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Scott Lawton (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Scott Lawton is an English professional boxer who has competed in the lightweight and super featherweight divisions. He comes from Stoke-on-Trent
, is a two time English lightweight champion and has challenged for the full British and Commonwealth lightweight titles as well as the full European super featherweight title.
. He fought nine more times (winning 9 and losing 1) before being given the chance to fight for his first professional title in June 2004. The title on the line was the Midlands Area lightweight belt and he claimed the belt with a 10 round points win over experienced journeyman Carl Allen at the Octagon Center in Sheffield
. He would defend the belt only once in May 2006 when he beat Baz Carey at the King's Hall in Stoke. Between the Allen and Carey fights he fought eight times, winning six times with one draw and a defeat to Alan Temple.
opponents gave the man from Stoke
a record of 20-2-1 and set him up for a shot at the full British title in March 2007. The fight against reigning champ Jon Thaxton
was a big step up however and Thaxton won in the 7th round. His very next fight was to be a challenge for the Commonwealth title, this time fighting Amir Khan
. As before his big night would end in disappointment with Khan scoring a win in the 4th round. The decision to fight Khan meant that Lawton was unable to defend his English championship which had to be vacated.
Lawton rebounded with four straight wins setting himself up for a shot at the new and unbeaten English champion Martin Gethin
in December 2008. The fight ended in the 9th round when Gethin suffered a large cut on his head. Lawton was at the time ahead on the scorecards and was awarded the fight to became a two time English champion at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham
.
On 13 June 2009 Lawton again challenged for the British title, travelling to the Robin Park Arena in Wigan
to fight Manchester's John Murray
. The fight again ended in disappointment for Lawton as he once again came up short at championship level, the referee stopping the fight in the sixth round ensuring a third championship defeat for Lawton. After the fight Lawton said that the result had made him consider his future in the sport saying "I'm 32 now and you can't keep going on forever. It's something that I've got to think hard about"
defeat, Lawton took the decision to move down a weight division to super featherweight. His first fight at the weight saw him return to Stoke-on-Trent
to fight on the Hatton Promotions
card held in the city. His first opponent was a man moving up in weight, the former WBU champion Derry Mathews
. Lawton won the fight via stoppage in the sixth round and afterwards claimed it was the "biggest fight of his career". The win paved the way for an a crack at the vacant super featherweight European title against former holder French based Armenian Leva Kirakosyan. Kirakosyan, whose last visit to the UK saw him defeat the then British champion Carl Johanneson
, held the title in 2007 only to lose it to Belarussian Sergey Gulyakevich
. The fight on 19 February 2010 topped the bill of a Hatton Promotions
bill in Stoke
ended in a third round defeat for Lawton with the Armenian putting him down in the first minute and causing him to have a standing count in the second.
which featured boxers from the super featherweight division. Prior to the competition he claimed that a win would "open doorways" and possibly lead to another shot at the British title. The draw for the knock out style tournament gave Lawton a taste of what might happen if he did fight for the British belt once again as he faced the reigning British champion Gary Sykes
in the quarter finals. Sykes however was too good for Scott on the night and ran out a comfortable points winner over the three rounds although ended up losing himself in the semi-finals to eventual winner Gary Buckland
.
for the IBO International lightweight title on 22 January 2011, stating prior to the fight that it would be his last. The fight, in Liverpool, resulted in all three judges scoring for Mathews with the fight going the full 12 rounds despite a knock down for Lawton in the sixth. Speaking after the fight Lawton said "I finished off with a good last round...I was getting to him towards the end of the fight and he didn't want to stand and trade with me...I kept throwing shots and nothing was coming back. I had him on the ropes and he had to bite on his gum shield to get through it". Announcing his retirement from boxing Lawton said that he would now concentrate on training boxers at the Impact gym saying "I'm going to miss boxing. It's been a massive part of my life – and it's been fun...But I'm getting on and needed to start thinking of doing something else. I'm going to concentrate on training champions."
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, is a two time English lightweight champion and has challenged for the full British and Commonwealth lightweight titles as well as the full European super featherweight title.
Professional career
Lawton's professional debut came in September 2001 with a win overs Dave Hinds at the Elephant & Castle Center in SouthwarkSouthwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
. He fought nine more times (winning 9 and losing 1) before being given the chance to fight for his first professional title in June 2004. The title on the line was the Midlands Area lightweight belt and he claimed the belt with a 10 round points win over experienced journeyman Carl Allen at the Octagon Center in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. He would defend the belt only once in May 2006 when he beat Baz Carey at the King's Hall in Stoke. Between the Allen and Carey fights he fought eight times, winning six times with one draw and a defeat to Alan Temple.
English champion and title challenger
Following the victory over Carey, Lawton's next significant fight in June 2006 was for the vacant English title beating Stefy Bull in the 8th round at the Doncaster Dome. Two more wins over journeymanJourneyman (boxing)
A journeyman boxer is defined as a fighter who has adequate boxing skill, but does not have the caliber of a contender or gatekeeper. Outside of boxing, a "journeyman" is a trader or crafter who has completed an apprenticeship, but is not at the level of a master craftsman...
opponents gave the man from Stoke
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
a record of 20-2-1 and set him up for a shot at the full British title in March 2007. The fight against reigning champ Jon Thaxton
Jon Thaxton
Jonathan Thaxton is a former English professional lightweight boxer. He held European and British lightweight boxing titles in a 17-year career...
was a big step up however and Thaxton won in the 7th round. His very next fight was to be a challenge for the Commonwealth title, this time fighting Amir Khan
Amir Khan (boxer)
Amir Iqbal Khan , is a British Pakistani professional boxer who is currently the unified WBA & IBF light welterweight champion....
. As before his big night would end in disappointment with Khan scoring a win in the 4th round. The decision to fight Khan meant that Lawton was unable to defend his English championship which had to be vacated.
Lawton rebounded with four straight wins setting himself up for a shot at the new and unbeaten English champion Martin Gethin
Martin Gethin
Martin Gethin is an English boxer who competes in the Lightweight division. He is the brother of Darren Gethin and Steve Gethin who are also professional boxers...
in December 2008. The fight ended in the 9th round when Gethin suffered a large cut on his head. Lawton was at the time ahead on the scorecards and was awarded the fight to became a two time English champion at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
.
On 13 June 2009 Lawton again challenged for the British title, travelling to the Robin Park Arena in Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
to fight Manchester's John Murray
John Murray (boxer)
John Murray is an English lightweight boxer. He is a former Scottish and Irish lightweight champion...
. The fight again ended in disappointment for Lawton as he once again came up short at championship level, the referee stopping the fight in the sixth round ensuring a third championship defeat for Lawton. After the fight Lawton said that the result had made him consider his future in the sport saying "I'm 32 now and you can't keep going on forever. It's something that I've got to think hard about"
Move to super featherweight
Following the MurrayJohn Murray (boxer)
John Murray is an English lightweight boxer. He is a former Scottish and Irish lightweight champion...
defeat, Lawton took the decision to move down a weight division to super featherweight. His first fight at the weight saw him return to Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
to fight on the Hatton Promotions
Hatton Promotions
Hatton Promotions is a promotional company headed by former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton with Richard Poxon as Director of Boxing and Gareth Williams as CEO -Starting up:...
card held in the city. His first opponent was a man moving up in weight, the former WBU champion Derry Mathews
Derry Mathews
Derry Mathews is an English lightweight boxer and former holder of the English and WBU Featherweight titles. As an amateur he won the 2002 ABA Bantamweight championship.-Professional career:...
. Lawton won the fight via stoppage in the sixth round and afterwards claimed it was the "biggest fight of his career". The win paved the way for an a crack at the vacant super featherweight European title against former holder French based Armenian Leva Kirakosyan. Kirakosyan, whose last visit to the UK saw him defeat the then British champion Carl Johanneson
Carl Johanneson
Carl Johanneson is super featherweight boxer. His nickname, "Ingemar" is a nod to the famous Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson and is the nephew of former Leeds United player Albert Johanneson...
, held the title in 2007 only to lose it to Belarussian Sergey Gulyakevich
Sergey Gulyakevich
Sergey Gulyakevich is a Belarusian professional boxer who competes in the super featherweight division. He is a former European champion for the weight division and world title challenger.-Professional career:...
. The fight on 19 February 2010 topped the bill of a Hatton Promotions
Hatton Promotions
Hatton Promotions is a promotional company headed by former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton with Richard Poxon as Director of Boxing and Gareth Williams as CEO -Starting up:...
bill in Stoke
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
ended in a third round defeat for Lawton with the Armenian putting him down in the first minute and causing him to have a standing count in the second.
Prizefighter
On 20 November 2010 Lawton returned to the ring to take part in the Prizefighter tournamentPrizefighter series
The Prizefighter series is a knock out boxing tournament created by boxing promoter Barry Hearn and aired on Sky Sports. The format has an initial eight fighters, who compete in four quarter-finals of 3 x 3 minute rounds followed by two semi-finals and one final all on the same night...
which featured boxers from the super featherweight division. Prior to the competition he claimed that a win would "open doorways" and possibly lead to another shot at the British title. The draw for the knock out style tournament gave Lawton a taste of what might happen if he did fight for the British belt once again as he faced the reigning British champion Gary Sykes
Gary Sykes
Gary Sykes is a British super featherweight boxer. Educated at Birkdale High School he is based in Dewsbury, Yorkshire and is a former British super featherweight champion.-Amateur career:...
in the quarter finals. Sykes however was too good for Scott on the night and ran out a comfortable points winner over the three rounds although ended up losing himself in the semi-finals to eventual winner Gary Buckland
Gary Buckland
Gary Buckland is a Welsh professional boxer fighting in the super featherweight and lightweight divisions. He is the reigning British super featherweight champion and has previously challenged for the full British and European lightweight boxing titles.-Professional career:Buckland's professional...
.
Retirement
Lawton challenged previous victim Derry MathewsDerry Mathews
Derry Mathews is an English lightweight boxer and former holder of the English and WBU Featherweight titles. As an amateur he won the 2002 ABA Bantamweight championship.-Professional career:...
for the IBO International lightweight title on 22 January 2011, stating prior to the fight that it would be his last. The fight, in Liverpool, resulted in all three judges scoring for Mathews with the fight going the full 12 rounds despite a knock down for Lawton in the sixth. Speaking after the fight Lawton said "I finished off with a good last round...I was getting to him towards the end of the fight and he didn't want to stand and trade with me...I kept throwing shots and nothing was coming back. I had him on the ropes and he had to bite on his gum shield to get through it". Announcing his retirement from boxing Lawton said that he would now concentrate on training boxers at the Impact gym saying "I'm going to miss boxing. It's been a massive part of my life – and it's been fun...But I'm getting on and needed to start thinking of doing something else. I'm going to concentrate on training champions."