James Tennyson

Irish boxer

James Tennyson

Born|  (1993-08-06) 6 August 1993 (age 30)

Lisburn, Northern Ireland

Nationality| Northern Irish
Other names| The Assassin
Statistics
Weight(s)|

* Featherweight
* Super-featherweight
* Lightweight

Height| 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Stance| Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights| 32
Wins| 28
Wins by KO| 24
Losses| 4

James Martin Tennyson (born 6 August 1993) is a Northern Irish former professional boxer who competed from 2012 to 2021. who challenged for the IBF super-featherweight title in 2018 and the IBO lightweight title in May 2021. At regional level he held the Commonwealth and European super-featherweight titles in 2018 and the British lightweight title from 2020 to May 2021.

## Professional career[edit]

### Two-Time Irish champion[edit]

Tennyson is a two-time super-featherweight Irish champion. In 2013, he became the youngest ever modern era Irish champion by defeating former champion Mickey Coveney by knockout (KO) in the second round in what was only his sixth professional contest at the now demolished old St. Kevins Hall.[1] In 2017, he won the title for the second time with a sixth-round technical knockout (TKO) over Dublin's former highly decorated amateur stand out Declan Geraghty at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, live on BoxNation.[2]

### Celtic champion[edit]

He became Celtic featherweight champion in 2015 by way of disqualification after his opponent, Kris Hughes of Scotland, continued to hold after having already been deducted three points in the fight for persistent holding while heavily behind on points. This contest was also a final eliminator for the British featherweight title.[3]

### British Featherweight title challenge[edit]

Tennyson challenged Ryan Walsh for the British featherweight title, losing by fifth-round TKO after having been dropped twice in the fight by body shots. This contest proved to be his last at featherweight having struggled to make the weight.[4]

### Lightweight run[edit]

After a fifth round TKO loss at Super-Featherweight to then IBF Champion, Tevin Farmer in 2018 (once again via body shots), it became apparent that Tennyson was still having to drain himself significantly to make weight and it was affecting his performances in the ring.[5] He made the smart decision to move up to Lightweight the next year. Since making the move, Tennyson had won six straight fights by knockout, including wins over the likes of Atif Shafiq, Craig Evans, Gavin Gwynne (against whom he won the vacant British Lightweight title), and previously unbeaten Josh O’Reilly,[6] before losing to unheralded Mexican Jovanni Straffon by 1st-round TKO.[7]

#### Tennyson vs. O'Reilly[edit]

On December 4, 2020, Tennyson fought Josh O'Reilly, who was ranked #7 at lightweight by the WBA, in a world title eliminator. Tennyson won the fight easily via a first round TKO.[8]

#### Tennyson vs. Straffon[edit]

In his next bout, Tennyson faced Jovanni Straffon. Tennyson started the fight aggressively but Straffon retaliated with a few power punches of his own. As the pair went toe-to-toe, Straffon had more success, landing the better shots and dropping Tennyson twice before the referee decided to wave the fight off and award him the victory.[9]

## Professional boxing record[edit]

32 fights  | 28 wins  | 4 losses

|
|

By knockout  | 24  | 4
By decision  | 3  | 0
By disqualification  | 1  | 0

No. | Result  | Record  | Opponent  | Type  | Round, time  | Date  | Location  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

32  | Loss  | 28–4  | Jovanni Straffon  | TKO  | 1 (12), 2:10 | 1 May 2021 | AO Arena, Manchester, England | For vacant IBO lightweight title
31  | Win  | 28–3  | Josh O'Reilly  | TKO  | 1 (12), 1:37 | 4 Dec 2020  | The SSE Arena, London, England |
30  | Win  | 27–3  | Gavin Gwynne | TKO  | 6 (12), 2:30 | 1 Aug 2020  | Matchroom Fight Camp, Brentwood, England | Won vacant British lightweight title
29  | Win  | 26–3  | Craig Evans | TKO  | 11 (12), 2:00 | 23 Nov 2019  | M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, England |
28  | Win  | 25–3  | Atif Shafiq  | KO  | 2 (10), 2:51 | 31 Aug 2019  | The O2 Arena, London, England | Won vacant WBA International lightweight title
27  | Win  | 24–3  | Brayan Mairena  | TKO  | 2 (6), 2:01 | 18 May 2019  | Europa Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
26  | Win  | 23–3  | Garry Neale  | KO  | 2 (10), 3:05 | 9 Feb 2019  | Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
25  | Loss  | 22–3  | Tevin Farmer | TKO  | 5 (12), 1:44 | 20 Oct 2018  | TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, US | For IBF super-featherweight title
24  | Win  | 22–2  | Martin Joseph Ward | TKO  | 5 (12), 2:24 | 5 May 2018  | The O2 Arena, London, England | Retained WBA International super-featherweight title;
Won Commonwealth, and European super-featherweight titles
22  | Win  | 21–2  | Arnoldo Solano  | KO  | 1 (8), 0:59 | 3 Feb 2018  | Europa Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
22  | Win  | 20–2  | Darren Traynor  | TKO  | 3 (10), 2:24 | 21 Oct 2017  | The SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Retained WBA International super-featherweight title
21  | Win  | 19–2  | Ryan Doyle | RTD  | 6 (10), 3:00 | 10 Jun 2017  | Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Won vacant WBA International super-featherweight title
20  | Win  | 18–2  | Declan Geraghty  | TKO  | 6 (10), 2:53 | 10 Mar 2017  | Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Won vacant BUI featherweight title
19  | Win  | 17–2  | Rafael Castillo  | PTS  | 4  | 5 Nov 2016  | Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
18  | Loss  | 16–2  | Ryan Walsh | TKO  | 5 (12), 2:34 | 30 Apr 2016  | Copper Box Arena, London, England | For British featherweight title
17  | Win  | 16–1  | Antonio Horvatic  | TKO  | 1 (6), 2:07 | 6 Feb 2016  | Europa Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
16  | Win  | 15–1  | Sergejs Logins  | TKO  | 1 (6), 1:50 | 14 Nov 2015  | Seaplane Harbour, Tallinn, Estonia |
15  | Win  | 14–1  | Giorgi Gachechiladze  | TKO  | 2 (8), 2:18 | 17 Oct 2015  | Europa Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
14  | Win  | 13–1  | Krzysztof Rogowski  | TKO  | 3 (6), 2:43 | 6 Jun 2015  | Devenish Complex, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
13  | Win  | 12–1  | Kris Hughes  | DQ  | 7 (10), 2:31 | 28 Mar 2015  | Andersonstown Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Won Celtic featherweight title;
Hughes disqualified for persistent holding
12  | Win  | 11–1  | Simas Volosinas  | TKO  | 2 (6), 1:23 | 7 Feb 2015  | Devenish Complex, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
11  | Win  | 10–1  | Ian Bailey  | PTS  | 8  | 10 May 2014  | Devenish Complex, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
10  | Win  | 9–1  | Ignac Kassai  | TKO  | 3 (4), 2:57 | 18 Apr 2014  | Barba Negra Music Pub, Budapest, Hungary |
9  | Loss  | 8–1  | Pavels Senkovs  | TKO  | 2 (6), 0:41 | 19 Oct 2013  | Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
8  | Win  | 8–0  | Andrei Hramyka  | TKO  | 1 (6), 2:49 | 28 Jun 2013  | Holiday Inn, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
7  | Win  | 7–0  | David Kanales  | KO  | 2 (6), 1:41 | 24 May 2013  | Olympia, Liverpool, England |
6  | Win  | 6–0  | Mickey Coveney  | TKO  | 2 (10), 1:41 | 27 Apr 2013  | St Kevin's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Won vacant BUI super-featherweight title
5  | Win  | 5–0  | David Kis  | TKO  | 1 (8), 0:57 | 9 Mar 2013  | Fairways Hotel, Dundalk, Ireland |
4  | Win  | 4–0  | Mickey Coveney  | PTS  | 6  | 7 Dec 2012  | Rivals Gym, Wishaw, Scotland |
3  | Win  | 3–0  | Ignac Kassai  | TKO  | 1 (4), 1:14 | 3 Nov 2012  | National Basketball Arena, Dublin, Ireland |
2  | Win  | 2–0  | Tibor Meszaros  | TKO  | 1 (4), 0:52 | 13 Oct 2012  | Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
1  | Win  | 1–0  | Fikret Remziev  | TKO  | 4 (4), 1:57 | 8 Sep 2012  | Holiday Inn, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland |

## References[edit]

1. ^ "BOXING: James Tennyson gets Irish title showdown - Belfast Newsletter". Newsletter.co.uk. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
2. ^ "James Tennyson stops Declan Geraghty to win Irish title after amazing see-saw battle". Irish-boxing.com. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
3. ^ "Hughes disqualification hands crown to Tennyson". Belfasttelegraph. BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
4. ^ "Frank Warren: Jamie Conlan on His Way To WBO World Title Shot - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
5. ^ "James Tennyson: Extra Pounds Helped, I'm a lot Stronger at the Weight". 16 July 2020.
6. ^ "BoxRec: James Tennyson".
7. ^ "Photos: Jovanni Straffon Crushes James Tennyson in First Round Shocker". 2 May 2021.
8. ^ "Tennyson vs Reilly - News, Tape, Ringwalk, TV, Streaming & Tickets". Box.Live. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
9. ^ Lewis, Ron (May 2021). "Campbell Hatton Wins Decision: Straffon Crushes James Tennyson in One". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 10 February 2022.

## External links[edit]

* Boxing record for James Tennyson from BoxRec (registration required)
* James Tennyson - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live

Sporting positions

Regional boxing titles
Vacant

Title last held by

Anthony Cacace |  Irish super-featherweight champion
27 April 2013 – 2014  | Vacant

Title next held by

Himself
Preceded by

Kris Hughes

|  BBBofC Celtic featherweight champion
28 March 2015 – 2016  | Vacant

Title next held by

Nathaniel Collins
Vacant

Title last held by

Himself  |  Irish super-featherweight champion
10 March 2017 – May 2017  | Vacant
Vacant

Title last held by

Xu Can |  WBA International super-featherweight champion
10 June 2017 – September 2018
Vacated  | Vacant

Title next held by

John Joe Nevin
Preceded by

Martin Joseph Ward

|  Commonwealth super-featherweight champion
5 May 2018 – September 2018
Vacated  | Vacant

Title next held by

Zelfa Barrett
European super-featherweight champion
5 May 2018 – September 2018
Vacated  | Vacant

Title next held by

Samir Ziani
Vacant

Title last held by

Devin Haney |  WBA International lightweight champion
31 August 2019 – January 2021  | Vacant

Title next held by

Artem Harutyunyan
Vacant

Title last held by

Joe Cordina |  British lightweight champion
1 August 2020 – December 2020  | Vacant

Title next held by

Maxi Hughes
*[No.]: Number