Brian Nielsen (boxer)
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| Brian Nielsen | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Real name | Brian Nielsen | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Super Brian, Bokse Brian, Boksebamsen (The Boxing Teddybear) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rated at | Heavyweight. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Danish | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 1, 1965 Korsør, Denmark |
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| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 67 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 64 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 43 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 3 (3 KO) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| No contests | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Brian Nielsen (born April 1, 1965 in Korsør) is a professional boxer from Denmark. He is the former IBO and IBC Heavyweight Champion. Nielsen is arguably the most popular Danish prize fighter ever, and during his career he defeated a number of famous boxers.
Nielsen fought current WBF heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield on 7 May 2011 and lost via 10th round TKO.
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[edit] Amateur career
During his amateur career, Nielsen went 104-7. Nielsen won bronze medals in the super heavyweight division at the 1991 European Championships and the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
Brian Nielsen became good friends with some of Korsor ABK's best boxers, Mark Hulstrøm and Kenneth Franklin, and it was friendships that inspired Brian Nielsen. He would also box real bouts. It was not a thought that his trainer, Johnny Antonsen, was thrilled with. For a long time he simply refused to let Brian Nielsen box real bouts because he thought it would be bad publicity for his club. But Brian Nielsen really wanted to box a real bout, And his biggest dream was to become Champion of Zealand.
After prolonged plague from Brian, Johnny Antonsen finally gave after. However, he didnt want Brian Nielsen to box on home ground, cause the local spectators in Korsor should not be exposed to such a bad boxer. Instead, Brian Nielsen was sent to Svendborg, where Johnny Antonsen had arranged a match against the local hero Carsten Dahl. Brian Nielsen had all odds against him. He was still severely overweight, and had zero technical qualities. Trainer Johnny Antonsen ddnt even want to follow his boxer to Svendborg, because he was afraid of being laughed at. Instead, Brian Nielsen was seconded by his good friend and fellow boxer, Kenneth Franklin
The fear turned out to be unfounded. Brian Nielsen easily bruised past Carsten Dahl, winning the bout by knockout in the second round. Carsten Dahl later got the opportunity for revenge, but again Brian Nielsen won by knockout.
It was a sign of things to come for Brian Nielsen. Although it didnt always look pretty, he won the vast majority of his matches. He was both Zealand champion and Danish champion for five consecutive years (1988-1992), and also won numerous international tournaments. His career as an amateur ending after the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992 where he won the bronze. In the semifinals he lost to the powerful Cuban Francisco Balado (Balado died in a car accident about a month after the Olympics).
In total, Brian Nielsen boxed 111 fights as an amateur,and impressively won 104. Only once in amateur career was Brian Nielsen counted, and only once was he stopped before time - during a European Championship, where he was stopped by the doctor due to a cut near one of his eyes.
[edit] Pro career
Nielsen's pro career looked obscure at first, and his first professional match is remembered in Denmark for the very negative description Nielsen was given by commentator Knus Esmann. However, after his win over ex-World Boxing Association champion James 'Bonecrusher' Smith in October 1994, Nielsen began to be recognized.
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[edit] Tyson fight
Nielsen fought Mike Tyson on October 13, 2001, At the Parken Stadium in Denmark. After six rounds heavily in Tyson's favour, Nielsen quit on his stool citing an eye injury. Nielsen was knocked down once in the third round.
[edit] Announced Comeback
On February 8, 2010, Brian Nielsen told reporters that he was prepared to return to the ring, after 8 years of absence,[1] and that a proposed fight against Evander Holyfield had been met with interest by both sides.[2] Though originally thought unrealistic by former promoter Mogens Palle, due to Nielsen's bad knee,[3] Nielsen's comeback was confirmed by Nielsen's promoter Sauerland Event on June 1, 2010.
Nielsen met Holyfield on May 7, 2011 in a WBF title bout, in Copenhagen. Holyfield won the fight, knocking Nielsen down in the 3rd with a left hook and stopping him by TKO in the 10th. Nielsen afterwards said that he did not understand the decision to stop him, despite he was up in the corner and got beaten a lot. He added that he wanted a re-match with Holyfield.
[edit] Controversy
At a press conference prior to the Mike Tyson fight, Nielsen called Tyson an "abekat" which was erroneously translated as "monkey". The Tyson camp took great offense at this supposed racist slur, and Tyson himself declared "This will make me punish him even more than I had planned."[4] The controversy over the remark calmed down when the expression was clarified to the media by Danish linguists as having no racial connotations and simply meaning "brat" in Danish.[5]
Controversy arose in early 2004, when journeyman heavyweight Thomas Williams revealed that he had been bribed to throw his fight against Nielsen in March, 2000. Along with promoter Robert Mitchell, Williams was indicted by the United States District Court for the District of Nevada for match fixing in order to promote the career of white heavyweight hope Richie Melito, and it was during the FBI's investigation of that case that Williams admitted to intentionally losing to Nielsen. The fix was arranged by promoter Robert Mittleman, a frequent associate of Nielsen's promoter Mogens Palle, who later confessed that he had been paid $1,000, while Williams had received "up to $40,000" from Palle in order to lose the fight. Williams, Mitchell and Mittleman were all found guilty of sports bribery by the court in November and December, 2004.[6][7]
The Nielsen vs. Williams fight was the 57th of Nielsen's career and was one of the fights leading to his meeting with Tyson. Both Nielsen and Mogens Palle denied any knowledge of match fixing in media statements, and the findings of the American case did not lead to criminal proceedings in Denmark, and Nielsen was not accused of any wrongdoing.
[edit] Professional boxing record
| 64 Wins (43 knockouts, 21 decisions), 3 Losses (2 TKO, 1 retirement), 0 Draws[8] | ||||||
| Res. | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | Evander Holyfield | TKO | 10 (12) | 2011-05-07 |  Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, Denmark |
WBF Heavyweight title on the line, only for Evander Holyfield |
| Win | Uriah Grant | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 2002-04-19 | Frederiksberg, Denmark |
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| Win | Ken Murphy | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 2001-11-16 | Roskilde, Denmark |
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| Loss | Mike Tyson | RTD | 7 (10) | 2001-10-13 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Stripped of IBC Heavyweight title |
| Win | Orlin Norris | Decision (unanimous) | 12 (12) | 2001-06-16 | Brøndby, Denmark |
Retained IBC Heavyweight title |
| Win | Benji Baker | TKO | 6 (8) | 2001-04-27 | Aalborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Dicky Ryan | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 2000-12-01 | Viborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Andy Sample | TKO | 2 (8) | 2000-11-03 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Win | Kevin Cook | KO | 1 (8) | 2000-10-06 | Næstved, Denmark |
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| Win | Jeremy Williams | TKO | 5 (12) | 2000-04-28 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Retained IBC Heavyweight title |
| Win | Thomas Williams | KO | 3 (8) | 2000-03-31 | Esbjerg, Denmark |
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| Win | Jeff Pegues | KO | 3 (8) | 2000-02-18 | Aalborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Troy Weida | KO | 8 (12) | 2000-01-14 | Kolding, Denmark |
Won IBC Heavyweight title |
| Win | Frank Wood | KO | 2 (8) | 1999-11-26 | Viborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Don Normand | KO | 1 (8) | 1999-10-29 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Win | Dale Crowe | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 1999-10-01 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | Shane Sutcliffe | KO | 5 (8) | 1999-09-03 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Loss | Dicky Ryan | TKO | 10 (10) | 1999-06-18 | Vejle, Denmark |
Ryan down in the 4th round. Nielsen throws in towel in 10th and is rushed to hospital, suffers from dehydration. Nielsen is stripped of IBO World Championship, even though it was not on the line. |
| Win | Tim Witherspoon | TKO | 4 (10) | 1999-04-16 | Frederiksberg, Denmark |
Nielsen equals Rocky Marciano's 49-0 record |
| Win | Paul Phillips | KO | 2 (8) | 1999-03-19 | Frederiksberg, Denmark |
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| Win | Peter McNeeley | KO | 3 (8) | 1999-02-12 | Frederiksberg, Denmark |
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| Win | Dan Murphy | TKO | 2 (8) | 1998-11-27 | Risskov, Denmark |
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| Win | Lionel Butler | KO | 1 (12) | 1998-11-06 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Retained IBO Heavyweight Title |
| Win | Garing Lane | KO | 2 (8) | 1998-09-18 | Aalborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Terry Ray | TKO | 5 (8) | 1998-09-04 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Win | George Linberger | TKO | 2 (8) | 1998-09-04 | Kolding, Denmark |
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| Win | Joey Guy | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 1998-02-27 | Korsør, Denmark |
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| Win | Donnell Wingfield | KO | 1 (8) | 1997-12-05 | Aalborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Don Steele | KO | 2 (12) | 1997-11-14 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Retained IBO Heavyweight Title |
| Win | Crawford Grimsley | TKO | 6 (8) | 1997-10-03 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Win | Bruce Douglas | KO | 1 (8) | 1997-09-12 | Kolding, Denmark |
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| Win | Marcos Gonzales | TKO | 4 (8) | 1997-07-12 |  Stateline, United States |
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| Win | James Pritchard | KO | 3 (8) | 1997-06-13 | Slagelse, Denmark |
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| Win | Damon Reed | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 1997-05-02 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | Pedro Daniel Franco | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 1997-03-14 | Odense, Denmark |
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| Win | Larry Holmes | Decision (split) | 12 (12) | 1997-01-24 | Brøndby, Denmark |
Retained IBO Heavyweight Title |
| Win | Marcus Rhode | TKO | 2 (8) | 1996-11-30 |  Wiener Neustadt, Austria |
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| Win | Andrew Maynard | TKO | 6 (8) | 1996-10-18 | Vejle, Denmark |
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| Win | Jerry Halstead | KO | 2 (8) | 1996-09-13 | Ringsted, Denmark |
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| Win | Mike Hunter | TKO | 5 (12) | 1996-05-31 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Retained IBO Heavyweight Title |
| Win | Salvador Maciel | TKO | 3 (8) | 1996-04-26 | Aalborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Phil Jackson | TKO | 6 (12) | 1996-03-29 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Retained IBO Heavyweight Title |
| Win | Jeff Lally | TKO | 2 (8) | 1996-02-16 | Middelfart, Denmark |
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| Win | Tony LaRosa | TKO | 2 (12) | 1996-01-12 | Frederiksberg, Denmark |
Won IBO Heavyweight Title |
| Win | Carlos De Leon | TKO | 3 (8) | 1995-11-24 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | Tony Tubbs | TKO | 4 (10) | 1995-10-20 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Win | Terry Davis | Decision (points) | 8 (8) | 1995-09-08 | Aalborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Jim Huffman | DQ | 6 (8) | 1995-06-09 | Kolding, Denmark |
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| Win | Tim Noble | Decision (points) | 8 (8) | 1995-03-17 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Win | Doug Davis | TKO | 6 (8) | 1995-03-11 | Las Vegas, United States |
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| Win | Matt Green | KO | 1 (8x3) | 1995-02-18 |  Somerset, United Kingdom |
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| Win | Jeff Lampkin | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 1995-01-13 | Aalborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Terry Anderson | KO | 5 (8) | 1994-11-11 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | James Smith | TKO | 5 (8) | 1994-10-07 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Win | George Stephens | KO | 1 (8) | 1994-06-12 | Kolding, Denmark |
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| Win | Ken Merritt | KO | 8 (8) | 1994-04-22 | Aalborg, Denmark |
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| Win | Ron Gullette | KO | 3 (8) | 1994-03-25 | Aakirkeby, Denmark |
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| Win | Ross Puritty | Decision (points) | 4 (4) | 1994-03-05 | Los Angeles, United States |
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| Win | Mike Acey | KO | 2 (8) | 1994-02-18 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | Mike Dixon | Decision (unanimous) | 8 (8) | 1993-12-05 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | Jean Chanet | Decision (unanimous) | 6 (6) | 1993-10-29 | Korsør, Denmark |
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| Win | Roger McKenzie | Decision (unanimous) | 6 (6) | 1993-09-17 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Win | Jean Weiss | Decision (points) | 6 (6) | 1993-06-11 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | Carl Gaffney | Decision (points) | 6 (6) | 1993-02-12 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | Steve Gee | Decision (points) | 6 (6) | 1992-11-27 | Randers, Denmark |
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| Win | Terry Armstrong | Decision (points) | 6 (6) | 1992-09-04 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
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[edit] Notes
- ^ "Super-Brian på vej til comeback". Jyllands-Posten. 2010-02-09. http://spn.dk/andensport/boksning/article1973969.ece.
- ^ "Holyfield: Det lyder som en "great fight"". Jyllands-Posten. 2010-02-09. http://spn.dk/andensport/boksning/article1974118.ece.
- ^ "Palle: Comeback helt ude i hampen". Jyllands-Posten. 2010-02-09. http://spn.dk/andensport/boksning/article1974238.ece.
- ^ "Tyson angered by alleged remark by Nielsen". ESPN. 2001-10-12. http://static.espn.go.com/boxing/news/2001/1012/1263005.html. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
- ^ James Lawton (2001-10-13). "Boxing: Trapped Tyson must satisfy the paymasters" (Reprint). The Independent. Archived from the original on 2007-07-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20070715001319/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20011013/ai_n14429414. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
- ^ "FIGHTER, BOXING PROMOTER CONVICTED OF SPORTS BRIBERY". U.S. Department of Justice. 2004-11-04. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nv/home/pressrelease/november2004/mitchell110804.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
- ^ "BOXING PROMOTER SENTENCED FOR FIXING FIGHTS". U.S. Department of Justice. 2004-11-04. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nv/home/pressrelease/december2004/mittleman120604.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
- ^ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=004681&cat=boxer
[edit] Minor Titles
| Vacant
Title last held by
Jimmy Thunder |
IBO Heavyweight Champion 12 January 1996 – September 1999 Stripped |
Succeeded by Lennox Lewis |
| Vacant
Title last held by
Michael Grant |
IBC Heavyweight Champion 14 January 2000 – 13 October 2001 Stripped |
Succeeded by Tomasz Bonin |
|}
