Barry Michael

{{short description|Australian boxer}} {{Multiple issues| {{BLP more footnotes needed|date=July 2015}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2024}} }} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Use Australian English|date=December 2013}} {{Infobox boxer |image=  | |name=Barry Michael |realname=Barry Michael Swettenham |nickname=Barry Michael |weight=Super Featherweight |nationality={{Flagicon|AUS}} Australian |birth_date=2 June 1955 |birth_place=Watford, England |death_date= |death_place= |style=Orthodox |total=60 |wins=48 |losses=9 |draws=3 |no contests=0 |KO=15 |}}

'''Barry Michael''' (born 2 June 1955) is an Australian former boxer. He was in his prime during the 1980s and is best remembered for his 1985 fight against Lester Ellis, which received nationwide television coverage in Australia.

==Early life== Michael was born on 2 June 1955 in England and his family migrated to Australia in 1957. He grew up in Williamstown and dropped his surname Swettenham.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Professional career== Michael won the IBF super featherweight title on 12 July 1985 over Lester Ellis. He made his first defense three months later on 19 October 1985 with a 4th-round TKO win over Korean Jin-Shik Choi at the Darwin Oval in the Northern Territory. The 25-year-old Choi had a record of 17-1 (15) going into the fight and had won eight straight. Jin-Shik Choi's only loss going into the fight was to Rod Sequenan (Ellis' first defense), two years earlier by 12th-round knockout.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Later career== Michael ran for the Senate in 2013, representing the Palmer United Party.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/west/doug-hawkins-barry-michael-to-run-for-senate-with-palmer-united-party/news-story/fea5698a21f4878cc0b2c2aafa32f81f| title = Reference at www.heraldsun.com.au}}</ref>

Today, Michael is a boxing analyst in the media and appears on SEN 1116 as well as writing for the ''Herald Sun''.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Bibliography== *{{cite book |title=The Last Man Standing: The Barry Michael Story |date=2025 |publisher=New Holland Publishers |location=Melbourne |isbn=9781760798406}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3061698 Crunch! ... punch from Barry Michael ...], 1985 / Bruce Howard *https://web.archive.org/web/20060627150314/http://anbhof.com/barrymichaels.html Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame * {{boxrec|id=032644}}

{{s-start}} {{s-sports}} {{s-text|style=background:#C1D8FF; font-weight: bold;|text=Regional boxing titles}} {{s-bef | before=Billy Mulholland}} {{s-ttl | title=Australian Lightweight Champion | years=12 August 1978 – 12 July 1985<br />Vacated}} {{s-vac | next=Dale Artango}} {{s-bef|before=Langton Tinago}} {{s-ttl|title=Commonwealth Lightweight Champion |years=6 May 1981 – 22 July 1982}} {{s-aft|after=Claude Noel}} {{s-bef|before=Graeme Brooke}} {{s-ttl|title=Commonwealth Lightweight Champion |years=22 February – 12 July 1985<br />Vacated}} {{s-vac|next=Langton Tinago}} {{s-text|style=background:#C1D8FF; font-weight: bold;|text=World boxing titles}} {{Succession box| before=Lester Ellis| title= IBF Super Featherweight Champion | after=Rocky Lockridge| years=12 July 1985 – 9 August 1987 }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, Barry}} Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from Watford Category:English emigrants to Australia Category:International Boxing Federation champions Category:United Australia Party (2013) politicians Category:Australian male boxers Category:Commonwealth Boxing Council champions Category:Super-featherweight boxers Category:Boxers from Melbourne Category:People from Williamstown, Victoria Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen