John Keeton


John Keeton is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He held the British cruiserweight title and challenged twice for the Commonwealth cruiserweight title between 2006 and 2007.

Early professional career

Keeton had his first professional contest on 11 August 1993, scoring a stoppage win over Tony Colclough in Mansfield. For the first three years of his career Keeton's results were a mixture of victories and defeats losing to the likes of Julius Francis, Bruce Scott and Nicky Piper. Following the Piper defeat on 7 July 1995, Keeton scored a run of five victories to earn a shot at the British title for the first time.

British challenger and champion

Keeton's first fight for the British title ended in failure, losing to Terry Dunstan in the first round of their meeting at the York Hall in Bethnal Green on 11 May 1996. He earned another shot at the title on 16 December 2000, but lost once more, this time to Bruce Scott in the sixth round at the Sheffield Arena. His final unsuccessful fight for the title came on 1 June 2006 against Mark Hobson when the Commonwealth belt was also on the line at the Barnsley Metrodome. Success finally came Keeton's way on 20 October 2006, when the now vacant cruiserweight title was contested between himself and Lee Swaby resulting in a seventh round win and the championship belt. He lost the belt in his very first defence against former champion Mark Hobson on 29 September 2007, at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield.

Title wins and challenges

In between his challenges for the British title, Keeton won a number of fringe title belts including the WBO Inter-continental cruiserweight title against Garry Delaney on 23 January 1999 in Cheshunt and the WBF cruiserweight title against Jake Kilrain on 19 March 2003 in Slough. He challenged unsuccessfully for the WBO Inter-continental title prior to winning it, losing to the undefeated Kelly Oliver on 11 October 1997. He travelled to Poland to contest the WBC Youth World cruiserweight title on 11 June 2000 losing to Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (and travelled to Canada to challenge for the Commonwealth title losing to Troy Ross on 19 March 2007.

Prizefighter

After losing his British title to Mark Hobson in September 2007, Keeton took a break from the ring and only returned on 19 May 2009 to compete in the seventh Prizefighter tournament featuring the cruiserweights at Earls Court Exhibition Centre. He faced Bruce Scott in the first round, Keeton scored a knock down and won on points over three rounds. In the semi-finals he met Dean Francis, the former European and two-weight British champion, knocking him out in the first round. The final of the tournament pitched Keeton against Ovill McKenzie, who he lost to on points.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
45Loss28–17Ovill McKenzieUD319 May 2009Earls Court Arena, London, EnglandPrizefighter Cruiserweight Tournament Final
44Win28–16Dean FrancisKO1, 2:3519 May 2009Earls Court Arena, London, EnglandPrizefighter Cruiserweight Tournament Semi-final
43Win27–16Bruce ScottUD319 May 2009Earls Court Arena, London, EnglandPrizefighter Cruiserweight Tournament Quarter-final
42Loss26–16Mark HobsonTKO4, 1:0029 Sep 2007Sheffied Arena, Sheffield, EnglandLost British cruiserweight title
41Loss26–15Troy RossKO2, 2:0819 Mar 2007Montreal Casino, Montreal, CanadaFor vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight title
40Win26–14Lee SwabyTKO7, 2:2920 Oct 2006Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield, EnglandWon vacant British cruiserweight title
39Loss25–14Mark HobsonTKO4, 2:501 Jun 2006Metrodome, Barnsley, EnglandFor British and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles
38Loss25–13Don Diego PoederKO1, 1:0010 Sep 2005Topsportcentrum, Rotterdam, NetherlandsFor vacant Dutch cruiserweight title
37Loss25–12Krzysztof WłodarczykRTD3, 3:0011 Jun 2005Gorzów Wielkopolski, Lubusz Voivodeship, PolandFor WBC Youth cruiserweight title
36Win25–11Paul BonsonPTS414 May 2005Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland
35Win24–11Paul BonsonPTS416 Apr 2004Town and Country Club, Bradford, England
34Win23–11Butch LesleyPTS1219 Mar 2002Montem Leisure Centre, Slough, EnglandWon vacant WBF cruiserweight title
33Win22–11Radcliffe GreenPTS421 Jul 2001Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, England
32Loss21–11Bruce ScottKO6 16 Dec 2000Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, EnglandFor vacant British cruiserweight title
31Win21–10Tony BoothTKO2 29 Feb 2000Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, England
30Win20–10William BarimaRTD3, 3:0015 May 1999Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, England
29Win19–10Garry DelaneySD1223 Jan 1999Grundy Park Leisure Centre, Cheshunt, EnglandWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
28Win18–10Kelly OliverTKO2, 0:5018 Jul 1998Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
27Loss17–10Jacob MofokengRTD4 16 May 1998Carousel Casino, Hammanskraal, South Africa
26Loss17–9Kelly OliverTKO8, 1:2911 Oct 1997Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, EnglandFor vacant WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
25Win17–8Nigel RaffertyTKO6, 0:4812 Apr 1997Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England
24Win16–8Nigel RaffertyRTD3 14 Dec 1996Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, England
23Win15–8John PierrePTS414 Sep 1996Concord Centre, Sheffield, England
22Loss14–8Terry DunstanTKO1 11 May 1996York Hall, Lonfon, EnglandFor British cruiserweight title
21Win14–7Cesar KazadiTKO3 30 Jan 1996Lille, Hauts-de-France, France
20Win13–7Denzil BrowneTKO4, 2:0611 Nov 1995North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax, England
19Win12–7Monty WrightTKO4 3 Nov 1995Town Hall, Dudley, England
18Win11–7Nicky WadmanTKO1 27 Oct 1995Metropole Hotel, Brighton, England
17Win10–7Steve OsborneTKO4 15 Sep 1995Mansfield Leisure Centre, Mansfield, England
16Loss9–7Nicky PiperRTD2, 3:007 Jul 1995National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales
15Win9–6Simon McDougallTKO5 6 Mar 1995Mayfair Marriott Hotel, London, England
14Loss8–6Rüdiger MayUD611 Feb 1995Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
13Loss8–5Bruce ScottKO2 9 Dec 1994York Hall, London, England
12Win8–4Lee ArcherPTS626 Oct 1994European Sporting Club, Stoke-on-Trent, England
11Loss7–4Dirk WallynKO3 24 Sep 1994Middelkerke, West Flanders, Belgium
10Win7–3Mark WalkerTKO5 6 Sep 1994European Sporting Club, Stoke-on-Trent, England
9Win6–3Devon RhoomsTKO2 2 Jun 1994Tooting Leisure Centre, London, England
8Win5–3John RiceTKO5 11 May 1994Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, England
7Win4–3Eddie KnightRTD5 9 Apr 1994Mansfield Leisure Centre, Mansfield, England
6Loss3–3Dermot GascoyneTKO1 17 Feb 1994Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
5Win3–2Dennis BaileyRTD2 19 Jan 1994European Sporting Club, Stoke-on-Trent, England
4Loss2–2Julius FrancisPTS41 Dec 1993York Hall, London, England
3Win2–1Darren McKennaTKO3 27 Oct 1993European Sporting Club, Stoke-on-Trent, England
2Loss1–1Val GoldingPTS615 Sep 1993Stour Centre, Ashford, England
1Win1–0Tony ColcloughTKO1 11 Aug 1993Mansfield Leisure Centre, Mansfield, England