Gary Holmgren Explained

Gary Holmgren is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1984.^[1]

Professional career

Holmgren made his professional debut on May 15, 1974, with a first-round knockout win against Milton Buckley in St Paul, Minnesota. His first loss came in only his second fight, a five-round points loss to Bruce Finch, who would go on to make a name for himself as a welterweight contender. Holmgren would follow up that loss with a stretch in which he won 16 of 17 fights, including a decision win against 21-2 Rory O'Shea in 1975. Holmgren's career peaked in January 1983 when he won the Minnesota junior middleweight title by defeating Rafael Rodriguez on points in a ten-rounder. Holmgren retired afterwards, having compiled a career record of 22 wins and 5 losses, with 12 wins coming by way of knockout.^[2] ^[3]

Professional boxing record

|-|align="center" colspan=8|22 Wins (12 knockouts, 10 decisions), 5 Losses (2 knockouts, 3 decisions) ^[4] |-| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Result| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Round| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes|-align=center|Loss||align=left| Brian Brunette|SD|10|February 1, 1984|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Rafael Rodriguez|UD|10|January 25, 1983|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Bruce Strauss|PTS|10|October 7, 1981|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Darrell "Ageless Wonder" Green|KO|4|May 6, 1981|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Loss||align=left| Dave Boy Green|TKO|6|January 27, 1981|align=left| Kensington, England|align=left||-|Win||align=left| "Boxing" Tony Taylor|UD|10|October 29, 1980|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Emmett Atlas|KO|2|March 19, 1980|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Loss||align=left| Tyrone Wren|PTS|6|June 29, 1978|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Al Franklin|UD|10|December 9, 1976|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Rory "Stylish Irish" O'Shea|UD|10|November 9, 1976|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left|Moses Gregg|KO|2|October 11, 1976|align=left| Evanston, Indiana, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Harvey "Candyman" Wilson|KO|1|August 4, 1976|align=left| Mounds View, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Ron Pettigrew|KO|6|June 30, 1976|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Woody "Walden Tweed" Harris|UD|6|April 22, 1976|align=left| Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Jerry Wells|UD|6|January 22, 1976|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Dennis Haggerty|KO|1|November 25, 1975|align=left| Globe, Arizona, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Woody "Walden Tweed" Harris|PTS|5|November 13, 1975|align=left| Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Loss||align=left| Ricardo Thomatis|TKO|3|June 6, 1975|align=left| Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Rory "Stylish Irish" O'Shea|SD|6|April 23, 1975|align=left| Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Efran Maldonado|KO|1|March 19, 1975|align=left| Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Timothy "Tim" Adams|PTS|6|February 3, 1975|align=left| Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Jim "Bad Ass" Hearn|KO|4|December 3, 1974|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Bobby "Bruin" Orr|KO|1|August 28, 1974|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Johnny "O.J." Simpson|TKO|2|July 31, 1974|align=left| Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Maurice Sanders|TKO|2|June 26, 1974|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Loss||align=left| Bruce Finch|PTS|5|May 23, 1974|align=left| Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||-|Win||align=left| Milton Buckley|KO|1|May 15, 1974|align=left| Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|align=left||}

Retirement

Holmgren retired from professional boxing after 27 fights. He went on to become a firefighter, rising to captain in a 22-year career.^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8]

Notes

Book: Fitzgerald. Mike. Third Man in the Ring: 33 of Boxing's Best Referees and Their Stories. Morley. Patrick. June 19, 2014. Potomac Books, Inc.. 978-1-61234-242-9. en.
Book: Sugar, Bert Randolph. The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia, 1981. 1981. Atheneum. 978-0-689-11190-7. en.
Web site: Gary Holmgren. www.boxrec.com. March 5, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20121010223939/http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=23293&cat=boxer. October 10, 2012. live.
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=23293&cat=boxer
News: Vezner . Tad . The story of a Front Street basement, a knockout of Floyd Mayweather Sr., and a comeback for a St. Paul boxing space . March 11, 2022 . TwinCities.com . Pioneer Press . August 5, 2017.
News: Wells . Jim . November 18, 1996 . Rescue worker finds victim is estranged mom . 1A . St. Paul Pioneer Press.
News: 1983-01-24 . Boxer Gary Holmgren hopes he'll be retiring as champion . 25 . Star Tribune . 2022-03-11.
News: 1983-01-24 . Holmgren . 31 . Star Tribune . 2022-03-11.