Gary Buckland
Encyclopedia
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.
. He fought three more times that year scoring wins on each occasion and fighting in London
, Plymouth
and Bristol
. Five fights the following year in 2006 resulted in five more wins including two victories over Judex Meema and a trip to Spain
for a points win over Ubadel Soto. On 3 March 2007 in his first fight of the year and now boasting an unbeaten record of 9-0 Buckland defeated Stuart Phillips at the Newport Leisure Centre
to win the Welsh Area title. A win over journeyman Carl Allen followed before on 5 October 2007 Buckland defeated Martin Watson over 10 rounds to lift the Celtic version of the lightweight title.
Ben Murphy
in a six round points defeat. Buckland bounced back from the defeat on 27 February 2009 travelling to Barnsley
and scoring a 10 round shut out against Craig Docherty
in another Celtic title fight. His next contest was to be an eliminator for the full British title with England's Henry Castle his opponent. The fight in Newport
resulted in another 10 round points win for Buckland against a man who had recently impressed with wins over Graham Earl
, Ryan Barrett and Kevin O'Hara. A first round win over Hungarian Istvan Nagy on 13 November 2009 topped off a successful year for the Welshman.
. Rukundo, based in Sweden
, was undefeated with 15 wins and only one draw before losing that record to Buckland at a fight in Stoke
. Already in contention for a shot at the British title, the win had put him in the frame for a shot at the European title too. His opponent for both titles on 7 May 2010 was the current European number one contender and British champion, John Murray
. The fight took place at the Kingsway Leisure Center in Widnes
and ended with a second career defeat for Buckland with Murray proving to be just too strong, winning in the 11th round.
shown live on Sky Sports
. The Barry Hearn
promoted tournament pitched 8 fighters in a knock out style competition over one evening with the winner walking away with prize money of £32,000. In the quarter finals Buckland was matched against former amateur star Steven Bell
winning over 3 rounds on all the judges scorecards. In the semi-final Buckland pulled off one of the upsets of the year with a first round knockout of the pre-tournament favourite and reigning British champion Gary Sykes
. In the final Buckland met Derry Mathews
the former WBU champion and former young boxer of the year. Mathews had beaten Gary McArthur by stoppage in the quarters and then engaged in a grueling contest with Choi Tseveenpurev
in the semis to book his place in the final. The fight resulted in another stoppage win for Buckland with a devastating punch to the solar plexus in the 2nd round proving too much for Mathews to recover from. Of his win Buckland said "I'm feeling on top of the world". He added "I'd done a good 10 weeks of training and I knew it was going to be a hard competition. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me, so far."
in a close back and forth contest over 12 rounds.
Super Featherweight
Super featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms....
and lightweight
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
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 debut came on 5 March 2005 with a four round points win over Warren Dunkley at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre in DagenhamDagenham
Dagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began...
. He fought three more times that year scoring wins on each occasion and fighting in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. Five fights the following year in 2006 resulted in five more wins including two victories over Judex Meema and a trip to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
for a points win over Ubadel Soto. On 3 March 2007 in his first fight of the year and now boasting an unbeaten record of 9-0 Buckland defeated Stuart Phillips at the Newport Leisure Centre
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
to win the Welsh Area title. A win over journeyman Carl Allen followed before on 5 October 2007 Buckland defeated Martin Watson over 10 rounds to lift the Celtic version of the lightweight title.
Defeat and regroup
Now with a record of 11-0, Buckland begun 2008 with wins over journeymen Alex Spitko and Ali Wyatt before on 13 June 2008 losing for the first time to Hove'sHove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
Ben Murphy
Ben Murphy
Benjamin E. Murphy is an American actor. He is known for his role in the ABC television series Alias Smith and Jones, co-starring as Kid Curry, first with Pete Duel and later with Roger Davis.-Early life:...
in a six round points defeat. Buckland bounced back from the defeat on 27 February 2009 travelling to Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
and scoring a 10 round shut out against Craig Docherty
Craig Docherty
Craig Docherty is a Scottish professional boxer, best known for having held the Commonwealth Super-Featherweight championship and being one-half of the biggest Scottish fight since Jim Watt-Ken Buchanan....
in another Celtic title fight. His next contest was to be an eliminator for the full British title with England's Henry Castle his opponent. The fight in Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
resulted in another 10 round points win for Buckland against a man who had recently impressed with wins over Graham Earl
Graham Earl
Graham Earl is a retired English lightweight boxer from Luton, England. He is a former British and Commonwealth lightweight champion.-Professional career:...
, Ryan Barrett and Kevin O'Hara. A first round win over Hungarian Istvan Nagy on 13 November 2009 topped off a successful year for the Welshman.
British and European title challenge
On 19 February 2010 Buckland scored possibly his biggest win to date with a 12 round victory in a Commonwealth title eliminator against Uganda's Sam RukundoSam Rukundo
Sam Rukundo is a boxer from Uganda, who competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics for his native African country...
. Rukundo, based in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, was undefeated with 15 wins and only one draw before losing that record to Buckland at a fight 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...
. Already in contention for a shot at the British title, the win had put him in the frame for a shot at the European title too. His opponent for both titles on 7 May 2010 was the current European number one contender and British champion, John Murray
John Murray (boxer)
John Murray is an English lightweight boxer. He is a former Scottish and Irish lightweight champion...
. The fight took place at the Kingsway Leisure Center in Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
and ended with a second career defeat for Buckland with Murray proving to be just too strong, winning in the 11th round.
Prizefighter win
On 20 November 2010 Buckland moved down to super featherweight and competed in the 15th prizefighter competitionPrizefighter 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...
shown live on Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
. The Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
promoted tournament pitched 8 fighters in a knock out style competition over one evening with the winner walking away with prize money of £32,000. In the quarter finals Buckland was matched against former amateur star Steven Bell
Steven Bell
Steven "Steve" Bell is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Catalans Dragons of Super League...
winning over 3 rounds on all the judges scorecards. In the semi-final Buckland pulled off one of the upsets of the year with a first round knockout of the pre-tournament favourite and 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 final Buckland met 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:...
the former WBU champion and former young boxer of the year. Mathews had beaten Gary McArthur by stoppage in the quarters and then engaged in a grueling contest with Choi Tseveenpurev
Choi Tseveenpurev
Choijiljavyn "Choi" Tseveenpürev is a Mongolian featherweight boxer based in the United Kingdom. Tseveenpurev won the Prizefighter series Featherweights tournament on 29 October 2011, the same month that he passed 40...
in the semis to book his place in the final. The fight resulted in another stoppage win for Buckland with a devastating punch to the solar plexus in the 2nd round proving too much for Mathews to recover from. Of his win Buckland said "I'm feeling on top of the world". He added "I'd done a good 10 weeks of training and I knew it was going to be a hard competition. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me, so far."
British champion
Buckland followed up his Prizefighter win with a victory over Oscar Chacin at the MEN Arena on 16 April 2011 and travelling to Mexico to beat Jose Roberto Gonzalez on 18 June 2011. His opportunity to fight for the super featherweight version of the British title came on 24 September 2011, with Buckland beating reigning champion Gary SykesGary 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 a close back and forth contest over 12 rounds.