Introduction
Lee Selby (born 14 February 1987) is a Welsh professional boxer. He has held multiple titles at featherweight, where he is the current IBF champion, a title he won in 2015. Previously he held the British title from 2011 to 2014; the Commonwealth title from 2011 to 2013; and the European title in 2014.
Professional boxing career
Early boxing career
Selby began his professional career on 12 July 2008 with a win over Sid Razak at the Newport Leisure Centre in Wales. He compiled a record of four straight wins before losing for the first time in his career to Samir Mouneimne at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke on 29 May 2009. Selby won his next three fights before beating Dai Davies for the Welsh Area title on 30 October 2010 claiming the belt with a 2nd-round knockout. On 30 July 2011 he met Scotsman James Ancliff for the Celtic featherweight title and claimed the belt with a 6th round stoppage.
British Champion
On 17 September 2011 Selby claimed the British and Commonwealth titles with a win over then champion Stephen Smith via 8th round stoppage at the Olympia in Liverpool. Despite being the underdog going into the fight Selby took control of the centre of the ring and caught Smith with a left hand in the 8th round, a punch from which Smith was unable to recover. Selby said after the fight that the win "feels like I've won a world title" adding "It's something that I have been dreaming about since I was a kid. It's a big achievement and not a lot of people have done it".
On 20 April 2013 Selby dismantled the former unbeaten Australian champion Corey McConnell. McConell's corner threw in the towel in the fifth round.
WBC International Championship
Selby vs. Simion
On 13 July 2013, Lee Selby took another step towards a world title shot when he faced in Hull the unbeaten Romanian boxer and ranked at fourth by the WBC, Viorel Simion, and won the WBC International featherweight title with a unanimous decision victory. According to some prominent boxing writers, the British rising star passed the toughest test of his career in a very close fight.
Selby vs. Montiel
Selby retained his IBF featherweight title in October 2015 with a win over Mexican Fernando Montiel in Arizona. He dedicated the win to his childhood friend Darren Bray, who had recently died from attempting to eat a burger in one go.
Professional boxing record
| Professional record summary | ||
| 24 fights | 23 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 8 | 0 |
| By decision | 15 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Win | 23–1 |  Eric Hunter | UD | 12 | 9 Apr 2016 |  O2 Arena, London, England | Retained IBF featherweight title |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 |  Fernando Montiel | UD | 12 | 14 Oct 2015 | Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona, US | Retained IBF featherweight title |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 |  Evgeny Gradovich | TD | 8 (12), 1:00 | 30 May 2015 | O2 Arena, London, England | Won IBF featherweight title; Unanimous TD after Gradovich sustained a cut from an accidental head clash |
| 21 | Win | 20–1 |  Joel Brunker | TKO | 9 (12), 2:49 | 11 Oct 2014 | O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Romulo Koasicha | UD | 12 | 17 May 2014 | Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales | Retained WBC International featherweight title |
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Rendall Munroe | TKO | 6 (12), 1:31 | 1 Feb 2014 | Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales | Retained British featherweight title; Won vacant European featherweight title |
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Ryan Walsh | UD | 12 | 5 Oct 2013 | The O2 Arena, London, England | Retained British and Commonwealth featherweight titles |
| 17 | Win | 16–1 |  Viorel Simion | UD | 12 | 13 Jul 2013 | Craven Park, Hull, England | Won WBC International featherweight title |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Corey McConnell | TKO | 5 (12), 1:16 | 20 Apr 2013 | Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England | Retained Commonwealth featherweight title |
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | Martin Lindsay | UD | 12 | 9 Feb 2013 | Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Retained British and Commonwealth featherweight titles |
| 14 | Win | 13–1 |  Patrick Okine | TKO | 5 (12), 1:54 | 25 May 2012 | Leisure Centre, Newport, Wales | Retained Commonwealth featherweight title |
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | John Simpson | TKO | 5 (12), 2:02 | 14 Dec 2011 | York Hall, London, England | Retained British and Commonwealth featherweight titles |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Stephen Smith | KO | 8 (12), 2:04 | 17 Sep 2011 | Olympia, Liverpool, England | Won British and Commonwealth featherweight titles |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | James Ancliff | TKO | 6 (10), 2:12 | 30 Jul 2011 | Pillgwenlly Millennium Centre, Newport, Wales | Won vacant British Celtic featherweight title |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 |  Youssef Al Hamidi | PTS | 6 | 27 Apr 2011 | Olympia, Liverpool, England | |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Dai Davies | KO | 2 (10), 1:53 | 30 Oct 2010 | Leisure Centre, Newport, Wales | Won vacant British Welsh Area featherweight title |
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Ben Jones | PTS | 6 | 25 Jul 2010 | Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England | |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Jimmy Briggs | PTS | 4 | 20 Nov 2009 | Leisure Centre, Newport, Wales | |
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Ian Bailey | PTS | 6 | 10 Aug 2009 | Jumeirah Carlton Tower, London, England | |
| 5 | Loss | 4–1 | Samir Mouneimne | PTS | 4 | 29 May 2009 | Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent, England | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Johnny Greaves | PTS | 6 | 13 Mar 2009 | Leisure Centre, Newport, Wales | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Craig Johnson | PTS | 4 | 27 Feb 2009 | Metrodome, Barnsley, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Peter Buckley | PTS | 6 | 24 Oct 2008 | Leisure Centre, Newport, Wales | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Sid Razak | PTS | 6 | 12 Jul 2008 | Leisure Centre, Newport, Wales | Professional debut |
Personal life
Selby is the brother of GB Boxing's 2012 Olympic flyweight representative Andrew Selby. Lee attended Barry Comprehensive School from 1998 to 2003.