# Cleveland Denny

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{{short description|Guyanese boxer}}
'''Cleveland Denny''' (died July 7, 1980)<ref name=Gazette>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19800708&printsec=frontpage&hl=en "Denny the fighter loses his last bout"], ''The Gazette'' (Montreal), July 8, 1980, p1</ref> was a [Guyanese](/source/Guyana) [boxer](/source/Boxing).

== Amateur career ==
Denny represented [Guyana](/source/Guyana) as a lightweight at the [1976 Olympic games](/source/1976_Summer_Olympics). He did not compete due to his country boycotting the event over the inclusion of New Zealand. Denny technically had a first round bye, and lost to [Bogdan Gajda](/source/Bogdan_Gajda) of Poland on a walk-over.

== Pro career ==
Denny turned pro in 1976, fighting out of [Montreal](/source/Montreal), and remained unbeaten in his first 11 pro fights, including a win over Jean LaPointe in 1977 for the Canadian lightweight title. He lost the belt the following year to [Gaetan Hart](/source/Gaetan_Hart) by split decision. In a 10-round rematch on June 20, 1980, Denny was knocked out with 12 seconds left in the final round. <ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19800621&printsec=frontpage&hl=en "Tragedy, triumph in the Big O ring"], ''The Gazette'' (Montreal), July 8, 1980, p1</ref> Sportswriter David Johnston of the ''Gazette'' of Montreal wrote that "Late in the 10th round, Hart caught Denny with an uppercut as he pulled away, and charged in with a series of punches that shook his opponent.  By the time Denny had slumped back against a ring post, the 67-year-old referee, Rosario Bailargeon, made a motion to stop the fight, but hesitated.  Hart rushed past and hit Denny with about five more punches, sending him to the canvas, his jaw locked on his mouthpiece."<ref name=Gazette/>

== Death ==
Denny died from injuries sustained in the bout with Hart in [Montreal](/source/Montreal), 17 days after the fight.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/87290.stm BBC News | UK | Boxing's deadly toll<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> This match was on the undercard of the first [Sugar Ray Leonard](/source/Sugar_Ray_Leonard)-[Roberto Durán](/source/Roberto_Dur%C3%A1n) fight. Following his death, Denny's widow filed a lawsuit against Hart, the [Montreal Athletic Commission](/source/Montreal_Athletic_Commission), the [Olympic Installations Board](/source/Olympic_Installations_Board), and others.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E5D91138F934A15755C0A967948260 Boxer's Widow Files Suit – New York Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==
* {{Boxrec|id=48664}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Cleveland}}
Category:1980 deaths
Category:Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing
Category:Sports deaths in Canada
Category:Accidental deaths in Quebec
Category:1950s births
Category:Guyanese male boxers
Category:Lightweight boxers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cleveland Denny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Denny) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Denny?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.