Henry Wharton (born 23 November 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 1998. He challenged three times for super middleweight world championships; the WBC twice, firstly in 1994 and again in 1997, and the WBO title in 1994. At regional level, he held the British super middleweight title in 1992; the Commonwealth super middleweight title from 1991 to 1996; and the EBU European super middleweight title from 1995 to 1996. Wharton is best remembered for his world title fights with Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank in 1994.
Personal life In 2012, Wharton was involved in a fight where he was cut with a machete as he fought three men. North Yorkshire Police said when speaking to The Press, "He's lucky to be alive". A few days earlier he was hit by a car after he reportedly tried to intervene in a pre-arranged bare-knuckle fight between members of the English Romany Travelling travelling community (which he is part of).
He currently resides in York. In 2013, Henry's Gym opened up on York Road. He is currently training professional George Davey who is signed under Frank Warren.
Professional career
Early career Wharton made his professional debut on 21 September 1989, scoring a first-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over Dean Murray at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, England. After winning his next 9 fights, 7 by knockout, Wharton won the vacant Commonwealth super middleweight title on 27 June 1991, beating Australian Rod Carr via points decision. On 30 October, Wharton fought Lou Gent to a draw, retaining his Commonwealth title. He won his next three fights, two by stoppage, before challenging Fidel Castro Smith for the British super middleweight title on 23 September 1992, winning the title by points decision. Wharton won his next three fights, all by stoppage, bringing his record to 18-0-1 (13 KOs).
World championship attempts On 26 February 1994, Wharton challenged Nigel Benn (37-2-1 32 KOs) for the WBC super middleweight title at Earls Court Exhibition Hall, London, England. It would be Benn's fifth defence of the WBC title. Wharton went the distance with Benn, but ultimately lost by unanimous decision, with the three judges scoring the bout 117-112, 116-114 and 116-113.
His second attempt at a world title came just 10 months later on 10 December 1994, against undefeated WBO super middleweight champion Chris Eubank (40-0-2 19 KOs) at G-Mex Centre, Manchester, England. It would be Eubank's fifteenth defence of his world title. Wharton again lost by unanimous decision, with the judges’ scorecards reading 118-112, 116-112 and 115-113.
Wharton's third and final chance at world honours came on 3 May 1997 at Nynex Arena, Manchester, England, against undefeated WBC super middleweight champion Robin Reid in what was Reid's second defence of the belt. Wharton lost by majority decision with scores of 118-111, 117-113 and 114-114.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes31Win27-3-1 Kostiantyn OkhreiTKO6 (10)26 Sep 199830Win26-3-1 Franklin EdmondsonUD828 Mar 199829Loss25-3-1 Robin ReidMD123 May 199728Win25-2-1 Rick ThornberryTKO5 (12)23 Oct 199627Win24-2-1 Stephane NizardPTS104 Jun 199626Win23-2-1 Vincenzo NardielloTKO6 (12)13 Jan 199625Win22-2-1 Sam StoreyKO4 (12)11 Nov 199524Win21-2-1 Mauro GalvanoKO4 (12)8 Jul 199523Loss20-2-1 Chris EubankUD1210 Dec 199422Win20-1-1 Sipho MoyoKO1 (12)26 Oct 199421Win19-1-1 Guy StanfordRTD3 (10)10 Sep 199420Loss18-1-1 Nigel BennUD1226 Feb 199419Won18-0-1 Ron AmundsenTKO8 (8)7 Oct 199318Won17-0-1 Royan HammondTKO3 (8)1 Jul 199317Win16-0-1 Ray DomengeTKO3 (8)7 Apr 199316Win15-0-1 Fidel Castro SmithPTS1223 Sep 199215Win14-0-1 Rod CarrTKO8 (12)8 Apr 199214Win13-0-1 Kenny SchaeferKO1 (10)19 Mar 199213Win12-0-1 Nicky WalkerPTS1023 Jan 199212Draw11-0-1 Lou GentDraw1230 Oct 199111Win11-0 Rod CarrPTS1227 Jun 199110Win10-0 Frank MintonKO7 (8)9 May 19919Win9-0 Francisco LaraKO1 (8)21 Mar 19918Win8-0 Dino StewartPTS831 Oct 19907Win7-0 Chuck EdwardsKO1 (8)18 Oct 19906Win6-0 Juan ElizondoTKO3 (8)11 Apr 19905Win5-0 Joe PottsKO4 (6)3 Mar 19904Win4-0 Guillermo ChavezKO1 (8)11 Jan 19903Win3-0 Ron MalekTKO1 (6)5 Dec 19892Win2-0 Mike AubreyPTS625 Oct 19891Win1-0 Dean MurrayTKO1 (6)21 Sep 1989
References
External links
Henry's Gym