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Early success for British boxers

ESPN staff
December 21, 2013
Paul Weir hits the canvas against "Baby Jake" Matlala © PA Photos
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Which British boxer won a world title in his sixth professional fight? asked Andrew Hancock

This early achiever was the diminutive Scottish boxer Paul Weir, who had had only five previous professional bouts when he won the vacant WBO straw-weight title by knocking out Mexico's Fernando Martinez in his home town of Glasgow in May 1993.

Weir made one successful defence before moving up to light-flyweight, where he lost his first world title fight.

He won the vacant WBO light-flyweight title in November 1994, beating Paul Oulden of South Africa, and again had one successful defence before losing that belt (and a subsequent rematch) to the South African "Baby Jake" Matlala. Weir retired in 2000, aged 33, after only 20 professional contests in all.

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