James "JJ" Metcalf (born 27 July 1988) is an English professional boxer who has held the IBO super-welterweight title since May 2023. He previously held the Commonwealth super-welterweight title in 2019 and challenged for the British super-welterweight title in March 2021. He is the son of former boxer Shea Neary.[2]

James Metcalf
Born (1988-07-27) 27 July 1988 (age 36)
Liverpool, England
NationalityEnglish
Other namesKid Shamrock
Statistics
Weight(s)Light-middleweight, Super-welterweight
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights27
Wins25
Wins by KO15
Losses2

Professional career

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Metcalf made his professional debut on 3 December 2011, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory over Kevin McCauley at the Robin Park Centre in Wigan, England.[3]

After compiling a record of 17–0 (9 KOs) he was scheduled to face Jorge Fortea for the vacant WBC International super-welterweight title on 9 June 2018 at the Manchester Arena, as part of the undercard of Tyson Fury's comeback fight against Sefer Seferi. In the week leading up to the fight, Fortea withdrew from the contest with Aitor Nieto stepping in as a late replacement.[4] Metcalf defeated Nieto via twelfth-round technical knockout (TKO) to capture the WBC International title.[5]

He was scheduled to return to the Manchester Arena to defend his title against former British and Commonwealth super-welterweight champion, Liam Williams, on 22 December 2018 on the undercard of the Josh Warrington vs. Carl Frampton world title fight. The fight was put in jeopardy after Metcalf suffered an ankle injury. He told promoter Frank Warren that he would inform Warren six weeks prior to the fight whether or not he was fit to go ahead. However, after Warren had lined up a potential replacement for Williams in the event of Metcalf pulling out, Williams decided to instead fight the replacement, Mark Heffron, for the vacant British middleweight title. Metcalf had expressed his intention to go ahead with the bout.[6]

After the fight with Williams failed to materialise, Metcalf's next fight came against Santos Medrano in April 2019 in a non-title fight, with Metcalf scoring a KO victory in the eighth and final round. After suffering a hand injury in the fight with Medrano, it was expected that Metcalf would not fight again until the end of the year. However, he was scheduled to face former British middleweight champion and former world title challenger, Jason Welborn, for the vacant Commonwealth super-welterweight title on 15 June 2019 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, again on a Josh Warrington undercard, this time in a world title defence against Kid Galahad.[7] In a fight which saw Metcalf receive a point deduction for repeated low blows, he scored a KO in the eighth round with a left hook to the body to capture the Commonwealth title.[8]

After a TKO victory against Jan Balog in February 2020,[9] Metcalf challenged Ted Cheeseman for the vacant British super-welterweight title on 27 March, at the Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar. The bout was a part of the undercard of Alexander Povetkin vs. Dillian Whyte II, and was televised live on Sky Sports Box Office.[10] In a closely contested fight, Metcalf was hurt and left on unsteady legs in the fourth, but was able to see out the remainder of the round. Metcalf twice returned the favour, hurting Cheeseman in the sixth and eleventh rounds. After hurting Cheeseman in the eleventh, the latter came back with a combination of punches to knock Metcalf to the canvas. He made it back to his feet on unsteady legs, prompting referee Ian John Lewis to call a halt to the contest, handing Metcalf the first defeat of his career via TKO.[11]

Metcalf won the IBO super-welterweight World title on 20 May 2023 when he scored a unanimous decision victory against defending champion Dennis Hogan at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.[12]

Professional boxing record

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27 fights 25 wins 2 losses
By knockout 15 1
By decision 10 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
27 Win 25–2   Dennis Hogan UD 12 20 May 2023   3Arena, Dublin, Ireland Won IBO light middleweight title
26 Win 24–2   Courtney Pennington RTD 6 (10), 3:00 10 Dec 2022   First Direct Arena, Leeds, England Retained WBA Continental super welterweight title
25 Win 23–2   Kerman Lejarraga UD 10 20 May 2022   Bilbao Arena, Bilbao, Spain Won vacant WBA Continental super welterweight title
24 Win 22–2   Evgenii Vazem TKO 5 (6), 1:05 16 Apr 2022   Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
23 Loss 21–2   Kieron Conway UD 10 9 Oct 2021   Liverpool Arena, Liverpool, England
22 Loss 21–1   Ted Cheeseman TKO 11 (12), 3:10 27 Mar 2021   Europa Point Sports Complex, Gibraltar For vacant British super-welterweight title
21 Win 21–0   Jan Balog TKO 1 (6), 0:32 28 Feb 2020   Grand Central Hall, Liverpool, England
20 Win 20–0   Jason Welborn KO 8 (12), 2:25 15 Jun 2019   First Direct Arena, Leeds, England Won vacant Commonwealth super-welterweight title
19 Win 19–0   Santos Medrano KO 8 (8), 0:30 19 Apr 2019   Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
18 Win 18–0   Aitor Nieto TKO 12 (12), 2:30 9 Jun 2018   Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Won vacant WBC International super-welterweight title
17 Win 17–0   Damon Jones TKO 6 (10) 21 Oct 2017   First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
16 Win 16–0   Konstantin Alexandrov TKO 1 (6), 2:00 15 Jul 2017   Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England
15 Win 15–0   Jason Ball RTD 5 (8), 3:00 8 Apr 2017   Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
14 Win 14–0   Serge Ambomo PTS 8 7 Oct 2016   Greenbank Sports Academy, Liverpool, England
13 Win 13–0   Darryl Sharp PTS 4 9 Jul 2016   Tudor Grange Leisure Centre, Solihull, England
12 Win 12–0   Tom Knight TKO 1 (6), 2:48 29 May 2016   Goodison Park, Liverpool, England
11 Win 11–0   Aleksei Tsatiasvili TKO 4 (6), 2:17 28 Aug 2015   H10 Andalusia Plaza, Puerto Banús, Spain
10 Win 10–0   Chris Jenkinson RTD 2 (6), 3:00 25 Jul 2015   Sports Village, Ellesmere Port, England
9 Win 9–0   William Warburton PTS 10 21 Mar 2015   Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
8 Win 8–0   Danny Shannon TKO 6 (6), 2:41 6 Dec 2014   Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
7 Win 7–0   Ryan Toms KO 2 (6), 2:21 27 Sep 2014   Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
6 Win 6–0   Gary Boulden PTS 6 20 Jun 2014   Southport Theatre, Southport, England
5 Win 5–0   Liam Griffiths PTS 4 29 Mar 2014   Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England
4 Win 4–0   Max Maxwell PTS 4 14 Dec 2013   Robin Park Centre, Wigan, England
3 Win 3–0   Dee Mitchell PTS 4 15 Nov 2013   Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England
2 Win 2–0   James Smith RTD 1 (4), 3:00 21 Jan 2012   Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
1 Win 1–0   Kevin McCauley PTS 4 3 Dec 2011   Robin Park Centre, Wigan, England

References

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  1. ^ "Boxing record for James Metcalf". BoxRec.
  2. ^ Evans, Glynn (13 July 2017). "Metcalf: I'd not be doing this if I didn't have world title ambitions". Frank Warren. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  3. ^ "BoxRec: James Metcalf vs. Kevin McCauley". boxrec.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  4. ^ Foster, Elliot (7 June 2018). "James Metcalf To Face Nieto On Fury-Seferi Card, Fortea Out". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  5. ^ Williamson, Chris (9 June 2018). "Mark Heffron, James Metcalf Pick Up Wins in Manchester". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  6. ^ Foster, Elliot (15 November 2018). "James Metcalf out as Liam Williams moves up for British title challenge". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  7. ^ Foster, Elliot (1 May 2019). "'Kid Shamrock' set for Commonwealth crack". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  8. ^ Dixon, Tris (15 June 2019). "Metcalf Puts Away Jason Welborn With Left Hook in The Eight". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  9. ^ "JJ Metcalf prefers to face champion Scott Fitzgerald for British title rather than Anthony Fowler". britishboxingnews.co.uk. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Alexander Povetkin vs Dillian Whyte 2 weigh-in recap". Sky Sports. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  11. ^ Lewis, Ron (27 March 2021). "Fabio Wardley Tested, Knocks Eric Molina Out in Fifth Round". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  12. ^ "James Metcalf Fights Past Dennis Hogan For Unanimous Decision, Wins IBO Title". Boxing Scene. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2024.