Mark Simmons (boxer)

Mark Simmons

Personal information
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1974-05-23) 23 May 1974 (age 47) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	91 kg (201 lb)
Sport
Sport	Boxing
Weight class	Heavyweight
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Canada Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur Heavyweight Pan American Games 1999 Winnipeg Heavyweight

Mark Simmons (born May 23, 1974) is a Canadian retired heavyweight boxer who represented Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.^[1] He was also a five-time Canadian National Champion, recording 201 wins in 241 recorded bouts.

Boxing career[]

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Simmons first began training at the Toronto Newsboys Boxing Club in Toronto, Ontario in 1979. He was a member of the Canadian National Boxing Team travelling to over 20 countries from 1993 to 2000. In 1996, Simmons was the Canadian Olympic alternate in the 91 kg weight division to David Defiagbon (1996 Atlanta, Olympics, Silver medalist). In 1995, Simmons won the Detroit Golden Gloves in the 91 kg Heavyweight division when Canadians were still allowed to compete at the US Golden Glove Championships. He would then represent Detroit competing at the 1995 National Golden Gloves in Lowell, Mass winning his first two bouts, losing in the quarter-finals. At the 1997 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, he defeated Macedonia via a first round knock out, then won a decision on points 18-10 over USA's Davaryll Williamson and lost in the quarter-finals on points, 15-4 to Cuba's Félix Savón, who has been regarded as one of the world's greatest amateur boxers. In 1997, AIBA ranked Mark Simmons fifth best boxer in the 91kg division in the world. In 1997, Simmons won a silver medal at the Francophone games in Antananarivo, Madagascar with a first round knock out over Madagascar in the first fight, a second-round decision victory over France and a 14-15 loss to Cameroon in the final. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Simmons won the gold medal in the 91 kg heavyweight division with victories over Ghana, Wales, and the Seychelles. At the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Simmons defeated Jamaica in the quarter-finals, USA in the semi-final, and lost to Odlanier Solís of Cuba in the final by a 4-2 score in the taking home the silver medal, despite boxing with a broken hand.^[2] as a result of his broken hand, Simmons was unable to participate in the 1999 World Championships that took place two weeks after the Pan Am Games.

With 16 countries competing, Simmons qualified 1 of only 2 spots by winning a Gold medal in the 91 kg heavyweight division at the 2000 Olympic Qualification tournament in Tijuana, Mexico with victories over Venezuela, Jamaica, Puerto Rico.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics Simmons defeated Iran's Rouhollah Hosseini in the round of 16 by a score of 11–6, once again suffering a broken hand in this bout. Simmons then lost the guaranteed bronze medal match to Germany's Sebastian Köber in the quarterfinal.^[3]

Personal life[]

Simmons has also appeared in movies, including Rocky Marciano, Phantom Punch and Cinderella Man. In Cinderella Man, Simmons played 1930s heavyweight boxer Art Lasky, and was also the stunt double for Craig Bierko, who played Max Baer.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Simmons joined the Ontario Athletic Commission as a professional boxing referee.^[4]

References[]

External links[]

• Mark Simmons at the Canadian Olympic Committee
• Mark Simmons at the International Olympic Committee
• Mark Simmons at the Commonwealth Games Federation
• Mark Simmons at IMDb