Stephen Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight title from 1994 to 1995. He also held the (WBO) super-middleweight title from 1995 to 1997. At regional level, he held the Irish and USBA middleweight titles between 1988 and 1995; and challenged once for the European title in 1992.
Steve Collins won 26 Irish titles as an amateur before turning professional in Boston, Massachusetts (USA) in October 1986. Collins worked out of Petronelli Brothers gym in Brockton, Massachusetts alongside Marvin Hagler. His debut fight was against Julio Mercado on the undercard of a bill that featured Irish Americans; his future trainer Freddie Roach and the future Fight of the Year winner Micky Ward. Collins beat Mercado by way of knockout in the third round.
BoxRec-style profile
- Birth name: Stephen Collins
- Born: 21 July 1964 — Cabra, Dublin, Ireland
- Nationality: Irish
- Height: 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
- Reach: 71 in (180 cm)
- Stance: Orthodox
- Pro debut: 24 Oct 1986 (Win by KO vs Julio Mercado)
- Last bout: 5 Jul 1997 (Win by TKO vs Craig Cummings)
- Total rounds boxed: 283 (summed from the bout table below)
- Divisions: Middleweight, Super-middleweight
- KO percentage: 58.3% (21 KO wins in 36 wins)
- Titles held (major, with reign dates): WBO middleweight title May 11, 1994 – 1995 (won from Chris Pyatt, per the bout table, before the move to super-middleweight); WBO super-middleweight title March 18, 1995 – July 5, 1997 (won from Chris Eubank; defended against Eubank in the rematch, Cornelius Carr, Neville Brown, Nigel Benn twice and Frederic Seillier; final defense against Craig Cummings on July 5, 1997, after which he retired as champion) — all dates per the bout table
Record at a glance
- Total bouts: 39
- Wins: 36
- Wins by KO: 21
- Losses: 3
- Losses by KO: 0
- Draws: 0
- No contests: 0
- Born: 21 July 1964 — Cabra, Dublin, Ireland
- Nationality: Irish
- Height: 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
- Reach: 71 in (180 cm)
- Stance: Orthodox
- Divisions: Middleweight, Super-middleweight
Fight-by-fight record
| No. | Date | Opponent | Result | Method | Round/Time | Venue / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 Oct 1986 | Julio Mercado | Win | KO | 3 (4), 1:55 | Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, US |
| 2 | 27 Nov 1986 | Mike Bonislawski | Win | UD | 4 | Strand Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| 3 | 20 Dec 1986 | Richard Holloway | Win | KO | 2 (4) | Strand Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| 4 | 10 Oct 1987 | Richard Holmes | Win | KO | 1 | Attleboro, Massachusetts, US |
| 5 | 29 Oct 1987 | Harold Souther | Win | UD | 8 | Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts, US |
| 6 | 20 Nov 1987 | Mike Williams | Win | UD | 6 | Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US |
| 7 | 9 Dec 1987 | Bennie Sims | Win | UD | 8 | Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US |
| 8 | 18 Mar 1988 | Sam Storey | Win | UD | 10 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, US — ★ Title fight — Won Irish middleweight title |
| 9 | 26 May 1988 | Lester Yarbrough | Win | UD | 10 | Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| 10 | 30 Jul 1988 | Michael Dale | Win | UD | 8 | Romuva Park, Brockton, Massachusetts, US |
| 11 | 22 Oct 1988 | Muhammad Shabazz | Win | TKO | 4 (10) | Boys Club, Salem, New Hampshire, US |
| 12 | 10 Dec 1988 | Jesse Lanton | Win | UD | 8 | Boys Club, Salem, New Hampshire, US |
| 13 | 7 Feb 1989 | Paul McPeek | Win | TKO | 9 (10) | Trump's Castle, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US |
| 14 | 9 May 1989 | Kevin Watts | Win | UD | 12 | Resorts International Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US — ★ Title fight — Won USBA middleweight title |
| 15 | 16 Jul 1989 | Tony Thornton | Win | MD | 12 | Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US — ★ Title fight — Retained USBA middleweight title |
| 16 | 21 Nov 1989 | Roberto Rosiles | Win | TKO | 9 (10), 0:52 | Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, US |
| 17 | 3 Feb 1990 | Mike McCallum | Loss | UD | 12 | Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, US — ★ Title fight — For WBA middleweight title |
| 18 | 16 Aug 1990 | Fermin Chirino | Win | TKO | 6 (10) | Sheraton Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| 19 | 24 Nov 1990 | Eddie Hall | Win | UD | 10 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| 20 | 11 May 1991 | Kenny Snow | Win | TKO | 3 (10), 3:00 | Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 21 | 25 May 1991 | Jean-Noel Camara | Win | KO | 3 | Salle Marcel Cerdan, Brest, France |
| 22 | 11 Dec 1991 | Danny Morgan | Win | KO | 3 | National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland |
| 23 | 22 Apr 1992 | Reggie Johnson | Loss | MD | 12 | Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US — ★ Title fight — For vacant WBA middleweight title |
| 24 | 22 Oct 1992 | Sumbu Kalambay | Loss | SD | 12 | Verbania, Italy — ★ Title fight — For European middleweight title |
| 25 | 6 Feb 1993 | Johnny Melfah | Win | TKO | 3 (8), 2:48 | Cardiff, Wales |
| 26 | 20 Feb 1993 | Ian Strudwick | Win | TKO | 7 (10) | Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England |
| 27 | 26 Jun 1993 | Gerhard Botes | Win | TKO | 7 (12) | Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England — ★ Title fight — Won vacant WBA Penta-Continental middleweight title |
| 28 | 30 Nov 1993 | Wayne Ellis | Win | KO | 9 (10) | Cardiff, Wales |
| 29 | 22 Jan 1994 | Johnny Melfah | Win | TKO | 4 (8) | King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 30 | 9 Feb 1994 | Paul Wesley | Win | PTS | 8 | Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England |
| 31 | 11 May 1994 | Chris Pyatt | Win | TKO | 5 (12), 2:27 | Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England — ★ Title fight — Won WBO middleweight title |
| 32 | 18 Mar 1995 | Chris Eubank | Win | UD | 12 | Green Glens Arena, Millstreet, Ireland — ★ Title fight — Won WBO super-middleweight title |
| 33 | 9 Sep 1995 | Chris Eubank | Win | SD | 12 | Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork, Ireland — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO super-middleweight title |
| 34 | 25 Nov 1995 | Cornelius Carr | Win | UD | 12 | Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO super-middleweight title |
| 35 | 9 Mar 1996 | Neville Brown | Win | TKO | 11 (12), 0:54 | Green Glens Arena, Millstreet, Ireland — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO super-middleweight title |
| 36 | 6 Jul 1996 | Nigel Benn | Win | TKO | 4 (12), 2:44 | NYNEX Arena, Manchester, England — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO super-middleweight title |
| 37 | 9 Nov 1996 | Nigel Benn | Win | RTD | 6 (12), 3:00 | NYNEX Arena, Manchester, England — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO super-middleweight title |
| 38 | 8 Feb 1997 | Frederic Seillier | Win | TKO | 5 (12), 2:20 | London Arena, London, England — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO super-middleweight title |
| 39 | 5 Jul 1997 | Craig Cummings | Win | TKO | 3 (12), 1:17 | Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland — ★ Title fight — Retained WBO super-middleweight title |
Titles & notes
Major title reigns (start–end): WBO middleweight title May 11, 1994 – 1995 (won from Chris Pyatt, per the bout table, before the move to super-middleweight); WBO super-middleweight title March 18, 1995 – July 5, 1997 (won from Chris Eubank; defended against Eubank in the rematch, Cornelius Carr, Neville Brown, Nigel Benn twice and Frederic Seillier; final defense against Craig Cummings on July 5, 1997, after which he retired as champion) — all dates per the bout table
- 18 Mar 1988 vs Sam Storey: Won Irish middleweight title
- 9 May 1989 vs Kevin Watts: Won USBA middleweight title
- 16 Jul 1989 vs Tony Thornton: Retained USBA middleweight title
- 3 Feb 1990 vs Mike McCallum: For WBA middleweight title
- 22 Apr 1992 vs Reggie Johnson: For vacant WBA middleweight title
- 22 Oct 1992 vs Sumbu Kalambay: For European middleweight title
- 26 Jun 1993 vs Gerhard Botes: Won vacant WBA Penta-Continental middleweight title
- 11 May 1994 vs Chris Pyatt: Won WBO middleweight title
- 18 Mar 1995 vs Chris Eubank: Won WBO super-middleweight title
- 9 Sep 1995 vs Chris Eubank: Retained WBO super-middleweight title
- 25 Nov 1995 vs Cornelius Carr: Retained WBO super-middleweight title
- 9 Mar 1996 vs Neville Brown: Retained WBO super-middleweight title
- 6 Jul 1996 vs Nigel Benn: Retained WBO super-middleweight title
- 9 Nov 1996 vs Nigel Benn: Retained WBO super-middleweight title
- 8 Feb 1997 vs Frederic Seillier: Retained WBO super-middleweight title
- 5 Jul 1997 vs Craig Cummings: Retained WBO super-middleweight title
Photo: Mark Hillary via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Record source: Wikipedia professional boxing record table (cross-checked against the bout list), retrieved 2026-11-03.
