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Gary Stretch

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Gary Stretch
Born
Gary Stretch

4 November 1965 (age 50)[1]
St Helens, Merseyside, England, UK
Statistics
Weight(s)light middleweight
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights31[1]
Wins29[1]
Wins by KO20[1]
Losses1[1]

Gary Stretch (born 4 November 1965[2]) is an English actor, former boxer and former model.

Early life

Gary Stretch was brought up in the Haresfinch area of St. Helens, Merseyside, where he was born. His father was a plumber.[3] He attended the town's Cowley High School.[4]

Boxing

A left-handed fighter, Stretch boxed most of his career as a light-middleweight, rising to become British champion in that division.[5]

Stretch won the WBC International Light Middleweight title, beating Ramon Angel Alegre at the London Arena on 14 February 1990, the fight billed as Valentines Day Massacre. Stretch stopped the tough Argentine in the 6th round of a very one sided contest. Stretch relinquished the title due to a management dispute with Frank Warren and subsequently sat out his contract. Stretch's return to the ring came in 1991 when he challenged Chris Eubank for the WBO world middleweight championship in London, in a fight billed as "Beauty V the Best".[6] Stretch suffered a cut behind the ear in the first round and was shaken by an uppercut in the third. Eubank visited the canvas twice in the fight without a count, in the second and third rounds, and was cut badly in the fourth round by a straight left hand from Stretch. The doctor was called at the end of round 5 to look at Eubank, (the cut later needed several stitches) advising the referee to stop the fight. The referee gave the Eubank corner the go ahead for 'one more round'. In the sixth round Stretch had a point deducted for pushing Eubank onto the canvas; Stretch was then shaken by a right hand from Eubank and subsequently took a standing eight count. Stretch was then pushed through the ropes. The fight was stopped in Eubank's favor, a stoppage that was very controversial. Stretch was through the ropes, struggling to regain his feet when the referee stepped in.. All three judges had Stretch ahead on the scorecard at the time of the stoppage.

Stretch fought only once more after his bout with Eubank before retiring with a career record of 29 wins 1 loss and 1 NC (an accidental clash of heads causing Stretch to be cut on the forehead).[5]

Modelling

During his time as a boxer, Stretch also worked as a model. His clients included Calvin Klein and Versace.[5]

Acting

Stretch was cast as Cleitus supporting Sir Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie in Oliver Stone's 2004 film Alexander. Stone went on to cast Stretch again in World Trade Centre as a paramedic, and in Savages. In 2004 Stretch was cast as psychopathic gangster Sonny in Shane Meadows' gritty cult thriller Dead Man's Shoes (2004), for which Stretch received a BIFA nomination[7][8] alongside fellow English actor Paddy Considine.

Stretch also starred in the UK film Freebird in 2008, directed by Jon Ivay. Appearing alongside Phil Daniels and Geoff Bell, the film followed three bikers across a drug-fueled ride in the Welsh countryside.

Personal life

From 1998 to 2001 Stretch was married to actress Roselyn Sánchez.[6]

Filmography

  • Tis a Gift to Be Simple (1994) ... Perry Truman
  • Final Combination (1994) ... Richard Welton
  • Infidelity/Hard Fall (1997) ... Shane
  • Business for Pleasure (1997) ... Rolf
  • Shergar (1999) ... SAS Soldier
  • Dead Dogs Lie (2001) ... Duck
  • Final Combat (2003) ... Jaikra
  • A Good Night to Die (2003) ... Ronnie
  • Dead Man's Shoes (2004) ... Sonny
  • Alexander (2004) ... Cleitus
  • The King Maker (2005) ... Fernando De Gamma
  • World Trade Center (2006) ... John's Paramedic
  • The Commander: Windows of the Soul (2007) ... Jack Bannerman
  • Afghan Knights (2007) ... Nash
  • Tied in Knots (2008) ... Jay
  • Freebird (2008) ... Fred
  • Deadwater (2008) ... Colin Willets
  • The Heavy (2010) ... Mitchell 'Boots' Mason
  • The Girl from the Naked Eye (2010) ... Frank
  • Baseline (2010) ... Rob
  • Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus (2010)[9]
  • Yellow
  • The Pugilist's Son (short) (2012) ... Terry Hope
  • Savages (2013) ... Bad Ass Biker
  • My Father Die ... Ivan

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "boxer: Gary Stretch" BoxRec.com thisisst-helens.co.uk profile Archived 31 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Birth indexes show his birth registered St. Helens 4th quarter (Oct, Nov, Dec) 1965
  3. ^ Sue Mott (21 January 2006). "A long stretch". Daily Telegraph. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Ex-boxer Gary Stretch to celebrate St Helens' movie magic". St. Helens Star. 7 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c Gareth A. Davies (27 November 2008). "Mystery of Gary Stretch departure from Khan camp". Daily Telegraph. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ a b Anna Kessel (3 February 2008). "Sex life: Gary Stretch". The Observer. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ ""Dead Man's Shoes Awards and Nominations", IMDb".
  8. ^ "British Independent Film Awards – Gary Stretch".
  9. ^ Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, The Asylum website
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