Gary Stretch

During the early nineties, Gary Stretch was the glamour-boy of British boxing. His good looks coupled with KO power in his fists ensured he was big box-office. He also made money strutting his stuff on the catwalk as a male model. Some said he earned more as a model than actually fighting. He was frequently mentioned in the British tabloids. Stretch was an excellent amateur boxer as a youngster and turned professional in 1985. He won the British light-middleweight championship in September 1988, then went on to win the WBC international super welterweight championship, beating Ramon 'Angel' Alegre at the London Docklands Arena, London on Feb 14th, 1990 with a KO in round six, in an entertaining and gritty contest that was billed as the "Valentines Day Massacre". In 1991, he challenged the colorful and eccentric Chris Eubank for the WBO world middleweight championship in London. 'Beauty v The Best' attracted the big celebrity crowd, and was a major sporting event that year. Despite taking the bout after almost a year out of the sport, Gary gave the iron-chinned champion hell for five rounds before the fight was stopped in the sixth round. After many unsuccessful attempts for a rematch, Stretch had one more fight, then retired with a record of 23-2-0. Post-boxing, Stretch was looking for another challenge and turned to the art of acting, In 2004, his hard work finally paid off when he was cast as psychotic gangster Sonny in Shane Meadows' highly acclaimed "Dead Man's Shoes". Stretch received a BIFA nomination alongside another British talent, Paddy Considine and Toby Kebbell. This picture finally earned Stretch the recognition he deserved. He went on to co-star opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins & Colin Farrell In Oliver Stone's "Alexander". Stretch produced & directed "Through My Father's Eyes", a Lionsgate documentary about Ronda Rousey which earned Best Documentary at the Crystal Palace Film Festival.