Frank Warren (promoter)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons named Frank Warren, see Frank Warren (disambiguation).

Frank Warren, allegedly

Frank Warren (born in Islington, London on 28 February, 1952) is an English boxing manager and promoter.

[edit] Career

Warren's first licensed show was held at the Bloomsbury Crest Hotel, in London in 1980 and he soon became a leading figure in British boxing. Since then, Warren has managed some of Britain's best and best loved boxers of the last twenty five years, including 'Prince' Naseem Hamed, Nigel Benn, Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton.

Warren guided Hamed to becoming Britain's youngest ever world champion when he beat Steve Robinson to win the WBO Super Featherweight title at Cardiff Arms Park, Wales, in 1995; oversaw the ascent of Ricky Hatton to the IBF Light Welterweight Championship of the World after beating Kostya Tszyu in 2005; and has been with former IBF and current WBO/WBC/WBA/Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe throughout the majority of his 44 fight unbeaten career.

On 30 November, 1989 Frank Warren was shot outside the Broadway Theatre in Barking by an assailant who has never been brought to justice. A .22 bullet from a Luger pistol missed his heart by an inch. The former boxer, Terry Marsh, who had become Warren's first world champion two years earlier, was accused of the shooting but acquitted by a jury. The shooting was allegedly motivated by money which Marsh never received. In 1995 Warren signed an exclusive deal with the pay-TV operator Sky Sports.

Warren is currently the most powerful promoter in Britain and has most of the top boxers from the United Kingdom on his books, including Joe Calzaghe and Danny Williams. His most recent high profile signing has been 2004 Olympic Lightweight silver medallist Amir Khan. He also managed Ricky Hatton to a world title, but the two split. Frank Warren currently has a television deal with one of the UK's leading terrestrial broadcast stations, ITV.

Warren has a history of overly protecting his named fighters, and steering their career paths to the lightly regarded WBO titles, avoiding the big names in the divisions. Notably Ricky Hatton didn't fight Kostya Tsyzu until his 39th competitive fight. Amir Khan is regarded as not fighting an opponent of note thus far in his career.

Warren was also the founder and owner of the London Arena until he sold it in 1996.

In December 2007 he was elected for induction in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He will be inducted in June 2008.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Warren was second cousins with perhaps the best ever known unlicenced boxer, Lenny McLean. For a short time in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Warren acted as a manager to McLean, but the two had a personal dispute and ended all business with each other. Exactly why this happened is still unclear, but both admitted very nearly coming to blows themselves. Warren went from claiming his cousin was invincible and an undefeated champion to calling him "a terrible bully" and publicly questioned his unlicensed boxing record.
During Audley Harrison's early professional career, Warren was always critical toward Harrison in his News of the World column, referring him as "Audinary Harrison".
Warren claimed he would retire if David Haye would beat Enzo Maccarinelli. After Haye's second round KO internet boxing forum, Boxing rebels, started an online pertition for Warren to resign.