Gary Stretch

Gary Stretch
Statistics
Real name Gary Stretch
Weight(s) Light middleweight
Born (1965-11-04) 4 November 1965[1]
St Helens, Lancashire, England
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights 31[1]
Wins 29[1]
Wins by KO 20[1]
Losses 1[1]

Gary Stretch (born 4 November 1965[2]) is an English former actor, former boxer and former model.

Early life

Gary Stretch was born in 1965 and brought up in the Haresfinch area of St Helens, Lancashire. His father was a plumber.[3] He attended the town's Cowley High School.[4]

Boxing

A left-handed fighter, Stretch boxed most of his career as a light-middleweight, rising to become British champion in that division.[5]

Stretch won the WBC International Light Middleweight title, beating Ramon Angel Alegre at the London Arena on 14 February 1990, the fight billed as Valentine's Day Massacre. Stretch stopped the tough Argentine in the 6th round of a very one sided contest. Stretch relinquished the title due to a management dispute with Frank Warren and subsequently sat out his contract.

Stretch's return to the ring came in 1991 when he challenged Chris Eubank for the WBO world middleweight championship in London, in a fight billed as "Beauty V the Best".[6] Stretch suffered a cut behind the ear in the first round and was shaken by an uppercut in the third. Eubank visited the canvas twice in the fight without a count, in the second and third rounds, and was cut badly in the fourth round by a straight left hand from Stretch. The doctor was called at the end of round 5 to look at Eubank (the cut later needed several stitches), advising the referee to stop the fight. The referee gave the Eubank corner the go ahead for 'one more round'. In the sixth round Stretch had a point deducted for pushing Eubank onto the canvas; Stretch was shaken by a right hand from Eubank and subsequently took a standing eight count. Stretch was then pushed through the ropes. The fight was stopped in Eubank's favor, a stoppage that was controversial. Stretch was through the ropes, struggling to regain his feet when the referee stepped in. All three judges had Stretch ahead on the scorecard at the time of the stoppage.

Stretch fought only once more after his bout with Eubank before retiring with a career record of 29 wins 1 loss and 1 NC (an accidental clash of heads causing Stretch to be cut on the forehead).[5]

Modelling

During his time as a boxer, Stretch also worked as a model. His clients included Calvin Klein and Versace.[5]

Acting

Stretch was cast as Cleitus supporting Sir Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie in Oliver Stone's 2004 film Alexander. Stone went on to cast Stretch again in World Trade Center as a paramedic, and in Savages. In 2004 Stretch was cast as psychopathic gangster Sonny in Shane Meadows' gritty cult thriller Dead Man's Shoes (2004), for which Stretch received a BIFA nomination[7][8] alongside fellow English actor Paddy Considine.

Stretch also starred in the UK film Freebird in 2008, directed by Jon Ivay. With Stretch appearing alongside Phil Daniels and Geoff Bell, the film followed three bikers across a drug-fueled ride in the Welsh countryside.

In 2016 Stretch starred in My Father Die.

Director/producer

Stretch made his directing debut with "Through My Father's Eyes" ,the story of UFC superstar Ronda Rousey. The film was set to hit theaters in spring 2017. By August 2017 it still hadn't been released, and no reviews were available. It was produced by Stretch and Pete Antico, with executive producers Yin Tze Liew, Chris Ball and Rene Cogan. The film, if it is ever released, will be distributed by WrekinHill (formerly Newmarket).

Personal life

From 1998 to 2001 Stretch was married to actress Roselyn Sánchez.[6]

Filmography

  • Tis a Gift to Be Simple (1994) ... Perry Truman
  • Final Combination (1994) ... Richard Welton
  • Infidelity/Hard Fall (1997) ... Shane
  • Business for Pleasure (1997) ... Rolf
  • Shergar (1999) ... SAS Soldier
  • Dead Dogs Lie (2001) ... Duck
  • Final Combat (2003) ... Jaikra
  • A Good Night to Die (2003) ... Ronnie
  • Dead Man's Shoes (2004) ... Sonny
  • Alexander (2004) ... Cleitus
  • The King Maker (2005) ... Fernando De Gamma
  • World Trade Center (2006) ... John's Paramedic
  • The Commander: Windows of the Soul (2007) ... Jack Bannerman
  • Afghan Knights (2007) ... Nash
  • Tied in Knots (2008) ... Jay
  • Freebird (2008) ... Fred
  • Deadwater (2008) ... Colin Willets
  • The Heavy (2010) ... Mitchell 'Boots' Mason
  • The Girl from the Naked Eye (2010) ... Frank
  • Baseline (2010) ... Rob
  • Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus (2010)[9]
  • Yellow
  • The Pugilist's Son (short) (2012) ... Terry Hope
  • Savages (2013) ... Bad Ass Biker
  • My Father Die ... Ivan

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "boxer: Gary Stretch" BoxRec.com thisisst-helens.co.uk profile Archived 31 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Birth indexes show his birth registered St. Helens 4th quarter (Oct, Nov, Dec) 1965
  3. ↑ Sue Mott (21 January 2006). "A long stretch". Daily Telegraph.
  4. ↑ "Ex-boxer Gary Stretch to celebrate St Helens' movie magic". St. Helens Star. 7 February 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Gareth A. Davies (27 November 2008). "Mystery of Gary Stretch departure from Khan camp". Daily Telegraph.
  6. 1 2 Anna Kessel (3 February 2008). "Sex life: Gary Stretch". The Observer.
  7. ↑ ""Dead Man's Shoes Awards and Nominations", IMDb".
  8. ↑ "British Independent Film Awards – Gary Stretch". Archived from the original on 6 October 2011.
  9. ↑ Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, The Asylum
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