# Scott Welch

Scott Roy Welch (born 21 April 1968) is a retired British professional boxer. As an amateur, Welch became one of the ABA champions at heavyweight. He travelled the world as a professional boxer, winning the Southern Area belt, the British, Commonwealth and WBO Intercontinental titles. In 1997, he contended the WBO World Title fight in Nashville, losing to Henry Akinwande by a wide points margin. In the course of his career Welch had 26 professional fights, with 22 wins and an impressive 17 knock-outs.

## Amateur career

Welch's formative years were spent in the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth. Welch got into boxing at a local club. Welch moved to Brighton when he was 16 and found it "a massive wow factor after Yarmouth." At 86 kg (190 lb), he was too big to find a match on the amateur circuit. It took a couple more years, and some intensive coaching at the Hove ABC (Amateur Boxing Club) under Dave Brown, before his amateur career started. Over the next few years, Welch racked up an impressive amateur record of 30 wins against 8 defeats (5 of which he later reversed), culminating in the ABA Heavyweight title of Great Britain in May 1992. "In amateur boxing, every fight was a tough fight as we were all so well matched," Welch remembers.

## Personal life

Still a fitness fanatic, Welch has raised huge sums for charity, completing the gruelling 250-mile Marathon des Sables in the Sahara, climbing Kilimanjaro and has tackled the Atacama desert. Welch is Head Trainer at the Brighton and Hove ABC, working alongside his old coach Dave Brown. "I really enjoy it," he says, "I'm putting it all back in. We've got a few good prospects, and there's a lot of younger lads coming through, too". iBoxing Trainer is Welch's smartphone app designed to help youngsters get into boxing and is approved by the World Boxing Council and the British Boxing Board of Control. By keeping things simple but comprehensive, Welch covers everything an aspiring boxer needs to get started and progress. "Learning the basics properly is vital. I wish I had something like this when I first started".
Welch is proud of his work with young boxers and has been recognised for his efforts with a WBC honorary belt. Welch purchased and restored Thorington Gate Lodge in Suffolk, which had been derelict for 20 years. The project was featured on the television series The Restoration Man in 2010.

## Other ventures

Since his retirement in 1999, Welch has worked alongside his old coach Dave Brown, as head trainer at the Brighton and Hove ABC. In Guy Ritchie's bare-knuckle movie Snatch (2000) Welch played Horace 'Good Night' Anderson. His big fight scene with Brad Pitt has achieved notoriety, famously sending Pitt skyward a round before being 'knocked out'. Welch takes his acting fame with a big pinch of salt: "A film star lifestyle would be great if I hadn't done anything in my life, but I'm very pleased with what I've achieved. I've had my career. My career was boxing." In December of 2024 he was seen in the Lewes Road Inn, Brighton, sparking rumours of a partnership between "The Brighton Rock" and this up-and-coming pub, most recently gaining popularity for its Sunday roasts.

## Professional boxing record

| 26 fights | 22 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 17 | 2 |
| By decision | 5 | 2 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 26 | Loss | 22–4 | Julius Francis | PTS | 12 | 26 Jun 1999 | London Arena, London, England | For British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles |
| 25 | Win | 22–3 | Micheal Murray | PTS | 8 | 30 Jan 1999 | Europa Point Sports Complex, Gibraltar | |
| 24 | Win | 21–3 | Peter Oboh | PTS | 6 | 1 Nov 1997 | Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 23 | Win | 20–3 | Yuriy Yelistratov | TKO | 1 (8), 1:04 | 28 Jun 1997 | Sports Village, Norfolk, England | |
| 22 | Loss | 19–3 | Henry Akinwande | UD | 12 | 11 Jan 1997 | Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | For WBO heavyweight title |
| 21 | Win | 19–2 | Daniel Eduardo Neto | UD | 8 | 9 Nov 1996 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 20 | Win | 18–2 | Mike Sedillo | TKO | 1 (8) | 8 Jun 1996 | Telewest Arena, Newcastle, England | |
| 19 | Win | 17–2 | Joe Bugner | TKO | 6 (12) | 16 Mar 1996 | Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany | Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 18 | Win | 16–2 | James Oyebola | TKO | 10 (12) | 27 Oct 1995 | Hilton Brighton Metropole, Brighton, England | Won British and vacant Commonwealth heavyweight titles |
| 17 | Win | 15–2 | Julius Francis | KO | 10 (10), 2:26 | 1 Jul 1995 | Royal Albert Hall, London, England | Won Southern Area heavyweight title |
| 16 | Win | 14–2 | Eduardo Antonio Carranza | KO | 1 (8), 1:54 | 13 May 1995 | Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 15 | Win | 13–2 | Michael Murray | PTS | 8 | 10 Dec 1994 | G-Mex Centre, Manchester, England | |
| 14 | Win | 12–2 | Roger McKenzie | TKO | 1 (8), 1:23 | 17 Sep 1994 | Leisure Centre, Crawley, England | |
| 13 | Loss | 11–2 | James Oyebola | KO | 5 (12), 1:00 | 6 May 1994 | Boardwalk Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | For vacant WBC International heavyweight title |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Steve Garber | TKO | 4 (8), 2:31 | 15 Mar 1994 | Grosvenor House, London, England | |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Carl Gaffney | TKO | 3 (6) | 21 Dec 1993 | Grosvenor House, London, England | |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Chris Coughlan | KO | 1 (6) | 30 Nov 1993 | Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff, Wales | |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Joey Paladino | TKO | 3 (6) | 6 Nov 1993 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Cordwell Hylton | TKO | 1 (6) | 5 Oct 1993 | Grosvenor House, London, England | |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | George Carmen | TKO | 3 (6) | 28 Sep 1993 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Des Vaughan | TKO | 2 (6), 2:46 | 18 Sep 1993 | Granby Halls, Leicester, England | |
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | John Harewood | TKO | 3 (6), 2:05 | 29 Jun 1993 | Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England | |
| 4 | Win | 3–1 | Denroy Bryan | TKO | 4 (6) | 11 May 1993 | Sports Village, Norfolk, England | |
| 3 | Loss | 2–1 | Gary Charlton | TKO | 3 (6) | 23 Feb 1993 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Gary Williams | UD | 4 | 6 Oct 1992 | Arenahal, Antwerp, Belgium | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | John Williams | TKO | 5 (6) | 8 Sep 1992 | Sports Village, Norfolk, England | |