Conrad Cummings (boxer) explained

Conrad Cummings
Nickname:Dynamite
Weight:Middleweight
Height:5 ft 11 in
Birth Place:Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Style:Orthodox
Boxrec:676846
Total:22
Wins:17
Ko:7
Losses:4
Draws:1

Conrad Cummings is a professional boxer from Northern Ireland who held the WBO European middleweight title twice between 2017 and 2019.

Professional career

Early career

Cummings made his professional debut on 22 February 2014, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory over Andrejs Loginovs at the York Hall in London.[1]

After compiling a record of 7–0 (3 KOs) he faced Alfredo Meli for the vacant Celtic middleweight title on 20 November 2015 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Cummings scored a knockdown within the first minute of the fight, Meli appeared unhurt and made it back to his feet by the referee's count of three. Cummings received multiple warnings throughout the fight for low blows and pushing down on Meli's head before both fighters were deducted one point for excessive holding in the ninth round. After then ten rounds came to an end the bout was scored a split draw, with the Celtic title remaining vacant. One judge scored the bout 95–92 in favour of Cummings, the second scored it 96–93 to Meli, while the third judge scored it even at 94–94.[2]

Following three consecutive wins, one by stoppage, Cummings faced Ronny Mittag for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental middleweight title on 18 November 2016 at the Wembley Arena in London. In what was described as a controversial decision,[3] [4] [5] Cummings suffered his first professional defeat, losing by split decision over ten rounds. One judge scored the bout 96–94 in favour of Cummings while the other two scored it 96–94 to Mittag.[6]

WBO European title

The pair were set to face each other in an immediate rematch scheduled for 11 March 2017 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, featuring on the undercard of a British cruiserweight title fight between Craig Kennedy and Stephen Simmons. However, the fight was cancelled one week before the event after Simmons – who was a replacement for Kennedy's original opponent, Matty Askin – had pulled out of the headline bout due to suffering an injury.[7] As a result of the cancellation, Mittag withdrew from the bout with Cummings.[8] Days after the date of the cancelled event it was announced a new fight had been scheduled for 24 March 2017 against Gogi Knezevic for the vacant WBO European middleweight title, taking place at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.[9] Cummings scored a knockdown in the first round before ending the fight in the third to capture his first professional title via knockout (KO).[10]

The first defence of his newly won WBO regional title was scheduled to take place on 29 July 2017 against Robert Swierzbinski at the SSE Arena in Belfast, as part of the undercard for Carl Frampton vs. Andrés Gutiérrez.[11] However, Gutiérrez withdrew from the contest on 28 July after he slipped in the bath and suffered facial injuries, resulting in the cancellation of the entire event.[12] Following the cancellation the WBO stripped Cummings of his European title for failing defend it.[13]

Cummings vs. Luke Keeler

Following the cancellation and subsequent loss of his title, Cummings scored two wins in six-round bouts – Norbert Szekeres by PTS in December[14] and Michael Mora by technical knockout (TKO) in February 2018[15] – before getting the chance to regain the vacant WBO European title against Luke Keeler. The bout took place on 21 April 2018 at the SSE Arena in Belfast as part of the undercard for Carl Frampton vs. Nonito Donaire. Cummings suffered the second defeat of his professional career, losing by unanimous decision (UD) with the judges' scorecards reading 97–93, 98–92, and 99–91.[16]

Regaining the WBO European title

He bounced back from defeat with two wins in six-round bouts – Nicky Jenman by PTS in August[17] and Jan Balog by TKO in October[18] – before challenging for the vacant WBO European title for the third time in his career. Keeler was scheduled to defend the title against Brian Rose but was forced to pull out of the bout and vacate the title due to a back injury, resulting in Cummings stepping in as a replacement for the vacant title with the bout being scheduled for 7 December at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast.[19] Rose was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a shoulder injury in an interim fight one month prior[20] and was replaced by Ferenc Berki. Cummings regained the WBO European title via UD, with the judges' scorecards reading 99–90, 98–92, and 95–94.[21]

Cummings vs. Luke Keeler II

His first defence came in a rematch with Keeler, taking place on 29 March 2019 at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.[22] After suffering a cut to his left eye in the third round,[23] Cummings went on to lose by a wide-margin UD with one judge scoring the bout 99–91 and the other two scoring it 98–92.[24]

Fourth WBO European title shot

Following his third professional defeat, Cummings bounced back with a six-round PTS victory against Adam Grabiec in October.[25] After Keeler vacated the WBO European title in pursuit of a world title shot,[26] Cummings secures a fourth attempt at the vacant title, this time against Danny Dignum on 9 November 2019 at the York Hall. In a fight which saw Cummings receive a point deduction in the second round for repeated use of the elbow and suffer a cut in the fourth from an accidental clash of heads, he went on to suffer the fourth defeat of his career, the first by stoppage, losing via fifth-round TKO after Dignum landed a solid left hook which left Cummings on unsteady legs, prompting referee Howard Foster to step in and call a halt to the contest.[27]

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
22Loss17–4–1Danny DignumTKO5 (10), 9 Nov 2019
21Win17–3–1Adam GrabiecPTS611 Oct 2019
20Loss16–3–1Luke KeelerUD1029 Mar 2019
19Win16–2–1Ferenc BerkiUD107 Dec 2018
18Win15–2–1Jan Balog1 (6), 5 Oct 2018
17Win14–2–1Nicky JenmanPTS618 Aug 2018
16Loss13–2–1Luke KeelerUD1021 Apr 2018
15Win13–1–1Michael MoraTKO2 (6), 10 Feb 2018
14Win12–1–1Norbert SzekeresPTS61 Dec 2017
13Win11–1–1Gogi Knezevic3 (12), 24 Mar 2017
12Loss10–1–1Ronny Mittag1018 Nov 2016
11Win10–0–1Dante MooreUD630 Jul 2016
10Win9–0–1Frankie BorgTKO6 (6), 14 May 2016
9Win8–0–1Victor GarciaPTS627 Feb 2016
8Draw7–0–1Alfredo Meli1020 Nov 2015
7Win7–0Oscar RiojasTKO2 (6), 18 Jul 2015
6Win6–0Roberto PalenzuelaPTS628 Feb 2015
5Win5–0Norbert Szekeres629 Nov 2014
4Win4–0Robert TalarekPTS66 Sep 2014
3Win3–0Lajos MunkacsiTKO2 (6), 20 Jun 2014
2Win2–0Zahari Mutafchiev3 (6), 4 Apr 2014
1Win1–0Andrejs Loginovs422 Feb 2014

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BoxRec: Conrad Cummings vs. Andrejs Loginovs. 30 June 2020. boxrec.com.
  2. Web site: Sherry. Diarmuid. 21 November 2015. Cummings and Meli Fight To A Thrilling Draw. 30 June 2020. Irish Boxing. en-US.
  3. Web site: McKendry. Adam. 2 Feb 2017. Revenge on Cummings' mind as rematch with Mittag confirmed. 30 June 2020. Belfast Live. en.
  4. Web site: 13 February 2017. Conrad Cummings has revenge on his mind in Ronny Mittag rematch. 30 June 2020. Boxing News Online. en-GB.
  5. Web site: Watters. Andy. 21 March 2017. Conrad Cummings ready for action in title rumble with Gogi Knezevic. 30 June 2020. The Irish News. en.
  6. News: Kelly. David. 18 November 2016. Coalisland boxer Conrad Cummings suffers controversial first defeat at the hands of Ronny Mittag, while Belfast fighter Paddy Gallagher loses to Tamuka Mucha. en-GB. Belfast Telegraph. 30 June 2020. 0307-1235.
  7. Web site: Jay. Phil. 3 March 2017. Simmons out, Kennedy March 11 title shot postponed. 30 June 2020. World Boxing News.
  8. Web site: Foster. Elliot. 24 March 2017. Conrad Cummings Stops Gogi Knezevic, Picks Up WBO Regional. 30 June 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  9. Web site: Foster. Elliot. 13 March 2017. Conrad Cummings vs. Gogi Knezevic Added To Taylor-Joubert. 30 June 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  10. News: Kelly. David. 25 March 2017. Cummings hammers out first title success and targets bigger prizes. en-GB. belfasttelegraph. 30 June 2020. 0307-1235.
  11. Web site: Fullerton. Gareth. 21 June 2017. Cummings to fight on undercard of Frampton v Gutierrez at SSE Arena. 1 July 2020. Belfast Live. en.
  12. News: 28 July 2017. Carl Frampton fight off after Andres Gutierrez is injured slipping in shower. en-gb. BBC Sport. 1 July 2020.
  13. Web site: Stapleton. Jonny. 3 December 2018. Conrad Cummings promising improvements ahead of Belfast headline fight. 1 July 2020. Irish Boxing. en-US.
  14. Web site: BoxRec: Conrad Cummings vs. Norbert Szekeres. 1 July 2020. boxrec.com.
  15. Web site: BoxRec: Conrad Cummings vs. Michael Mora. 1 July 2020. boxrec.com.
  16. Web site: Williamson. Chris. 21 April 2018. Frampton vs. Donaire - LIVE Results From Belfast. 1 July 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  17. Web site: BoxRec: Conrad Cummings vs. Nicky Jenman. 1 July 2020. boxrec.com.
  18. Web site: BoxRec: Conrad Cummings vs. Jan Balog. 1 July 2020. boxrec.com.
  19. Web site: 9 November 2018. Conrad Cummings vs. Brian Rose For WBO Euro, Keeler is Out. 1 July 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  20. Web site: 3 December 2018. Blackpool's Brian Rose pulls out of European title fight with Conrad Cummings due to injury. 1 July 2020. Blackpool Gazette. en.
  21. News: Mohan. David. 8 December 2018. Conrad Cummings ends year on a high with WBO Euro title joy. en-GB. Belfast Telegraph. 1 July 2020. 0307-1235.
  22. Web site: Fullerton. Gareth. 15 January 2019. Conrad Cummings vs Luke Keeler rematch has been announced. 1 July 2020. Belfast Live. en.
  23. News: 30 March 2019. Luke Keeler beats Conrad Cummings to reclaim WBO European middleweight belt. en-gb. BBC Sport. 1 July 2020.
  24. Web site: BoxRec: Conrad Cummings vs. Luke Keeler II. 1 July 2020. boxrec.com.
  25. News: Jones. Robert. 12 October 2019. Cummings shows his class to return to winning ways. en-GB. Belfast Telegraph. 1 July 2020. 0307-1235.
  26. Web site: 19 January 2020. On the verge of big things - Danny Dignum Interview ⋆ Boxing News 24. 1 July 2020. Boxing News 24. en-US.
  27. Web site: Fullerton. Gareth. 9 November 2019. Conrad Cummings stopped by Danny Dignum at York Hall. 1 July 2020. Belfast Live. en.