# Carl Thompson (boxer)

Adrian Carl Thompson (born 26 May 1964) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2005. He held multiple championships at cruiserweight, including the WBO title between 1997 and 1999, and the IBO title twice between 2001 and 2005. Additionally, he held the British title in 1992 and 1999, and the European title in 1994 and 2000. He is also a former Muay Thai fighter, who fought in 1987 and 1989 for World Titles.

## Professional career
### Early years

Nicknamed "The Cat", Thompson turned professional boxer in 1988. He went 8-0 before losing to Crawford Ashley by TKO in round 6 for the British Central Area light heavyweight title after taking a thumb to the eye. In 1990 he was outpointed by Franco Wanyama, and in 1991 he was KOd by Yawe Davis. However, his punching power in his right hand brought him to contention, stopping the undefeated Nicky Piper in three rounds.
Thompson won the vacant British cruiserweight title by beating Steve Lewsam in eight rounds in June 1992, then in his next fight won the WBC International title in two rounds against Arthur 'Stormy' Weathers at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London in February 1993.
In February 1994, Thompson traveled to Ferrara, Emilia Romagna, Italy and won the European title by defeating Massimiliano Duran by KO in eight rounds, and in his next bout knocked out France's Akim Tafer in six rounds at Epernay, Marne, France to retain his European title.
After winning two mark-time fights, Thompson was matched against Ralf Rocchigiani in a bout for the vacant WBO cruiserweight title at the G-Mex Leisure Centre, Manchester in June 1995. Both fighters were knocked down in round five, and Thompson lost during round eleven after dislocating his shoulder.

### WBO cruiserweight champion

After returning with three wins, Thompson won the WBO cruiserweight title via decision over Ralf Rocchigiani in a rematch in Stadionsporthalle, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany in October 1997. He defended the belt twice, beating the smaller Chris Eubank in 1998 before losing it via a controversial referee stoppage to Johnny Nelson in 1999.
Thompson regained the vacant British title with a twelfth round knockout of Terry Dunstan in December 1999, then regained the vacant European title with a sixth round stoppage of Alain Simon.
Thompson's winning streak ended in a fourth round knockout defeat to Ezra Sellers in 2001.

### Thompson vs. Rothman

After three low-key wins, Thompson met South African, Sebastian Rothman. Thompson had been on the end of beating for most of the bout. The BBC commentators on the night, Jim Neilly and Colin McMillan, were calling for Carl's retirement, saying he was finished, taking the beating needlessly, and that the fight should have been stopped.
Rothman forced Thompson on to the ropes during the ninth round and the referee looked at Thompson ready to stop the fight. Somehow Thompson got away from the ropes and forced Rothman into the middle of the ring. With 17 seconds remaining in the round, Rothman dropped his left hand for what seemed like a fraction of a second, allowing Carl to deliver a flush right hand to the South African's head knocking him to the canvas.
Rothman bravely tried to get back on his feet but his legs had gone and the referee had no option but to stop the fight, handing Thompson a famous victory.

### Thompson vs. Haye

In September 2004 at 40 years of age, Thompson boxed the up-and-coming 23 year old David Haye in a classic 'youth vs experience' matchup. Haye started fast and caught Thompson with constant barrages of power punches, coming close to forcing a stoppage at numerous points over the first few rounds.
Gradually, despite the early punishment he received, Thompson warmed up and worked his way into the fight whilst Haye seemed to tire and slow down. Thompson began to pressure Haye and knocked Haye down with a chopping right hand in round five. With seven seconds left in the round, Thompson landed two jabs followed by a flush right hand which rocked a fatigued Haye, and compelled Haye's corner to throw in the towel.
Thompson retired at the end of 2005 after a points win over Frederic Serrat.

## Professional boxing record

| 40 fights | 34 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 25 | 5 |
| By decision | 9 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 40 | Win | 34–6 | Frédéric Serrat | PTS | 10 | 26 Nov 2005 | Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England | |
| 39 | Win | 33–6 | David Haye | TKO | 5 (12), 2:53 | 10 Sep 2004 | Wembley Arena, London, England | Retained IBO cruiserweight title |
| 38 | Win | 32–6 | Sebastiaan Rothmann | TKO | 9 (12), 2:57 | 6 Feb 2004 | Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England | Won IBO cruiserweight title |
| 37 | Win | 31–6 | Paul Bonson | PTS | 6 | 7 Nov 2003 | Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England | |
| 36 | Win | 30–6 | Hastings Rasani | KO | 1 (6), 2:01 | 5 Sep 2003 | Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England | |
| 35 | Win | 29–6 | Phil Day | KO | 4 (6), 0:35 | 10 Jun 2003 | Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England | |
| 34 | Loss | 28–6 | Ezra Sellers | KO | 4 (12), 1:36 | 26 Nov 2001 | Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester, England | Lost IBO cruiserweight title |
| 33 | Win | 28–5 | Uriah Grant | TKO | 5 (12), 2:20 | 3 Feb 2001 | Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England | Won IBO cruiserweight title |
| 32 | Win | 27–5 | Alexey Ilyin | TKO | 2 (12) | 25 Sep 2000 | Metrodome, Barnsley, England | Retained European cruiserweight title |
| 31 | Win | 26–5 | Alain Simon | TKO | 6 (12), 2:25 | 13 May 2000 | Metrodome, Barnsley, England | Won vacant European cruiserweight title |
| 30 | Win | 25–5 | Terry Dunstan | KO | 12 (12), 2:40 | 3 Dec 1999 | Bushfield Leisure Centre, Peterborough, England | Won vacant British cruiserweight title |
| 29 | Loss | 24–5 | Johnny Nelson | TKO | 5 (12), 1:42 | 27 Mar 1999 | Storm Arena, Derby, England | Lost WBO cruiserweight title |
| 28 | Win | 24–4 | Chris Eubank | RTD | 9 (12), 3:00 | 18 Jul 1998 | Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England | Retained WBO cruiserweight title |
| 27 | Win | 23–4 | Chris Eubank | UD | 12 | 18 Apr 1998 | NYNEX Arena, Manchester, England | Retained WBO cruiserweight title |
| 26 | Win | 22–4 | Ralf Rocchigiani | SD | 12 | 4 Oct 1997 | Stadionsporthalle, Hanover, Germany | Won WBO cruiserweight title |
| 25 | Win | 21–4 | Keith McMurray | TKO | 4 (8) | 26 Apr 1997 | Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland | |
| 24 | Win | 20–4 | Jason Nicholson | PTS | 8 | 9 Nov 1996 | NYNEX Arena, Manchester, England | |
| 23 | Win | 19–4 | Albert Call | TKO | 5 (8) | 13 Apr 1996 | Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester, England | |
| 22 | Loss | 18–4 | Ralf Rocchigiani | TKO | 11 (12), 0:38 | 10 Jun 1995 | G-Mex Centre, Manchester, England | For vacant WBO cruiserweight title |
| 21 | Win | 18–3 | Tim Knight | KO | 5 (8) | 13 Oct 1994 | Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France | |
| 20 | Win | 17–3 | Dionisio Lazario Nascimento | TKO | 1 (6), 1:06 | 10 Sep 1994 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England | |
| 19 | Win | 16–3 | Akim Tafer | TKO | 6 (12) | 14 Jun 1994 | Épernay, France | Retained European cruiserweight title |
| 18 | Win | 15–3 | Massimiliano Duran | KO | 8 (12) | 2 Feb 1994 | Ferrara, Italy | Won European cruiserweight title |
| 17 | Win | 14–3 | Willie Jake | KO | 3 (8) | 25 Jul 1993 | Oldham, England | |
| 16 | Win | 13–3 | Steve Harvey | KO | 1 (8) | 31 Mar 1993 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 15 | Win | 12–3 | Arthur Weathers | KO | 2 (12) | 17 Feb 1993 | York Hall, London, England | Won vacant WBC International cruiserweight title |
| 14 | Win | 11–3 | Steve Lewsam | TKO | 8 (12) | 4 Jun 1992 | Cleethorpes, England | Won vacant British cruiserweight title |
| 13 | Win | 10–3 | Nicky Piper | TKO | 3 (8) | 4 Sep 1991 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 12 | Loss | 9–3 | Yawe Davis | TKO | 2 (8) | 1 Apr 1991 | Stade Louis II, Monte Carlo, Monaco | |
| 11 | Win | 9–2 | Terry Dixon | PTS | 8 | 7 Mar 1991 | Festival Hall, Basildon, England | |
| 10 | Loss | 8–2 | Franco Wanyama | PTS | 6 | 21 Apr 1990 | Sint-Amandsberg, Belgium | |
| 9 | Loss | 8–1 | Crawford Ashley | TKO | 6 (10) | 31 Oct 1989 | Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England | For vacant British Central Area light-heavyweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Peter Brown | KO | 5 (8) | 11 Jul 1989 | Variety Club, Batley, England | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Steve Osborne | PTS | 8 | 12 Jun 1989 | Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Tenko Ernie | KO | 4 (6) | 4 May 1989 | Hilton, London, England | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Keith Halliwell | TKO | 1 (6), 1:04 | 4 Apr 1989 | Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester, England | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Sean O'Phoenix | TKO | 4 (6) | 7 Mar 1989 | Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester, England | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Steve Osborne | PTS | 6 | 13 Feb 1989 | Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Paul Sheldon | PTS | 6 | 11 Oct 1988 | South Staffs Sporting Club, Wolverhampton, England | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Darren McKenna | TKO | 2 (6) | 6 Jun 1988 | Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England | Professional debut |