| Intro | Jamaican-British boxer |
| Was |
Athlete Boxer Rugby league player |
| From | United Kingdom |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 15 December 1962, Jamaica |
| Death |
6 January 2011 (aged 48 years) |
| Star sign | Sagittarius |
Gary Mason (15 December 1962 – 6 January 2011) was a British boxer who was based in Chatham, Kent, England. He was born in Jamaica. Mason fought at the heavyweight level and became the British heavyweight champion in 1989. Mason was a top ten contender, his main strengths being his punching power, heart and physical strength.
Mason died on 6 January 2011 in a cycling accident in South London.
Pro boxing career
Mason fought 38 times as a professional in a career that spanned 10 years from 1984 to 1994, with 37 wins (34 by knockout) and only one loss, that being to Lennox Lewis when he challenged for the European title in 1991. Mason gave Lewis his hardest fight up to that point in his career.
Mason defeated a number of well known heavyweights, including Tyrell Biggs, James Tillis, Alfonzo Ratliff, Ricky Parkey, James Pritchard, Louis Pergaud, Hughroy Currie and David Jaco.
He suffered a detached retina in a bout with Everett Martin in 1990. After a short retirement he staged a comeback, which ended with a TKO loss to Lennox Lewis, which aggravated Mason’s eye injury. He came back once again, but after winning two fights in the US he retired for good.
Professional boxing record
| 37 Wins (34 knockouts, 3 decisions), 1 Loss (1 knockout, 0 decisions) | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | 37–1 | Martin “Bananas” Foster | TKO | 3 | 10 September 1994 | Laughlin, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 36–1 | Kevin P Porter | TKO | 2 | 29 January 1994 | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States | Referee stopped the bout at 2:58 of the second round. |
| Loss | 35–1 | Lennox “The Lion” Lewis | TKO | 7 | 6 March 1991 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | BBBofC British/EBU Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 0:44 of the seventh round. |
| Win | 35–0 | James Pritchard | TKO | 9 | 12 December 1990 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the ninth round. |
| Win | 34–0 | Everett Martin | PTS | 10 | 14 March 1990 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | 98.5–97. |
| Win | 33–0 | Mark Anthony Wills | PTS | 10 | 6 December 1989 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | 98.5–97. |
| Win | 32–0 | Tyrell Biggs | KO | 7 | 4 October 1989 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 31–0 | Jess Harding | TKO | 2 | 28 June 1989 | Brentwood, Essex, United Kingdom | BBBofC British Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 30–0 | “Scary” Terry Armstrong | TKO | 3 | 29 March 1989 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 29–0 | Hughroy Currie | KO | 4 | 18 January 1989 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | BBBofC British Heavyweight Title. Currie knocked out at 3:00 of the fourth round. |
| Win | 28–0 | James “Quick” Tillis | TKO | 5 | 30 November 1988 | Southwark, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 1:50 of the fifth round. |
| Win | 27–0 | David Jaco | TKO | 4 | 24 October 1988 | Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the fourth round. |
| Win | 26–0 | Manoel “Clay” De Almeida | TKO | 7 | 13 April 1988 | Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 25–0 | Ricky Parkey | TKO | 1 | 9 March 1988 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 24–0 | Alfonzo Ratliff | TKO | 6 | 3 February 1988 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 1:17 of the sixth round. |
| Win | 23–0 | “Slammin” Sammy Scaff | TKO | 2 | 3 December 1987 | Southend, Essex, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 22–0 | Andrew Gerrard | TKO | 6 | 24 October 1987 | Tottenham, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 21–0 | Andre van den Oetelaar | TKO | 2 | 25 September 1987 | Southend, Essex, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 20–0 | “Fast” Eddie Richardson | TKO | 7 | 30 August 1987 | Marbella, Andalucia, Spain | |
| Win | 19–0 | Billy Joe Thomas | KO | 1 | 26 May 1987 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 18–0 | Woody Clark | TKO | 2 | 18 April 1987 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 2:39 of the second round. |
| Win | 17–0 | Richard Earl Scott | TKO | 1 | 24 March 1987 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 1:27 of the first round. |
| Win | 16–0 | Rodney “King” Smith | TKO | 1 | 22 February 1987 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 1:04 of the first round. |
| Win | 15–0 | Oscar Holman | PTS | 8 | 26 November 1986 | Wolverhampton, West Midlands, United Kingdom | 79.5–76.5. |
| Win | 14–0 | Donnie “Master of Disaster” Long | KO | 1 | 4 November 1986 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | Long knocked out at 1:31 of the first round. |
| Win | 13–0 | Lorenzo Boyd | KO | 2 | 17 September 1986 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 12–0 | Mark “The Storm” Young | TKO | 5 | 19 July 1986 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 11–0 | “Poison” Ivy Brown | KO | 2 | 20 May 1986 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 10–0 | Maurice Gomis | TKO | 3 | 24 April 1986 | Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 9–0 | “King” Louis Pergaud | TKO | 4 | 9 April 1986 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 8–0 | Charles “Tuffy” Hostetter | TKO | 1 | 4 March 1986 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the first round. |
| Win | 7–0 | Denroy Bryan | KO | 1 | 19 February 1986 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | Bryan knocked out at 1:20 of the first round. |
| Win | 6–0 | Steve Gee | TKO | 5 | 4 December 1985 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 1:25 of the fifth round. |
| Win | 5–0 | Steve Gee | TKO | 5 | 5 November 1985 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 1:38 of the fifth round. |
| Win | 4–0 | Luc Goossens | KO | 1 | 6 March 1985 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | Luc knocked out at 2:33 of the first round. |
| Win | 3–0 | Frank “The Tank” Robinson | KO | 1 | 18 January 1985 | Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom | |
| Win | 2–0 | Al Malcolm | TKO | 2 | 14 December 1984 | Wembley, London, United Kingdom | Referee stopped the bout at 0:20 of the second round. |
| Win | 1–0 | Al Malcolm | KO | 1 | 16 October 1984 | Kensington, London, United Kingdom | |
Rugby career
Mason played three rugby league matches for the London Crusaders (now London Broncos Rugby League) reserve team, scoring a try in his first game although ending up on the losing side against Scarborough Pirates.
Television appearances
Mason appeared in a special celebrity show of Gladiators that raised money for charity in 1993 which John Fashanu won. Mason also appeared on the panel of the ITV show You Bet!, and the second episode of the first series of GamesMaster in 1992 playing Sonic Blast Man arcade. Mason’s home was also one of those featured on the panel show Through the Keyhole. Though the panel were able to ascertain that the property was home to a British boxer, they plumped for its being Lennox Lewis’s abode.
Death
On the morning of 6 January 2011 Mason died after being hit by a van in Sandy Lane South, Wallington, South London whilst cycling. He was pronounced dead at the scene.