Ivanson Ranny "Johnny" Nelson (born 4 January 1967) is a former professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 from 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...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He was the WBO cruiserweight champion for over six years, having successfully defended the title 13 times. Nelson also held the European and British cruiserweight titles. His fight record was 45 wins (29 by knockout), 12 losses and two draws.

Nelson's 14th defence of his WBO cruiserweight title was scheduled to be against Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli

Enzo Maccarinelli

Enzo Maccarinelli is a Welsh professional boxer who fights in the light heavyweight division. He is a former World Boxing Organization cruiserweight title holder and also held the European title at that weight limit...

 on the undercard for the Joe Calzaghe

Joe Calzaghe

Joseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....

 versus Jeff Lacy

Jeff Lacy

Jeffrey Scott Lacy is an American boxer. He is a former International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion.-Amateur career:...

 WBO/IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

 unification bout on 6 March 2006, but an injury picked up by Nelson forced the fight to be cancelled and Nelson announced his decision to retire from professional boxing a few months later on 22 September 2006.

After retirement

Nelson is now a pundit for Sky Television. Since retirement he has spent some time working with the prison service helping inmates with life management skills. He's also played a role in some charity work, agreeing to fight a charity match against Jos Battle, a property developer and son of Leeds West MP, John Battle

John Battle

John Battle may refer to:*John Battle , British Labour politician, Member of Parliament for Leeds West *John S. Battle , American politician, Governor of Virginia 1950–1954...

.

Personal life

Nelson's parents split up when he was a young child and he didn't reunite with his biological father until he was in his thirties. He still lives in Sheffield with his wife Debbie and daughters Bailey and India. He also has a daughter called Jorden from a previous relationship. He has published his autobiography Hard Road To Glory.

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