Gary Cornish
| Gary Cornish | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Gary Cornish |
| Nickname(s) | Highlander |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Born |
April 10, 1987 Inverness, Scotland |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 24 |
| Wins | 23 |
| Wins by KO | 12 |
| Losses | 1 |
Gary Cornish (born April 10, 1987) is a Scottish professional boxer. Cornish has had 24 fights and lost his undefeated record in the ring to Anthony Joshua in a bout on September 12, 2015 in what was Cornish's first Commonwealth title attempt.
Amateur career
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 incredible talent for the sport. Trainers and seasoned fighters were not used to 6 ft 7in boxers whom possessed such speed and athleticism and as such it proved an arduous task 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
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 stunning technical knockout in the fourth round which left the crowd and journalists stunned. He had become the first Scottish heavyweight to claim a significant title. However such an amazing achievement was not enough for Cornish and he still desired a world heavyweight title.
Cornish Vs. Joshua
On 12 September Cornish travelled to London to face off against current IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for the Vacant Commonwealth Belt in front of a packed crowd at the O2 Arena, it would be a battle of undefeated fighters. Cornish looked nervous before the bout and was potentially intimidated by the raucous crowd, he promised to put the young olympian under more pressure than he had ever been before. Cornish came out cautiously, trying to establish his jab as the two boxers felt each other out. The two men traded jabs as the crowd grew in excitement, as Cornish came forward landing a slick double jab he got caught by a stunning right hand from Joshua. Cornish beat the count and Joshua went on the attack, Cornish now found himself on the defensive for the first time in the fight and he swung with a nice left right combination only to be caught with a left in return. Cornish tried to steady things behind his quick jab again but Joshua's speed was now allowing him to consistently counter with some lovely right hands over the challenger's guard, eventually in what would be their final exchange Cornish lost his distance and though trying to fire back found himself caught with a powerful right hand at close range on the chin and he fell to his knees face forward into the corner for the second knockdown. Cornish bravely rose once again defying expectations, however he was unsteady and the referee wisely waved it off. Cornish was gracious and humble in defeat praising his opponents talent and more importantly his ability to adapt and change strategy in a hard fight, commentators and fans likewise admired the battle they had seen and Cornish promised to come back even stronger in the future.[2] Cornish remained largely absent from the public eye following the Joshua fight, but has since regrouped in 2016 with two points victories in bouts fought in Scotland.
Personal life
Cornish is proud of his Scottish heritage. He has a tattoo on his chest, saying "Alba gu bràth,"[3] which is a Scottish Gaelic phrase used to express allegiance to Scotland as it means 'Scotland forever'.
Professional boxing record
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 23–1 |  Tomas Mrazek |
PTS | 6 | 2016-06-24 |  Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland |
|
| Win | 22–1 |  Kamil Sokolowski |
PTS | 8 | 2016-03-25 | Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland |
|
| Loss | 21–1 | Anthony Joshua |
TKO | 1 (12), 1:37 | 2015-09-12 | The O2 Arena, Greenwich, London |
For vacant Commonwealth Heavyweight title and WBC International Heavyweight title |
| Win | 21–0 |  Zoltan Csala |
TKO | 4 (12), 0:47 | 2015-05-23 | Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Glasgow, Scotland |
Won vacant IBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight title |
| Win | 20–0 |  Marino Goles |
TKO | 1 (10), 0:59 | 2015-02-28 | Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, Scotland |
|
| Win | 19–0 | Larry Olubamiwo |
PTS | 8 | 2014-09-06 | Lagoon Leisure Centre, Paisley, Scotland |
|
| Win | 18–0 | Hrvoje Kisicek |
TKO | 2 (6) | 2014-04-28 | Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland |
|
| Win | 17–0 | Ivica Perkovic |
TKO | 3 (6), 2:50 | 2013-11-30 | Cooper Arena, London, England |
|
| Win | 16–0 | Tomas Mrazek |
TKO | 7 (8), 2:47 | 2013-09-20 | Hilton Hotel, London, England |
|
| Win | 15–0 | Paul Butlin |
KO | 5 (10), 3:08 | 2013-07-05 | The Ironworks, Inverness, Scotland |
Won vacant International Masters Heavyweight title |
| Win | 14–0 |  Humberto Evora |
RTD | 4 (8), 3:00 | 2013-03-15 | York Hall, London, England |
|
| Win | 13–0 | Jakov Gospic |
TKO | 4 (8), 2:03 | 2013-02-15 | Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton-le-Spring, England |
|
| Win | 12–0 | Tamas Bajzath |
PTS | 6 | 2013-01-21 | Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland |
|
| Win | 11–0 |  Yavor Marinchev |
TKO | 5 (6), 0:52 | 2012-12-07 | Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, Scotland |
|
| Win | 10–0 |  Moses Matovu |
PTS | 6 | 2012-10-22 | Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland |
|
| Win | 9–0 | Peter Erdos |
PTS | 6 | 2012-09-28 | The Ironworks, Inverness, Scotland |
|
| Win | 8–0 | Tayar Mehmed |
PTS | 4 | 2012-06-02 | Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England |
|
| Win | 7–0 | Laszlo Peczeli |
TKO | 2 (6), 0:15 | 2012-05-11 | Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, Scotland |
|
| Win | 6–0 |  Igoris Borucha |
PTS | 4 | 2012-02-25 | Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland |
|
| Win | 5–0 | Remigijus Ziausys |
PTS | 4 | 2012-01-21 | Olympia, Liverpool, England |
|
| Win | 4–0 |  Hastings Rasani |
PTS | 8 | 2011-12-02 | Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, Scotland |
|
| Win | 3–0 | Rolandas Cesna |
PTS | 4 | 2011-09-23 | Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland |
|
| Win | 2–0 | Hastings Rasani |
RTD | 4 (6), 2:00 | 2011-06-11 | Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland |
|
| Win | 1–0 | Howard Daley |
TKO | 2 (6), 0:43 | 2011-04-08 | Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland |
Cornish's professional debut |
References
- ↑ Gary Cornish: Scotland's Great White Hope?. Scotzine (26 February 2013). Retrieved on 17 July 2015.
- ↑ Gary Cornish: My historic title win has made the heavyweight division sit up and take notice. Daily Record (25 May 2015). Retrieved on 17 July 2015.
- ↑ 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.