Brian Nielsen (boxer)

Brian Nielsen (born 1 April 1965) is a Danish former professional boxer and Olympic bronze medalist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He held the IBO heavyweight title from 1996 to 1999 successfully defending it five times, including against Larry Holmes and Phil Jackson, the second highest number of defenses behind Wladimir Klitschko's record of 18. At one point of time, he equaled Rocky Marciano's record of 49 successive wins with no losses. While he never held a world title from any of the main four sanctioning bodies (WBC, IBF, WBA, WBO), he did defeat several former world champions who had, including James Smith, Jeff Lampkin, Tony Tubbs, Carlos De León, Tim Witherspoon, Orlin Norris, and Uriah Grant.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Nielsen won bronze medals in the super heavyweight division at the 1991 European Championships and the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

Brian Nielsen was sent to Svendborg, where Johnny Antonsen had arranged a match against the local hero Carsten Dahl. Nielsen easily beat Dahl, winning the bout by knockout in the second round. Dahl later got the opportunity for revenge, but again Nielsen won by knockout.

He was both Zealand champion and Danish champion for five consecutive years (1988-1992), and also won numerous international tournaments. His career as an amateur ended after the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992 where he won the bronze. In the semifinals he lost to the powerful Cuban Roberto Balado. Balado won 15 to 1.

In total, Nielsen boxed 111 fights as an amateur and won 104. He only took a count once in amateur career, and only once was he stopped before time - during the 1989 European Championship bout, where he suffered a cut near one of his eyes. His opponent at this match was the Greek boxer George Tsachakis who attended the final.

Professional career

After his win over 41-year-old ex-World Boxing Association champion James 'Bonecrusher' Smith in October 1994, Nielsen began to attract attention. He went on to hold the minor IBO belt during an unbeaten streak equaling that of legend Rocky Marciano. He later held the minor IBC belt.

Tyson fight

On 13 October 2001, Nielsen fought Mike Tyson at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. After six rounds heavily in Tyson's favour, Nielsen quit on his stool citing an eye injury. Nielsen was knocked down once in the third round.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Announced comeback and Holyfield fight

On February 8, 2010, Brian Nielsen told reporters that he was prepared to return to the ring, after 8 years of absence,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and that a proposed fight against Evander Holyfield had been met with interest by both sides.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Though originally thought unrealistic by former promoter Mogens Palle, due to Nielsen's bad knee,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nielsen's comeback was confirmed by Nielsen's promoter Sauerland Event on June 1, 2010.

Nielsen met Holyfield on May 7, 2011 in a World Boxing Federation (WBF) title bout, in Copenhagen. Holyfield won the fight, knocking Nielsen down in the 3rd with a left hook and stopping him by TKO in the 10th.

Match throwing incident

Controversy arose in early 2004, when journeyman heavyweight Thomas Williams stated that he had been bribed to throw his fight against Nielsen in March, 2000. Along with promoter Robert Mitchell, Williams was indicted by the United States District Court for the District of Nevada for match fixing in order to promote the career of Richie Melito, and it was during the FBI's investigation of that case that Williams admitted to intentionally losing to Nielsen. The fix was arranged by promoter Robert Mittleman, a frequent associate of Nielsen's promoter Mogens Palle, who later confessed that he had been paid $1,000, while Williams had received "up to $40,000" from Palle in order to lose the fight. Williams, Mitchell and Mittleman were all found guilty of sports bribery by the court in November and December, 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Nielsen vs. Williams fight was the 57th of Nielsen's career. Nielsen and Mogens Palle denied any knowledge of the match fixing, and were not charged of any wrongdoing by American or Danish authorities.

Professional boxing record

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Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
Template:No2Loss	64–3	Evander Holyfield	TKO	10 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	64–2	Uriah Grant	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	63–2	Ken Murphy	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:No2Loss	62–2	Mike Tyson	RTD	6 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	62–1	Orlin Norris	UD	12	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	61–1	Benji Baker	TKO	6 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	60–1	Dicky Ryan	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	59–1	Andy Sample	TKO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	58–1	Kevin Cook	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	57–1	Jeremy Williams	TKO	5 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	56–1	Thomas Williams	KO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	55–1	Jeff Pegues	KO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	54–1	Troy Weida	KO	8 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	53–1	Frank Wood	KO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	52–1	Don Normand	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	51–1	Dale Crowe	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	50–1	Shane Sutcliffe	KO	5 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:No2Loss	49–1	Dicky Ryan	TKO	10 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	49–0	Tim Witherspoon	TKO	4 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	48–0	Paul Phillips	KO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	47–0	Peter McNeeley	KO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	46–0	Dan Murphy	TKO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	45–0	Lionel Butler	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	44–0	Garing Lane	KO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	43–0	Terry Ray	TKO	5 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	42–0	George Linberger	TKO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	41–0	Joey Guy	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	40–0	Donnell Wingfield	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	39–0	Don Steele	KO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	38–0	Crawford Grimsley	TKO	6 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	37–0	Bruce Douglas	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	36–0	Marcos Gonzales	TKO	4 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	35–0	James Pritchard	KO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	34–0	Damon Reed	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	33–0	Pedro Daniel Franco	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	32–0	Larry Holmes	SD	12	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	31–0	Marcus Rhode	TKO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	30–0	Andrew Maynard	TKO	6 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	29–0	Jerry Halstead	KO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	28–0	Mike Hunter	TKO	5 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	27–0	Salvador Maciel	TKO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	26–0	Phil Jackson	TKO	6 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	25–0	Jeff Lally	TKO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	24–0	Tony LaRosa	TKO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	23–0	Carlos De Leon	TKO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	22–0	Tony Tubbs	TKO	4 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	21–0	Terry Davis	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	20–0	Jim Huffman	DQ	6 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	19–0	Jason Waller	TKO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	18–0	Tim Noble	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	17–0	Doug Davis	TKO	6 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	16–0	Matt Green	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	15–0	Jeff Lampkin	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	14–0	Terry Anderson	KO	5 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	13–0	James Smith	TKO	5 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	12–0	George Stephens	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	11–0	Ken Merritt	KO	8 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	10–0	Ron Gullette	KO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Ross Puritty	UD	4	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Mike Acey	KO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Mike Dixon	UD	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Jean Chanet	UD	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Roger McKenzie	UD	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Jean Weiss	UD	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Carl Gaffney	UD	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Steve Gee	UD	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Terry Armstrong	UD	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	References External links Template:Boxrec