58-year-old Scot England set a Guinness world record for being the oldest fighter to make his pro boxing debut on Tuesday night at the Texas Troubadour Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee. In the fight, 23-year-old opponent Jashawn Hunter (1-6, 1 KO) dropped England hard in the first five seconds. England got up woozy and after about 25 seconds the bout resumed. England took a few more shots before the towel was waved by the corner.
Cruiserweight Dionardo Minor (7-3-2, 2 KOs) took an eight round split decision over Charles Dale (13-3, 10 KOs) in a good scrap. Scores were 77-75 Dale, 77-75, 80-72 Minor.
Unbeaten heavyweight Erick Arellano (10-0, 7 KOs) scored a bizarre fourth round TKO over Armondo Reeves (4-15-2, 1 KO). Reeves’ gloves the canvas after a push which was ruled a knockdown. Reeves complained about the call and the referee then waved off the bout! Time was 2:52.
Super lightweight Marklin Bailey (9-13, 5 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Keasen Freeman (6-14, 4 KOs). Bailey dropped Freeman three times in round three and twice in round four.
Unbeaten lightweight Iman Lee (8-0, 6 KOs) stopped Weusi Johnson (3-32-1, 0 KOs) in round five. Lee dropped Johnson in round four and twice in round five to end it. Body shots did the damage. Time was 2:10.
Super lightweight Aaron Lopez (2-0, 2 KOs) stopped Earnest Walls (1-15, 1 KO) in the third round.
Cruiserweight Aaron Cypress was victorious in round two when Shabios Lynch quit after running out of gas in the pro debuts for both fighters.
Hey, he gave it a go and it didn’t go good for him. I’m sure the other guy was feeling the pressure. Much respect Mr. England. Now, take two aspirins and call your doctor in the morning. Seriously, much respect.
Was hoping to see him go the distance, or maybe compete for a couple rounds at least, but it wasn’t meant to be. Props to him for giving it a try.
I know I tend to root for the underdog too.
I didn’t expect the old man to win but I 100% respect him for trying. Win or loose didn’t matter, what matters is that he went after his dream. It was just a little too late to do so. A lot of people wouldn’t even attempt it let alone at 59. “Bucket list crossed out”
A quick fight win or loss is the best outcome possible. A long fight will leave the old fighter with more injuries that will take the rest of his life to heal.
Father Time is the relentless opponent.
Father Time is relentless. About 10 years ago, I knew I guy who was a decorated amateur boxer with over 100 fights and fought in the the Olympic Trials. At the age of 42 and not having fought in 20 years, he decided to turn pro. He fought a guy that had a record of 1-3 or somethin and was blasted out in the 1st round! Leading up to the fight, he was interviewed and was saying he hadn’t lost a step and was in better shape than he was at 22. The mind convinces you that’s all true. He laughs about it now.
Kris, I would think that, even at 42 years old, and 20 years removed from the ring, his previous experience would have helped him a bit when he turned pro. There would have obviously been a ton of ring rust, but at least he had done it before as an amateur. Gives you an idea of the odds Scot England was facing last night at 58 years old, with no prior experience.
Exactly! In his 20 year absence, he always remained close to the sport too. Training fighters, or just working out on his own. He was always talking about getting back in the ring, but never happened, until it did and probably should not have. He hey, just like Scot England, he did and can accurately claim to have been a professional boxer.
Another story about an old dude trying to box; I knew another guy probably in his mid/late 50’s who trained at a gym and had amateur fights. Mostly exhibitions in smokers and masters division bouts. He took it very seriously, had his custom robe, boxing trunks, shoes, tank top-the whole 9. Trained like a motherfucker! Only problem, I don’t think he realized was how incredibly slow he was. All the respect in the world to him for getting in the ring, but it was comical to watch him. He was exaggeratedly slow, even for a guy his age. His opponents were forced to go very easy on him.
Yes, sir. Father Time = Undefeated & Undesputed…sadly. Like Apollo said in Rocky 3, “It’s too bad we gotta get old…”
at least he stepped into the ring and gave it his shot. Thankfully no one got hurt.
I would like to take this time and congratulate Jashawn Hunter on winning his 1st fight. He was 0-6. And this included a 4 round loss to a 0-10 boxer. Jashawn seemed to be done. But, no. Tonight, he won a fight. He is no longer winless. His O had to GO. Congratulations, Jashawn. You did it.
He was 0-6 with 5 of those losses coming by way of KO. His only decision loss was to the 0-10 boxer. Let that sink in. Tonight was Jashawn’s Rocky Balboa moment.
Yes, congrats to the young man. I don’t know why he was 0-6, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a bad fighter. Boxing is a super tough sport, especially if you have no promotion or management. A lot of times these fighters with horrible records are actually good fighters. On the other side of the token, in many boxing commissions, they have no regulation and some guys enter the ring with no boxing training or skill whatsoever. I’ve heard of promoters cruising around in a van before a fight and rounding up people off the street to serve as opponents in professional matches.
Disgraceful this guy was even given a license to box in the first place. Boxing is an unforgiving business and the dangers can be catastrophic for young talented fighters in their prime, never mind a near 60 year old man making his debut.
I think just about anything flies for the Tennessee boxing commission.
If he would have gotten seriously hurt the comm. would have been wide open for a lawsuit. This fight should have never been made. Comm.s aren’t there to help someone fulfill a bucket list or a fantasy. They have to protect some fighters from themselves.
Boxing making an ass of itself…as usual.
This is far better than the mma fight with the guy that had no arms or legs fighting against a standard 4 limbed opponent!!
His name is Kyle Maynard if you want to look it up. Kudos to Kyle for having the balls to do it tho. .
First time i see a fight like this happening Can only happen in boxing sorry- There is no winner or loser
I seen video of Mr. England training and its VERY apparent he shouldn’t be anywhere near a ring. The Nashville state athletic commission should be under investigation for allowing him anywhere near a ring. I admire Mr. England’s determination but he’s probably the only guy who looks worse than CM Punk and Meek Mills in training. On the other hand, I may look to break this record someday and make my debut at 60 years old.
I think I may have seen the same video. He looked exactly like what he is- a 58 year old novice hitting the mitts. (actually he looks older) I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed they were going very slow just to refine technique, but probably not. I think they were going all out- full speed!
The trainers shamelessly trained him to get more notoriety for their business. Sometimes folks need to be saved from themselves. I would have never agreed to train him for the purposes fighting a pro fighter. Folks don’t realize a guy who is 0-6 like his opponent are still too dangerous for your average civilian.
What about starting a career as a boxing commentator if you love boxing so much, old buddy?
Congratulations to him! Now does this mean he fights Joke Paul next? Lol
I am glad it is does not appear he got hurt. People of that age should not be in the ring, however if they insist and they pass a physical…they should be in there with someone else in their age bracket. Like Tony-Ruddock. It was actually not too bad. I watched it a couple of weeks later on Youtube. But I would not want to see either guy in there with a young man…and that includes Jake Paul.
One positive note I can add. While this should not have happened at least it was real. There was no fake fairy tale ending. This was not Rock 6 and there was no hulkamania moment. This result was as real as it gets. I know there have likely been many fixes in boxing over the years but I think it is safe to say…this was not one of them!
Both fighters had something to prove, and I applaud them both. Mr. Hunter had not been able to win a fight in six fights. It’s likely everybody, even his family and close friends, were down him. He may have even been doubting himself. Mr England is nearly 59 years old. He’s a former radio DJ, news anchor, and author of country music books. Ali was his idol, and his always always sought challenges in life. This challenge was to become the oldest welterweight fighter in the world. He trained hard, to get to a welterweight limit of 147, a weight he said he hasn’t been at since 3rd grade. No doubt, he face an immense number of doubters, but he believed in his own ability and will.
Unfortunately, one of the big changes that happens as we age, is our reaction time slows. In the ring, an older fighter can’t anticipate and roll with punches as easily as before, so blows to the head have a greater impact. Recuperating powers are also diminished. An unfortunate outcome for Mr. England, but I’m sure he is proud of himself for achieving his goal, and no doubt proud of his physical conditioning level. Mr. Hunter too must also be proud of himself for getting that monkey off of his back, even if it was against 58 year old Mr. England.
I applaud them both.
Glad to hear Jashawn Hunter (1-6, 1 KO) didn’t let this antique beat him, he can now resume his career towards a world title of the biggest losers now!
As the guy who held the record until last night, I can honestly say this is a joke. This should never been licensed. This guy had no experience and should never have passed medical. Do you know how hard it is to get knocked down in just 5 seconds LOL! Embarrassing! He did not belong in there at all. He has set back boxing for people who want to box in their older life for decades.. He ruined it because of his performance. It was just laughable. When I fought my pro fight I had 35 years of fighting experience. The fact that I won by KO that night is not really important as much as I was safe.This was just stupid. Side show! I don’t know how he can ok with this. Shame on the licensing board
Lmao…seriously, I hope he’s okay…lol. There was a Nigerian pastor some years back that tried to recreate the biblical story of Daniel in The Lion’s Den and actually went into a lion cage and preached…yup, you guessed it, he got mauled to death, unfortunately. Like Forrest Gump said: “stupid is as stupid does”. Yesterday, the article said he was 59, today he was 58, either way, lesson learned, hopefully.
Scott at one time was a news reporter in Central Illinois. He was a very nice person, that I had the pleasure of knowing. He was know through out Central Illinois for trying almost anything once. He once allowed the Police to taze him on live TV. Funniest thing I’ve seen in years.
I respect the old man going after his dream, but it was little too late to start. Hats off to him for trying.
Looking at this line up it should be called a resume’ builder. Whipping guys with 1/15 records etc does nothing for the sport.
much props to him for giving it a go. At least he got in shape and tried.
Knowing how boxing works these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if England gets the title shot next.
I still have world class power, but I sure as hell ain’t getting back in the ring. I can maybe go two rounds at most & shouldn’t be getting punched in the head anymore. I’ve had multiple surgeries correcting torn retinas & don’t want to end up blind.
Shoot, I’m 82 and believe I coulda run for at least a few seconds. I guess this guy didn’t want to run and wanted go out on his shield. Or maybe he was wanting to shake his opponent’s hand before the action started, and the young guy wasn’t interested in shaking hands. Ree-gardless, he made his debut and probably his swan song at the same time. Kudos to him for giving it a shot. I was hoping he’d defy age and pull off a win, but really knew he most likely wouldn’t. I did think he might last a couple or three rounds. He probably did set a record for shortest career though.
Well, he was shooting for the moon and ended up seeing the stars. Lol!