| Gary Stretch | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Gary Stretch |
| Rated at | light middleweight |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | November 1965[1] or April 1966[2] Newton Abbot, Devon, England, UK |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 25[1] |
| Wins | 23[1] |
| Wins by KO | 14[1] |
| Losses | 2[1] |
Gary Stretch (born in St. Helens, Lancashire) is a British boxer, male model, and an actor.
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Gary Stretch was brought up in the Haresfinch area of St. Helens, the son of a plumber.[3] He attended the town's Cowley High School.[4]
A left-handed fighter, Stretch boxed most of his career as a light-middleweight, rising to become British champion in that division.[5]
Stretch's biggest fight came in 1991 when he challenged Chris Eubank for the WBO world middleweight championship in London, in a fight billed as "Beauty V The Best".[6] Stretch suffered a cut behind the ear in the first round and was shaken by an uppercut in the third. Eubank was down twice in the fight, in the second and third rounds, but on both occasions was judged to have slipped by the referee. In the sixth round Stretch had a point deducted for pushing Eubank onto the canvas; Stretch was then shaken by a right hand from Eubank who subsequently knocked Stretch down twice. The fight was stopped in Eubank's favour after the second knock down. All three judges had Eubank ahead on the scorecard at the time of the knockout.
Stretch fought only once more after his bout with Eubank before retiring with a career record of 23 wins to 2 losses.[5]
During his time as a boxer, Stretch also worked as a model. His clients included Calvin Klein and Versace.[5]
In 2004 Stretch was cast as psychotic gangster "Sonny" in Shane Meadows' gritty cult thriller Dead Man's Shoes (2004), for which Stretch received a BIFA nomination[7][8] alongside fellow British actor Paddy Considine. He went on to appear in the Oliver Stone film Alexander (2004).
Stretch also starred in the UK film Freebird in 2008, directed by Jon Ivay. Appearing alongside Phil Daniels and Geoff Bell, the film followed three bikers across a drug fuelled ride in the Welsh countryside.
Stretch was married to actress Roselyn Sánchez.[6]