Sammy Reeson (born 5 January 1963) is a British former boxer who was the first to hold both the British and European
cruiserweight titles and went on to fight for the
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
world title.
Career
From
Battersea
Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park.
History
Batter ...
, London, Reeson began his professional career in 1983 and won his first twelve fights before winning his first title, the Southern Area
light heavyweight
Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
title that he won in January 1985 with a 6th round stoppage of Trevor Cattouse. In October 1985 he fought
Stewart Lithgo for the newly introduced British cruiserweight title, winning on points over 12 rounds. He maintained his 100-percent win record until May 1986 when he was stopped in the 4th round by Louis Pergaud.
In April 1987 he met
Manfred Jassmann for the chance to become the first
EBU
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...
cruiserweight champion; Reeson became European champion on a unanimous decision. He successfully defended the title in November that year, beating
Luigi Ricci Luigi Ricci may refer to:
* Luigi Ricci (composer) (1805–1859), Italian composer
* Luigi Ricci (vocal coach) Luigi Ricci (1893–1981) was an Italian assistant conductor, accompanist, vocal coach, and author.
Career
Ricci began studying music ...
via a 7th-round knockout.
In May 1989 he met
Puerto Rican Carlos de León for the WBC cruiserweight title vacated by
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...
; De Leon stopped Reeson in the 9th round after knocking him down twice — only the second defeat of Reeson's 26-fight career.
De Leon Stops Reeson in 9
, ''Sun-Sentinel
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...
'', 18 May 1989. Retrieved 24 February 2015 This proved to be Reeson's final fight.
References
Steve Bunce Radio Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYS5rKls8X4
Sammy talks about his life after boxing and why he retired after being stopped in the 9th round of his World Title fight against Carlos De Leon in 1989. He turned to collecting scrap metal for a living and dropped out of the boxing world completely. In 2011, after an accident at work, he had his leg amputated from the knee.
External links
Career record
at boxrec.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeson, Sammy
1963 births
Living people
Cruiserweight boxers
Light-heavyweight boxers
English male boxers
People from Battersea
Boxers from Greater London