Gary Stretch-Glamour Boy

[BoztheMadman]

Gary Stretch is a name many of you will recognize from some movies, like Alexander from 2004. But what many younger people today are not aware of is that this guy was once a professional boxer, and a good one at that. He was a hard-hitting and exciting light middleweight who also took on Chris Eubank in a WBO middleweight title fight in 1991 and managed to put Eubank down twice before getting stopped in controversial manner in round 6. His record is a matter of debate; wikipedia lists it as 29-1 with 20 knockouts but boxrec claims it's 23-2 with 14 knockouts. It is more likely that the latter is correct, since it's a more reliable source on boxing records. At at least 6 feet (some sources report his height as 6'2, some as 6'0) he was tall for a light middleweight and was known for his offensive style and trademark left hook.

 

Stretch was born 4 November 1968 in St. Helens, Lancashire, to a plumber father who raised him and his two brothers alone after their mother abandoned him for another man when Gary was 10. His father drove around in a van where it stood "Ronnie Stretch and Sons", which made them three laugh, since none intended to follow their father's footsteps. The departure of his mother left a rough edge in young Gary, who often got into fights at school. Threatened to get expelled from school because of that, he had to find a way to temper himself and so he walked into a boxing gym and stayed there. He took part in a country championship and in the final knocked out George Collins, who had a record of 75-0. The fight was televised and so, young Gary was propelled towards professional career at only 16, having his first pro fight on 14 April '85. He beat a 14-27-3 fighter called Steve Tempro by TKO 6 in a welterweight bout. Because of his age, he was brought up slowly but in the end of 1985 he stepped up in class against Julian Monville, who cut him on the right eyebrow and the fight was stopped early in the second round, Stretch losing by technical knockout. He rebounded with a KO 2 against Manny Romain early next year. On 7 May that year he scored his first victory over a better opponent when he stopped the 13-2-1 Terry Magee by TKO 7. On 19 February '87 he fought for the British Central Area light middleweight title against the 14-4-1 Sammy Sampson and put Sampson down twice to win by TKO 2 in front of home crowd in St. Helens and take his first belt. He won the full British title on 7 September '88 by decisioning Gary Cooper in Reading, 118 1/2 to 115 1/2 was the score from the referee and sole judge. In his first defense he sensationally knocked out the 14-0-1 Gary Wormald in only 45 seconds at the London Arena in Millwall, only a month after. And on Valentine's Day 1990 he could add another title to his resume, the WBC International lmw one, as he stopped the tough Argentinian Ramon Angel Alegre by TKO 6 in a one-sided fight. After a dispute with Frank Warren, Stretch relinquished the title and sat out his contract. He had his first middleweight fight later that year and beat another Argentinian, Eduardo Domingo Contreras, by UD10.

 

It was then time for the big one. He signed to fight Chris Eubank next year, the new great thing in British boxing who had recently taken the WBO title by stopping Nigel Benn in 9 rounds. On 18 April '91 at Olympia Grand Hall in Kensington, in a fight billed as "The Beauty vs The Best", Stretch didn't look intimidated by Eubank's unbeaten record and took the fight to the champion from the start. He suffered a cut above the ear in the first round and was shaken by an uppercut in the third but put Eubank down in the second and third round for flash knockdowns which were both judged to be slips. In the fourth, a straight left from Stretch opened a bad cut on Eubank and after the fifth round the doctor allowed him to come out for one more round. In the sixth, Stretch was first taken a point away for pushing Eubank onto the canvas. Eubank then landed a right which shook Stretch and a follow up flurry sent him down. He made it to his feet quickly and was given an eight count. Eubank then charged at him and hit him with another right which sent him through the ropes and though he made it back to his feet the fight was waved off, somewhat controversially. All three judges had Stretch ahead, 48-47 twice and 49-47. Disappointed by the controversial ending in his most important fight, Stretch retired but came back for one more fight in 1993, against journeyman Steve Goodwin. Struggling to beat the 4-4-1 Goodwin by a point in a 6-rounder, Stretch retired for good after that poor showing. His career had been brief but exciting.

 

Known for his dark good looks, Stretch also worked as a model for Calvin Klein and Versace while still boxing and was quite a playboy in his time, even dating the much older Raquel Welch for a while before marrying the Puerto Rican actress and beauty Roselyn Sanchez in 1998. They divorced in 2001. He first appeared in a movie called Tis a Gift to be Simple in 1994 and that same year played a major role in the thriller Final Combination starring Michael Madsen and Lisa Bonet. His most famous roles are as Cleitos, one of generals of Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's Alexander and as Sonny in Dead Man's Shoes, a British psychological thriller, both from 2004. He was nominated for best supporting actor by the British Independent Film Awards for the last role. He has also directed a documentary about Rhonda Rousey that yet has to be released. He still works as actor and is slated to appear in four movies this year.