On This Day in 2001, Carl “The Cat” Thompson beat Uriah Grant in IBO World cruiserweight title fight
Carl ‘The Cat’ Thompson (27-5) defeated Thomas Hearns conqueror Uriah Grant (28-14) at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester on February 3rd 2001.
Thompson floored the former IBF World cruiserweight champion in the opening round and his heavy hands continued to punish the Jamaican, who was the aggressor for most of the action, on the front foot constantly, but taking too much damage, the official stopped the fight in round-five when Thompson had him cornered.
Aged 40, Thompson became the first person to inflict a loss on an up and coming David Haye’s record in 2004.
He finished his 17-year career, spanning three decades, with six straight victories, four ended in stoppages, and two of those were in IBO world title fights.
“The Cat” arrived at the Champs Camp gym in the late 1980’s after a successful career in Muay Thai that saw him rise to world champion status under the guidance of the legendary Master Sken.
His battered and brusied legs prompted Thompson to switch to less crippling career in boxing!
The native of Cheetham Hill, Manchester, made history in 1992 when he stopped Lewsam in round-eight to become the first British champion to emerge from Moss Side ABC.
From humble beginnings, he later become Manchester’s first world champion in 60 years with a split decision victory over champion Ralf Rocchigiani at the Stadionsporthalle, Hannover, Germany on October 4th, 1997.
He ended Chris Eubank's career by inflicting back to back losses on the Brighton boxer's deteriorating record, with a UD win in April 1988 for the WBO World cruiserweight belt, followed by a convincing ninth-round retirement in their rematch exactly three months later in July.
He ended his boxing career with 25 knockouts from 34 victories and six losses. After failing to capture the Central Area light-heavyweight title in his ninth fight in 1989, learning a harsh lesson to work on his defence after eating Crawford Ashley's jab for six-rounds, he went on to bag the British cruiserweight belt, WBC International title, as well as European, WBO World, and IBO World titles.
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