Neil Haddock

Neil Haddock (born 22 June 1964) is a Welsh former lightweight and super featherweight boxer. Before turning professional he won a silver medal as a lightweight at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. His early career as a professional lightweight was not very notable, but after a year out from boxing caused by an eye injury, he returned fitter and lighter as a super featherweight. In 1992 he became the Welsh super featherweight champion, taking the British title just five months later. He retired from boxing in 1994.

Boxing career

Featherweight Born in Newport, but growing up in Llanelli, Haddock was involved in boxing from a young age and was Welsh Junior Champion at the age of 17. He came to note to the wider public when, as an amateur, he was selected to represent the Welsh team at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, after beating Tony Feliciello in the Welsh National Championships. Fighting in the lightweight division (60 kg), Haddock progressed to the final, where he took the silver medal after losing to Canadian Asif Dar.

Haddock turned professional within the year, with his first encounter, against Mark Purcell, taking place at the Hatherley Manor Hotel in Gloucester. It was an inauspicious start to his career, losing on points in a six-round contest after being downed in the third. Haddock fought regularly throughout 1987 and 1988, but found it difficult to build a winning run of results, with five wins, seven losses and a draw. He fought just once in 1989, a win over Lee Amass on 22 March. The ten round fight lasted only until the fifth when Haddock retired from his corner after being knocked down earlier in the round. Scheduled for 12 rounds, the match only reached the tenth, with Havard beating Haddock by technical knockout. Haddock fought just once more, a challenge for the EBU super-featherweight title, held in Cayenne, French Guiana against Jacobin Yoma. This was Haddock's first match outside Britain, and he struggled with the climate, losing the fight in the sixth.