost three times to Aaron Williams; on the other hand, he holds three wins over

Chazz Witherspoon Chazz Witherspoon (born September 16, 1981) is an American former professional boxer. The second cousin of former boxing champion Tim Witherspoon, he emerged as a talented boxer in the 2000s. He won the 2004 National Golden Gloves finals in Kansas ...

. He compiled a 194-23 amateur record.

Amateur highlights

*2000 U.S. National Amateur Champion Middleweight (165 lbs) *2001 Bronze Medalist in Pan-American Games *2002 National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion *2004 U.S. National Amateur Heavyweight Champion *Second alternate for 2004 U.S. Olympic Team *6-time

New England Golden Gloves As a Franchise of the National Golden Gloves, the New England Golden Gloves is the annual amateur boxing competition for the New England States. It has been held every year since 1945 at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts. Com ...

Champion

Professional career

Godfrey, who is now trained by Dr. Roland Estrada and Ross Enamait, turned professional in 2004. He made his professional debut at the Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island, in May 2004. After defeating two veterans in the summer of 2005, Godfrey beat Billy Willis by decision at the Convention Center in Providence and improved to 10-0. Godfrey stopped Ernest M-16 Mateen in the second round in February 2006. Godfrey's next fight was the turning point in his career. He was matched up against amateur star Shaun George (also 11-0) in May 2006. George never had a chance, getting pummeled and knocked out in the first round. In April 2007 Godfrey was pitted against star of the Contender Series Felix Cora Jr. in the Main Event of the evening. In a fight that commentators noted was probably his first real test against a left-hander, Godfrey turned southpaw himself for two rounds to effectively outscore Cora, before knocking him down midway through the second round. Cora regained his feet, but did not provide any offense and the referee waved the fight off shortly thereafter. Four months later Godfrey defeated Derrick Brown by decision which earned him a world title eliminator against Czech amateur star Rudolf Kraj. Godfrey was 16-0 while Kraj was 13-0. The fight took place in Kraj's adopted home country of Germany, and Kraj won on points. Nearly six months later one of Godfrey's most exciting fights took place at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. He fought Emmanuel Nwodo, who proved to be a tough fight for Godfrey, but in the end Godfrey knocked him out in the 4th round. Godfrey earned his 18th win against Edward Gutierrez in November 2008, pitched a shutout against undefeated Shawn Hawk (18-0) and improved to 20-1 with 10 KOs with a split decision win over veteran Michael Simms. The win earned Godfrey a shot at Marco Huck's WBO title, which he lost by KO5. He lost again to the undefeated

Lateef Kayode Lateef Olalekan Kayode (born March 3, 1983) is a Nigerian professional boxer who challenged for the WBA cruiserweight title in 2015. Professional career On December 3, 2010 Kayode knocked out American Edward Charles Perry on a Showtime boxing ...

on points.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 21 wins (11 knockouts, 10 decisions), 3 losses (1 knockout, 2 decisions

, - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Win , , align=left, Jesse Oltmanns , TKO , 5 (6), , 19/07/2012 , align=left,

Twin River Casino Bally's Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort, previously Twin River Casino Hotel, is a casino, hotel, and former race track in Lincoln, Rhode Island, owned and operated by Bally's Corporation. The facility has of gaming space, with 4,108 slot ...

, Lincoln, Rhode Island, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left,

, UD , 10 , 10/06/2011 , align=left, Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, California, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Marco Huck , TKO , 5 (12), , 21/08/2010 , align=left, Messehalle,

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Michael Simms , SD , 10 , 12/09/2009 , align=left,

Red Lion Hotels Red Lion Hotels is a full-service, midscale hotel brand owned by Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Red Lion competes in the moderate-priced, full-service segment of the lodging industry, along with Holiday Inn, Ramada. Its complementary brand, Red ...

, Sacramento, California, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

Shawn Hawk Shawn Hawk (born 17 May 1984) is a professional boxer from Crow Creek Sioux Tribe who fights in the light heavyweight division having previously boxed at Cruiserweight. Professional career Hawk turned professional in May 2004 at the 4 Bears Cas ...

, UD , 10 , 10/07/2009 , align=left, Asylum Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Edward Gutierrez , UD , 10 , 22/11/2008 , align=left, 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, New Town, North Dakota, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Emmanuel Nwodo , TKO , 4 (10), , 29/08/2008 , align=left,

Mohegan Sun Mohegan Sun is an American casino, owned and operated by the Mohegan Tribe on of their reservation, along the banks of the Thames River in Uncasville, Connecticut. It has of gambling space. It is in the foothills of southeastern Connecticut, ...

, Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S. , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Rudolf Kraj , UD , 12 , 08/03/2008 , align=left, König Palast, Krefeld, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Derrick Brown , UD , 10 , 10/08/2007 , align=left,

, Lincoln, Rhode Island, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

Felix Cora, Jr. Felix Cora Jr. (born 18 February 1980) is an American professional boxer. He is a former holder of the USBA and NABF cruiserweight titles and was a contestant in the fourth season of the reality TV show '' The Contender''. Professional career ...

, TKO , 2 (12), , 06/04/2007 , align=left,

, Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Lloyd Bryan , TKO , 4 (8), , 01/12/2006 , align=left, Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Danny Batchelder , UD , 12 , 23/09/2006 , align=left, Connecticut Convention Center,

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Shaun George , TKO , 1 (12), , 10/05/2006 , align=left, Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

Ernest Mateen Ernest Mateen (June 3, 1966 – November 6, 2012, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York), nicknamed 'M-16', was a United States and IBU Cruiserweight (boxing) champion. He was shot to death by his wife in a case of probable self-defense. ...

, TKO , 2 (6), , 13/02/2006 , align=left, Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Billy Willis , UD , 6 , 23/11/2005 , align=left, Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Willie Herring , UD , 10 , 26/08/2005 , align=left, Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Jermell Barnes , UD , 8 , 17/06/2005 , align=left, Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Tony De la Garza , TKO , 1 (6), , 01/04/2005 , align=left, City Wide Fieldhouse, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Joe Johnson , TKO , 4 (6), , 29/10/2004 , align=left, Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Andrew Hutchinson , TKO , 4 , 01/10/2004 , align=left, Bayside Expo Center, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Chris C. Riley , UD , 4 , 27/07/2004 , align=left, A La Carte Event Pavilion, Tampa, Florida, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Charles Tucker , TKO , 1 (4), , 20/07/2004 , align=left, Joplin Memorial Hall, Joplin, Missouri, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Fitzroy Henry , TKO , 1 (4), , 12/06/2004 , align=left,

Foxwoods Resort Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more t ...

, Mashantucket, Connecticut, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Glen Morgan , UD , 4 , 14/05/2004 , align=left, Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. , align=left,

References

External links

*
CES Boxing official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Matt 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Providence, Rhode Island Native American boxers Cruiserweight boxers Boxers from Rhode Island National Golden Gloves champions Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers American male boxers