Paul Andrew Ingle (born 22 June 1972) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2000. He held featherweight world championships, including the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from 1999 to 2000 and the lesser International Boxing Organization (IBO) title in 2000. At regional level he held the European, British, and Commonwealth titles between 1997 and 1999. As an amateur, Ingle represented Great Britain at the 1992 Summer Olympics, reaching the second round of the flyweight bracket.

Amateur career Ingle was a member of the 1992 British Olympic team and competed in the flyweight division. In the first round he defeated Alexander Baba of Ghana by 9–7, but lost 12–13 in the second round to eventual gold medallist Choe Chol-su of North Korea. He won the 1991 Amateur Boxing Association British flyweight title, boxing out of Scarborough ABC.

Professional career Ingle made his professional debut on 23 March 1994, scoring a third-round knockout over Darren Noble. On 11 January 1997, he stopped Colin McMillan in eight rounds to win his first regional championship, the British featherweight title. Later that year, on 11 October, Ingle defeated Jon Jo Irwin by eighth-round corner retirement to win the Commonwealth featherweight title. Ingle completed the regional trifecta when he won the European featherweight title on 26 September 1998, stopping Billy Hardy in eight rounds.

First world title challenge

By the time Ingle challenged for his first world title against WBO featherweight champion Naseem Hamed, he had won 21 consecutive fights without a loss. During the entrances for their fight, Ingle was kept waiting in the ring for six minutes. Angered by this, he and his trainer Steve Pollard went back to the dressing room and only returned after Hamed had finally made his own entrance."Hamed prevails in the eleventh". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 April 1999. Retrieved 31 December 2016. In the opening round of the fight, Ingle was knocked down and barely made it out of the round following an onslaught of punches by Hamed. A body shot floored Ingle again in the sixth, but with twenty seconds remaining he emerged unscathed. In rounds nine and ten, Ingle had some success by bloodying Hamed's nose. A third knockdown in the eleventh ended Ingle's challenge, as referee Joe Cortez deemed him unable to continue as he stood up on shaky legs.

IBF featherweight champion Despite this first career loss, Ingle received another world title opportunity in his next fight, on 13 November 1999. He went on to defeat IBF featherweight champion Manuel Medina by unanimous decision, albeit suffering a knockdown in the twelfth and final round. In his first defence of the title, Ingle travelled to the United States for the first time and fought on the undercard of Lennox Lewis vs. Michael Grant. Facing him was former two-weight world champion Junior Jones, who held the IBO featherweight title. In an action-packed fight which was close on the judges' scorecards, Ingle was knocked down in round nine, but rallied back in dramatic fashion to stop Jones in the eleventh."Ingle survives scare to win". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 April 2000. Retrieved 31 December 2016.

Retirement and life after boxing Ingle's boxing career ended on 16 December 2000, losing both the IBF and IBO titles to Mbulelo Botile. The fight had undergone several postponements due to Ingle sustaining injuries in training and being unable to make the 126 lbs featherweight limit. After suffering a knockdown in round eleven, Ingle went down again in the twelfth and did not rise for several minutes. He was stretchered out of the ring and hospitalised for a blood clot on the brain, spending four weeks in intensive care after suffering a brain injury from which he never fully recovered.Mossop, James (9 December 2007). "Boxing delivers cruel fate for Paul Ingle". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 31 December 2016.Gregory, Daniel (2 August 2012). "The Big Interview: Paul Ingle: I just can't watch the Botile fight back, it wasn't me in there". The Scarborough News. Johnston Press. Retrieved 31 December 2016. A boxing gym, the Paul Ingle Boxing Academy, has since opened in his honour, in Hull."Paul Ingle Boxing Academy". Retrieved 31 December 2016.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes25Loss23–2Mbulelo BotileTKO12 (12), 16 Dec 200024Win23–1Junior JonesTKO11 (12), 29 Apr 200023Win22–1Manuel Medina1213 Nov 199922Loss21–1Naseem HamedTKO11 (12), 10 Apr 199921Win21–0Billy HardyTKO8 (12), 26 Sep 199820Win20–0Rakhim MingaleyevKO4 (12), 8 Aug 199819Win19–0Moussa SangareRTD10 (12), 9 Jun 199818Win18–0Trust NdlovuPTS1228 Mar 199817Win17–0Jon Jo IrwinRTD8 (12), 11 Oct 199716Win16–0Michael Alldis11 (12), 28 Apr 199715Win15–0Colin McMillanTKO8 (12), 11 Jan 199714Win14–0Chris JickellsKO4 (8)6 Nov 199613Win13–0Brian RobbKO2 (8)3 Sep 199612Win12–0Ervine BlakeKO2 (8)29 Jun 199611Win11–0Greg UptonKO10 (10), 5 Feb 199610Win10–0Demir NanevKO5 (8)15 Dec 19959Win9–0Miguel MatthewsKO4 (8)29 Sep 19958Win8–0Des Gargano2 (6), 16 Jun 19957Win7–0Peter BuckleyPTS827 Apr 19956Win6–0Peter BuckleyPTS823 Feb 19955Win5–0Graham McGrathPTS624 Nov 19944Win4–0Anthony HannaPTS63 Aug 19943Win3–0Neil SwainKO4 (6)25 May 19942Win2–0Graham McGrath427 Apr 19941Win1–0Darren Noble3 (6), 23 Mar 1994

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