Gary Cornish

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Gary Cornish
Born (1987-04-10) 10 April 1987 (age 37)
Inverness, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Other namesHighlander
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
Reach84 in (213 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights27
Wins25
Wins by KO13
Losses2

Gary Cornish (born 10 April 1987) is a Scottish former professional boxer who competed from 2011 to 2018. He challenged once for the vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title in 2015.

Amateur career[edit]

As a youngster, he played football for Brora Rangers.[1] He decided to go to the local boxing gym only to improve his fitness for football. He fell in love with boxing, quickly discovering his talent for the sport. Trainers and seasoned fighters were not used to 6 ft 7in boxers who possessed such speed and athleticism, and as such it proved difficult to find suitable opponents. After a pursuit of football, he eventually returned to boxing, the sport where he had shown most ability, at age of 19. His amateur career was short, due to the difficulty in finding suitable opponents, and he turned professional with an amateur record of 9–0.

Professional career[edit]

His break out fight came in 2015, when he challenged Hungarian Zoltan Csala for the vacant IBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight title. Cornish dominated Csala and won the fight via a technical knockout in the fourth round.

Cornish vs. Joshua[edit]

On 12 September 2015, Cornish fought Anthony Joshua for the Vacant Commonwealth Belt. Cornish was stopped by the referee just 90 seconds into the fight.[2] He was the first Scottish heavyweight to fight for the commonwealth heavyweight title.

Cornish remained largely absent from the public eye following the Joshua fight, but since regrouped in 2016 with two points victories in bouts fought in Scotland.

In 2017, he became the first Scottish boxer to fight for the British heavyweight title against Sam Sexton. His bid for the title proved unsuccessful, as he lost by unanimous decision to Sexton.[3]

In March 2019, Cornish announced that he would be retiring from boxing on medical grounds after a brain scan. He described his decision to retire as "devastating".[4]

Personal life[edit]

Cornish is proud of his Scottish heritage. He has a tattoo on his chest, saying "Alba gu bràth,"[5] which is a Scottish Gaelic phrase used to express allegiance to Scotland as it means 'Scotland forever'. He’s happily married to Briony, who’s also from Scotland, Inverness, where they currently reside.

Professional boxing record[edit]

27 fights 25 wins 2 losses
By knockout 13 1
By decision 12 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
27 Win 25–2 United Kingdom David Howe TKO 1 (6), 1:29 26 Jan 2018 United Kingdom Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
26 Loss 24–2 United Kingdom Sam Sexton UD 12 6 Oct 2017 United Kingdom Meadowbank Arena, Edinburgh, Scotland For vacant British heavyweight title
25 Win 24–1 Poland Kamil Sokolowski PTS 6 18 Feb 2017 United Kingdom Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, Scotland
24 Win 23–1 Czech Republic Tomas Mrazek PTS 6 24 Jun 2016 United Kingdom Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
23 Win 22–1 Poland Kamil Sokolowski PTS 8 25 Mar 2016 United Kingdom Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland
22 Loss 21–1 United Kingdom Anthony Joshua TKO 1 (12), 1:37 12 Sep 2015 United Kingdom The O2 Arena, London, England For WBC International, and vacant Commonwealth heavyweight titles
21 Win 21–0 Hungary Zoltan Csala TKO 4 (12), 0:47 23 May 2015 United Kingdom Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Glasgow, Scotland Won vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
20 Win 20–0 Croatia Marino Goles TKO 1 (10), 0:59 28 Feb 2015 United Kingdom Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, Scotland
19 Win 19–0 United Kingdom Larry Olubamiwo PTS 8 9 Jun 2014 United Kingdom Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, Scotland
18 Win 18–0 Croatia Hrvoje Kisicek TKO 2 (6) 28 Apr 2014 United Kingdom Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
17 Win 17–0 Croatia Ivica Perkovic TKO 3 (6), 2:50 30 Nov 2013 United Kingdom Copper Box Arena, London, England
16 Win 16–0 Czech Republic Tomas Mrazek TKO 7 (8), 2:47 20 Sep 2013 United Kingdom Hilton Hotel, London, England
15 Win 15–0 United Kingdom Paul Butlin KO 5 (10), 3:08 7 Jun 2013 United Kingdom The Ironworks, Inverness, Scotland Won vacant International Masters heavyweight title
14 Win 14–0 Portugal Humberto Evora RTD 4 (8), 3:00 15 Mar 2013 United Kingdom York Hall, London, England
13 Win 13–0 Croatia Jakov Gospic TKO 4 (8), 2:03 15 Feb 2013 United Kingdom Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton-le-Spring, England
12 Win 12–0 Hungary Tamas Bajzath PTS 6 21 Jan 2013 United Kingdom Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
11 Win 11–0 Bulgaria Yavor Marinchev TKO 5 (6), 0:52 7 Dec 2012 United Kingdom Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, Scotland
10 Win 10–0 Uganda Moses Matovu PTS 6 22 Oct 2012 United Kingdom Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
9 Win 9–0 Hungary Peter Erdos PTS 6 28 Sep 2012 United Kingdom The Ironworks, Inverness, Scotland
8 Win 8–0 Bulgaria Tayar Mehmed PTS 4 2 Jun 2012 United Kingdom Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England
7 Win 7–0 Hungary Laszlo Peczeli TKO 2 (6), 0:15 11 May 2012 United Kingdom Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, Scotland
6 Win 6–0 Lithuania Igoris Borucha PTS 4 25 Feb 2012 United Kingdom Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland
5 Win 5–0 Lithuania Remigijus Ziausys PTS 4 21 Jan 2012 United Kingdom Olympia, Liverpool, England
4 Win 4–0 Zimbabwe Hastings Rasani PTS 8 2 Dec 2011 United Kingdom Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, Scotland
3 Win 3–0 Lithuania Rolandas Cesna PTS 4 23 Sep 2011 United Kingdom Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland
2 Win 2–0 Zimbabwe Hastings Rasani RTD 4 (6), 2:00 11 Jun 2011 United Kingdom Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland
1 Win 1–0 United Kingdom Howard Daley TKO 2 (6), 0:43 4 Aug 2011 United Kingdom Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gary Cornish: Scotland's Great White Hope?. Scotzine (26 February 2013). Retrieved on 17 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Anthony Joshua stops Gary Cornish in 90 seconds to win Commonwealth heavyweight title". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Gary Cornish v Sam Sexton: Scottish heavyweight's historic title bid ended". BBC Sport. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Gary Cornish: Scottish boxer who fought Anthony Joshua retires after brain scan". BBC Sport. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  5. ^ Gary Cornish says he's set to be Scotland’s first British heavyweight champion after winning the IBO Intercontinental title. Daily Record (23 May 2015). Retrieved on 18 July 2015.

External links[edit]