Brian Nielsen (boxer)

For other people named Brian Nielsen, see Brian Nielsen (disambiguation).
Brian Nielsen
Statistics
Nickname(s) Super Brian
Bokse Brian ("Boxing Brian")
Boksebamsen
("The Boxing Teddybear")
Rated at Heavyweight
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Reach 196 cm (77 in)
Nationality Danish
Born (1965-04-01) 1 April 1965
Korsør, Denmark
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 67
Wins 64
Wins by KO 43
Losses 3

Brian Nielsen (born 1 April 1965) is a Danish former professional boxer who held the IBO heavyweight title.

Amateur career

During his amateur career, Nielsen had 104 victories with only 7 losses. He won bronze medals in the super heavyweight division at the 1991 European Championships and the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona where he gained local popularity by goofing around during the bouts.

Brian Nielsen was sent to Svendborg, where Johnny Antonsen had arranged a match against the local hero Carsten Dahl. Nielsen easily beat Dahl, winning the bout by knockout in the second round. Dahl later got the opportunity for revenge, but again Nielsen won by knockout.

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 ended after the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992 where he won the bronze. In the semifinals he lost to the powerful Cuban Roberto Balado. Ballado won 15 to 1.

In total, Nielsen boxed 111 fights as an amateur and won 104. He only took a count once in amateur career, and only once was he stopped before time - during the 1989 European Championship bout, where he suffered a cut near one of his eyes. His opponent at this match was the Greek boxer George Tsachakis who attended the final.

Pro career

After his win over 41-year-old ex-World Boxing Association champion James 'Bonecrusher' Smith in October 1994, Nielsen began to attract attention. He went on to hold the minor IBO belt during an unbeaten streak equaling that of legend Rocky Marciano. He later held the minor IBC belt.

Tyson fight

On 13 October 2001, Nielsen fought Mike Tyson 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.

Announced comeback and Holyfield fight

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 World Boxing Federation (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.

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 racial 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 stated 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.

Professional boxing record

64 Wins (43 knockouts, 21 decisions), 3 Losses (2 TKO, 1 retirement), 0 Draws[8]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Loss 64–3 Evander Holyfield TKO 10 (12) 2011-05-07 Denmark Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, Denmark WBF Heavyweight title on the line, only for Evander Holyfield; it was Holyfield's last fight
Win 64–2 Uriah Grant UD 8 2002-04-19 Denmark Falconer Centret, Copenhagen, Denmark
Win 63–2 Ken Murphy UD 8 2001-11-16 Denmark Roskilde Hallerne, Roskilde, Denmark
Loss 62–2 Mike Tyson RTD 7 (10) 2001-10-13 Denmark Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark Lost IBC Heavyweight title
Win 62–1 Orlin Norris UD 12 2001-06-16 Denmark Brøndby Hallen, Brøndby, Denmark Retained IBC Heavyweight title
Win 61–1 Benji Baker TKO 6 (8) 2001-04-27 Denmark Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg, Denmark Retained IBC Heavyweight title
Win 60–1 Dicky Ryan UD 8 2000-12-01 Denmark Viborg Stadionhal, Viborg, Denmark Retained IBC Heavyweight title
Win 59–1 Andy Sample TKO 2 (8) 2000-11-03 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBC Heavyweight title
Win 58–1 Kevin Cook KO 1 (8) 2000-10-06 Denmark Næstved Hallen, Næstved, Denmark Retained IBC Heavyweight title
Win 57–1 Jeremy Williams TKO 5 (12) 2000-04-28 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBC Heavyweight title
Win 56–1 Thomas Williams KO 3 (8) 2000-03-31 Denmark Esbjerg Stadionhal, Esbjerg, Denmark Retained IBC Heavyweight title
Win 55–1 Jeff Pegues KO 3 (8) 2000-02-18 Denmark Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg, Denmark Retained IBC Heavyweight title
Win 54–1 Troy Weida KO 8 (12) 2000-01-14 Denmark Kolding Hallen, Kolding, Denmark Won vacant IBC Heavyweight title
Win 53–1 Frank Wood KO 2 (8) 1999-11-26 Denmark Viborg, Denmark
Win 52–1 Don Normand KO 1 (8) 1999-10-29 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Win 51–1 Dale Crowe UD 8 1999-10-01 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 50–1 Shane Sutcliffe KO 5 (8) 1999-09-03 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Loss 49–1 Dicky Ryan TKO 10 (10) 1999-06-18 Denmark Idrættens Hus, Vejle, Denmark Lost IBO Heavyweight title
Win 49–0 Tim Witherspoon TKO 4 (10) 1999-04-16 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Frederiksberg, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 48–0 Paul Phillips KO 2 (8) 1999-03-19 Denmark Falconer Centret, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 47–0 Peter McNeeley KO 3 (8) 1999-02-12 Denmark Falconer Centret, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 46–0 Dan Murphy TKO 2 (8) 1998-11-27 Denmark Vejlby-Risskov Hallen, Aarhus, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 45–0 Lionel Butler KO 1 (12) 1998-11-06 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 44–0 Garing Lane KO 2 (8) 1998-09-18 Denmark Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 43–0 Terry Ray TKO 5 (8) 1998-09-04 Denmark Sundbyøster Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 42–0 George Linberger TKO 2 (8) 1998-09-04 Denmark Kolding Hallen, Kolding, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 41–0 Joey Guy UD 8 1998-02-27 Denmark Storebælthallen, Korsør, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 40–0 Donnell Wingfield KO 1 (8) 1997-12-05 Denmark Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 39–0 Don Steele KO 2 (12) 1997-11-14 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 38–0 Crawford Grimsley TKO 6 (8) 1997-10-03 Denmark Østre Gasværk, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 37–0 Bruce Douglas KO 1 (8) 1997-09-12 Denmark Kolding Hallen, Kolding, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 36–0 Marcos Gonzales TKO 4 (8) 1997-07-12 United States Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, United States Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 35–0 James Pritchard KO 3 (8) 1997-06-13 Denmark Antvorskovhallen, Slagelse, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 34–0 Damon Reed UD 8 1997-05-02 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 33–0 Pedro Daniel Franco UD 8 1997-03-14 Denmark Odense Idrætshal, Odense, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 32–0 Larry Holmes SD 12 1997-01-24 Denmark Brøndby Hallen, Brøndby, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 31–0 Marcus Rhode TKO 2 (8) 1996-11-30 Austria Nova Arena, Wiener Neustadt, Austria Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 30–0 Andrew Maynard TKO 6 (8) 1996-10-18 Denmark Idrættens Hus, Vejle, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 29–0 Jerry Halstead KO 2 (8) 1996-09-13 Denmark Teater & Kongrescenter, Ringsted, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 28–0 Mike Hunter TKO 5 (12) 1996-05-31 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 27–0 Salvador Maciel TKO 3 (8) 1996-04-26 Denmark Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 26–0 Phil Jackson TKO 6 (12) 1996-03-29 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 25–0 Jeff Lally TKO 2 (8) 1996-02-16 Denmark Lillebæltshallen, Middelfart, Denmark Retained IBO Heavyweight title
Win 24–0 Tony LaRosa TKO 2 (12) 1996-01-12 Denmark Falconer Centret, Copenhagen, Denmark Won vacant IBO Heavyweight title
Win 23–0 Carlos De Leon TKO 3 (8) 1995-11-24 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 22–0 Tony Tubbs TKO 4 (10) 1995-10-20 Denmark Cirkusbygningen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Win 21–0 Terry Davis UD 8 1995-09-08 Denmark Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg, Denmark
Win 20–0 Jim Huffman DQ 6 (8) 1995-06-09 Denmark Kolding Hallen, Kolding, Denmark
Win 19–0 Jason Waller TKO 2 (8) 1995-02-18 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 18–0 Tim Noble UD 8 1995-03-17 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Win 17–0 Doug Davis TKO 6 (8) 1995-03-11 United States MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 16–0 Matt Green KO 1 (8) 1995-02-18 United Kingdom Bath & West Country Showground, Somerset, United Kingdom
Win 15–0 Jeff Lampkin UD 8 1995-01-13 Denmark Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg, Denmark
Win 14–0 Terry Anderson KO 5 (8) 1994-11-11 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 13–0 James Smith TKO 5 (8) 1994-10-07 Denmark K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Win 12–0 George Stephens KO 1 (8) 1994-06-12 Denmark Kolding Hallen, Kolding, Denmark
Win 11–0 Ken Merritt KO 8 (8) 1994-04-22 Denmark Aalborg Hallen, Aalborg, Denmark
Win 10–0 Ron Gullette KO 3 (8) 1994-03-25 Denmark Aakirkeby Hallerne, Aakirkeby, Denmark
Win 9–0 Ross Puritty UD 4 1994-03-05 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, United States
Win 8–0 Mike Acey KO 2 (8) 1994-02-18 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 7–0 Mike Dixon UD 8 1993-12-05 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 6–0 Jean Chanet UD 6 1993-10-29 Denmark Storebælthallen, Korsør, Denmark
Win 5–0 Roger McKenzie UD 6 1993-09-17 Denmark Cirkusbygningen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Win 4–0 Jean Weiss UD 6 1993-06-11 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 3–0 Carl Gaffney UD 6 1993-02-12 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 2–0 Steve Gee UD 6 1992-11-27 Denmark Randers Hallen, Randers, Denmark
Win 1–0 Terry Armstrong UD 6 1992-09-04 Denmark Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark Professional debut

References

  1. "Super-Brian på vej til comeback". Jyllands-Posten. 2010-02-09.
  2. "Holyfield: Det lyder som en "great fight"". Jyllands-Posten. 2010-02-09.
  3. "Palle: Comeback helt ude i hampen". Jyllands-Posten. 2010-02-09.
  4. "Tyson angered by alleged remark by Nielsen". ESPN. 2001-10-12. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  5. James Lawton (2001-10-13). "Boxing: Trapped Tyson must satisfy the paymasters". The Independent. Archived from the original (Reprint) on 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  6. "FIGHTER, BOXING PROMOTER CONVICTED OF SPORTS BRIBERY". U.S. Department of Justice. 2004-11-04. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  7. "BOXING PROMOTER SENTENCED FOR FIXING FIGHTS". U.S. Department of Justice. 2004-11-04. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  8. "Brian Nielsen - Boxer". Boxrec.com. Retrieved 2012-07-15.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Tony La Rosa
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
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