Matt Skelton was born on 23 January 1967 and is a British former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist.
22 Facts About Matt Skelton
1.
2.
Matt Skelton challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2008.
3.
Matt Skelton won the International Kickboxing Federation IKF World Title when he stopped Jeff Ford at 1:51 of the second round in southampton, England on 100 November 2000.
4.
Matt Skelton was beaten by Ernesto Hoost of the Netherlands by a third-round decision in the tournament final.
5.
Matt Skelton turned pro aged 35 in September 2002 with a two-round KO of Gifford Shillingford.
6.
Matt Skelton won the British and Commonwealth titles in his next fight, stopping Michael Sprott in 12 rounds, and defending the titles against the durable Keith Long, who he stopped in 11.
7.
In 2005, Matt Skelton won the lowly regarded WBU belt with a 6th-round knockout of Fabio Moli.
8.
Matt Skelton soon vacated the belt, and began to enjoy a higher profile when his promoter Frank Warren took all his fighters to ITV for exposure on terrestrial free-to-air television.
9.
Matt Skelton was due to defend his British title against his main rival Danny Williams in July 2005, but Williams pulled out at the last minute citing a case of the flu, a decision that prompted scorn from Williams' promoter Frank Warren.
10.
Matt Skelton stopped late sub Mark Krence in 7 rounds, and scored a 1st-round knockout of John McDermott to finish the year, whereupon he vacated his British title, having defended it three times.
11.
In February 2006, Matt Skelton finally fought Williams, and lost on split decision handing him his first pro defeat.
12.
Matt Skelton was due to defend his title against Audley Harrison in December 2006, but the fight didn't take place.
13.
Matt Skelton faced WBA Heavyweight Champion Ruslan Chagaev on 19 January 2008 in Dusseldorf.
14.
Matt Skelton fought Paolo Vidoz for the vacant European Heavyweight Title on 19 December 2008.
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Matt Skelton, recognizing this fact, refused to knock out the tormented Vidoz and even asked for the referee to quit the match.
16.
Matt Skelton chose to defend the Commonwealth title rather than the European title against undefeated brawler Martin Rogan, who had been completely unknown before upsetting Audley Harrison in his previous fight.
17.
On 19 September 2009, Matt Skelton challenged for the EBU-EU title against undefeated Italian southpaw Francesco Pianeta.
18.
In July 2010, Matt Skelton ended his run of defeats when he knocked out journeyman Lee Swaby in round 5.
19.
In December 2010, Matt Skelton was jailed for five months for perverting the course of justice after giving a false name on three occasions when caught speeding in his car.
20.
In March 2012, Matt Skelton pulled off a minor upset with a win over Tom Dallas, effectively ending Dallas's status as a prospect.
21.
Matt Skelton fought again in October 2012 on the undercard of the David Price versus Audley Harrison fight, stopping Jakov Gospic in the second round, after Gospic had been cut by a clash of heads.
22.
On 30 November 2012 Matt Skelton challenged David Price for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles and lost via second-round KO.