Michael Morris (born 18 December 1968), who fought under the name Michael Armstrong, is a British former

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, who was British

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

champion in 1992.

Career

Born in Moston,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and based in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, Armstrong moved into boxing from

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

and made his professional debut in January 1988, knocking John Hales out in the first round. Beaten only twice in his first 15 fights, in September 1990 he challenged for Modesty Napunyi's Commonwealth

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, ...

title, losing in a ninth round knockout. He won his next three fights, including a final eliminator against Darren Elsdon, setting up a challenge for John Doherty's British super featherweight title in April 1992 at the

G-Mex Centre Manchester Central Convention Complex (commonly known as Manchester Central and formerly GMEX (Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre)) is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manch ...

in Manchester. Armstrong stopped Doherty in the seventh round to become British champion. In July 1993, he was fined £1,000 and given an 18-months suspended sentence after being found guilty of a drug offence. He lost the British title in October when he was stopped in the sixth round by

Neil Haddock Neil Haddock (born 22 June 1964) is a Welsh former lightweight and super featherweight boxer. Before turning professional he won a silver medal as a lightweight at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. His early career as a professional lightweight was ...

. He was out of the ring until May 1993, when he faced Jon Jo Irwin for the vacant

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 Boxin ...

Penta-Continental super featherweight title, losing on points. Armstrong was stopped in the third round by Bamana Dibateza in October 1994 when an arm wound that had been stitched reopened. In May 1995 he challenged

Floyd Havard Floyd Havard (born 16 October 1965) is a Welsh former super featherweight boxer. He was twice British super featherweight champion, from 1988–1989 and 1994-1996. In 1994 he made an unsuccessful bid for the IBF super featherweight title agains ...

for the British super featherweight title, losing by knockout in the ninth round.Harding, John (2016) ''Lonsdale's Belt: Boxing's Most Coveted Prize'', Pitch Publishing Ltd., He went on to start Armstrong's Gym in

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

.Salford boxer turned loan shark jailed for threats
,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, 16 July 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2017 In 2010, he received a four year prison sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

, eight of

criminal damage Property damage (sometimes called damage to property) is the damage or destruction of real or tangible personal property, caused by negligence, willful destruction, or an act of nature. Destruction of property (sometimes called property dest ...

and single counts of

affray In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror (in ) of ordinary people. Depending on their actions, and the laws ...

and illegal money lending, and ordered to pack back £268,992. After being released from prison in 2012, he returned to working as a boxing trainer and promoter.

References

External links

*
Michael Armstrong Interview with the former British super-featherweight Champion
, British Boxers, Youtube.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Michael 1968 births Living people English male boxers Featherweight boxers Super-featherweight boxers