Gary Holmgren

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

Professional career[edit]

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[edit]

22 Wins (12 knockouts, 10 decisions), 5 Losses (2 knockouts, 3 decisions) ^[4]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	14-0	Brian Brunette	SD	10	February 1, 1984	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.	Lost Minnesota light middleweight title
Win	28-20-1	Rafael Rodriguez	UD	10	January 25, 1983	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.	Won Minnesota light middleweight title
Win	51-25-2	Bruce Strauss	PTS	10	October 7, 1981	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	1-5	Darrell "Ageless Wonder" Green	KO	4	May 6, 1981	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Loss	34-3	Dave Boy Green	TKO	6	January 27, 1981	Kensington, England	Referee stopped the bout at 2:38 of the sixth round.
Win	2-5	"Boxing" Tony Taylor	UD	10	October 29, 1980	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	13-18	Emmett Atlas	KO	2	March 19, 1980	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Loss	6-3	Tyrone Wren	PTS	6	June 29, 1978	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	40-31-4	Al Franklin	UD	10	December 9, 1976	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	25-4-1	Rory "Stylish Irish" O'Shea	UD	10	November 9, 1976	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	--	Moses Gregg	KO	2	October 11, 1976	Evanston, Indiana, U.S.
Win	6-18-1	Harvey "Candyman" Wilson	KO	1	August 4, 1976	Mounds View, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	2-23-4	Ron Pettigrew	KO	6	June 30, 1976	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	0-4	Woody "Walden Tweed" Harris	UD	6	April 22, 1976	Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	3-35-2	Jerry Wells	UD	6	January 22, 1976	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	2-2	Dennis Haggerty	KO	1	November 25, 1975	Globe, Arizona, U.S.
Win	0-3	Woody "Walden Tweed" Harris	PTS	5	November 13, 1975	Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Loss	3-4	Ricardo Thomatis	TKO	3	June 6, 1975	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	23-2-1	Rory "Stylish Irish" O'Shea	SD	6	April 23, 1975	Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	7-4-1	Efran Maldonado	KO	1	March 19, 1975	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	4-4	Timothy "Tim" Adams	PTS	6	February 3, 1975	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	1-0	Jim "Bad Ass" Hearn	KO	4	December 3, 1974	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	0-1	Bobby "Bruin" Orr	KO	1	August 28, 1974	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	1-5	Johnny "O.J." Simpson	TKO	2	July 31, 1974	Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	--	Maurice Sanders	TKO	2	June 26, 1974	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Loss	3-0-1	Bruce Finch	PTS	5	May 23, 1974	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Win	--	Milton Buckley	KO	1	May 15, 1974	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.

Retirement[edit]

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[edit]

^ Fitzgerald, Mike; Morley, Patrick (June 19, 2014). Third Man in the Ring: 33 of Boxing's Best Referees and Their Stories. Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 978-1-61234-242-9.
^ Sugar, Bert Randolph (1981). The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia, 1981. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0-689-11190-7.
^ "Gary Holmgren". www.boxrec.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
^ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=23293&cat=boxer ^{[bare URL]}
^ Vezner, Tad (August 5, 2017). "The story of a Front Street basement, a knockout of Floyd Mayweather Sr., and a comeback for a St. Paul boxing space". TwinCities.com. Pioneer Press. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
^ Wells, Jim (November 18, 1996). "Rescue worker finds victim is estranged mom". St. Paul Pioneer Press. pp. 1A.
^ "Boxer Gary Holmgren hopes he'll be retiring as champion". Star Tribune. January 24, 1983. p. 25. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
^ "Holmgren". Star Tribune. January 24, 1983. p. 31. Retrieved March 11, 2022.

External links[edit]

Boxing record for Gary Holmgren from BoxRec (registration required)

[1] Fitzgerald, Mike; Morley, Patrick (June 19, 2014). Third Man in the Ring: 33 of Boxing's Best Referees and Their Stories. Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 978-1-61234-242-9.

[2] Sugar, Bert Randolph (1981). The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia, 1981. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0-689-11190-7.

[3] "Gary Holmgren". www.boxrec.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2009.

[4] ttp://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=23293&cat=boxer ^{[bare URL]}

[5] Vezner, Tad (August 5, 2017). "The story of a Front Street basement, a knockout of Floyd Mayweather Sr., and a comeback for a St. Paul boxing space". TwinCities.com. Pioneer Press. Retrieved March 11, 2022.

[6] Wells, Jim (November 18, 1996). "Rescue worker finds victim is estranged mom". St. Paul Pioneer Press. pp. 1A.

[7] "Boxer Gary Holmgren hopes he'll be retiring as champion". Star Tribune. January 24, 1983. p. 25. Retrieved March 11, 2022.

[8] "Holmgren". Star Tribune. January 24, 1983. p. 31. Retrieved March 11, 2022.

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