John Wayne Hibbert


"John" Wayne Hibbert is an English former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2017. He held the WBC International light-welterweight title twice between 2014 and 2016, and the Commonwealth light-welterweight title from 2015 to 2016.

Professional career

Early career

Hibbert made his professional debut on 21 June 2009, scoring a first-round technical knockout victory over Damien Turner at the York Hall in London. He scored three more wins in 2009; a TKO over Andrew Patterson in September; Kevin McCauley by points decision in October; and Bheki Moyo by TKO in December.
He secured another three wins in 2010; a stoppage win by corner retirement against Rock Boulter in March; and PTS victories against Matt Scriven in April and William Warburton in December.

Prizefighter series

After compiling a record of 7–0 he entered the on 7 June 2011 at the York Hall. He faced Kevin McIntyre in the quarter-final, losing by unanimous decision over three rounds to suffer his first professional defeat. All three judges scored the bout 29–28.

British and International Masters titles

In his next fight he faced Tommy Coward for the vacant British Masters welterweight title on 8 June 2012 at the Dome Leisure Centre in Doncaster. Hibbert captured the title by PTS over ten rounds, with referee Howard John Foster scoring the bout 95–94. He made a successful defence of the title against Leon Findlay in October, winning by PTS, followed by an eight-round PTS victory against Arek Malek in December before suffering his second professional defeat against Dave Ryan in an eliminator for the English light-welterweight title in March 2013, losing by PTS over ten rounds with referee Mark Green scoring the bout 97–95.
He bounced back from defeat with an eight-round TKO victory against Calum Cooper on 27 September 2013, capturing the vacant British Masters Gold light-welterweight title at the Civic Hall in Grays. After a TKO victory against Michal Vosyka in March 2014, Hibbert was scheduled to face Joe Hughes for the vacant Southern Area light-welterweight title on 19 July at the Civic Hall in Grays. However, after Hughes was forced to withdraw after falling ill with a virus, Hibbert instead fought Michael Dufek for the International Masters light-welterweight title. Hibbert defeated Dufek via fourth-round TKO to capture the title.

WBC International and Commonwealth titles

He next faced Leonardo Esteban Gonzalez for the vacant WBC International light-welterweight title on 11 October 2014 at The O2 Arena in London, live on Sky Sports. Hibbert captured his fourth professional title via fifth round TKO. He followed up with a successful defence of the title in January 2015, defeating Tyler Goodjohn via eighth-round TKO.
His next fight was a rematch with former conqueror Dave Ryan, the reigning Commonwealth light-welterweight champion, on 30 May at The O2 Arena. Hibbert knocked the champion to the canvas twice – once in the third round and again in the fifth – before suffering two knockdowns himself in the ninth round. He was able to rise to his feet after the second knockdown but came under immediate pressure from Ryan, prompting referee Victor Loughlin to step in and call a halt to the contest to hand Hibbert his third professional defeat, losing his title via ninth-round TKO.
The pair had an immediate rematch for a trilogy fight, returning to The O2 Arena on 12 September. Hibbert was knocked down in the sixth round and losing the fight with Ryan in control from the opening bell. Hibbert began to exert pressure from rounds seven through nine to find some success. In the tenth – after a right hook from Hibbert – Ryan pulled backwards with his hand on his back, visibly in pain. After a momentary pause, Hibbert attacked with a three punch combination to the champion's body, forcing Ryan to go down to the canvas on one knee, informing the referee his "back had gone". He managed to rise to his feet, only to be met by a flurry of punches from Hibbert to prompt referee Ian John Lewis to step in and call a halt to the contest, handing Hibbert the WBC International and Commonwealth titles via ninth-round TKO. He successfully defended the titles against Tommy Martin on 30 January 2016, scoring a knockout victory in the twelfth and final round at the Copper Box Arena in London.

WBC Silver title

He relinquished his titles in early 2016 in order to pursue a world title shot, facing Andrea Scarpa for the WBC's secondary world championship, the WBC Silver title, on 25 June 2016 at The O2 Arena. The bout was televised live on Sky Sports Box Office as part of the undercard for Anthony Joshua vs. Dominic Breazeale. In a fight which saw Hibbert suffer a severe cut in the third round, he was dropped in the fifth by a right hand from Scarpa. Hibbert was able to make it to his feet and finish the remainder of the round. However, at the end of the sixth, the bout was called off on the advice of the ring-side doctor, handing Hibbert a TKO loss.

IBF International title

In his next fight he was scheduled to face Tommy Coyle for the vacant IBF International light-welterweight title on 26 November 2016 at the Wembley Arena in London. After Coyle withdrew from the bout citing "personal reasons", Martin Gethin stepped in as a late replacement. Gethin, who last fought seven days prior, defeated Hibbert via fourth-round TKO. Following the defeat, Hibbert announced his retirement from boxing.

Comeback fight

Just seven months after retiring, Hibbert returned to the ring to score a six-round PTS victory against Arvydas Trizno on 22 July 2017 at the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, Essex.
Hibbert was next scheduled to face Curtis Woodhouse in a Commonwealth light-welterweight eliminator on 24 February 2018 at the Dome Leisure Centre in Doncaster. However, after Scott Westgarth was rushed to hospital following his bout with Dec Spelman in an undercard fight, the event was cancelled. Weatgarth subsequently died from his injuries. The bout was later rescheduled to 16 June, but was cancelled once again after Hibbert withdrew due to injury.

Bare-knuckle boxing

Hibbert once again retired from gloved boxing, turning over to the bare-knuckle side of the sport. He fought James Lilley to a draw over three rounds on 16 November 2019 at the indigo at The O2 in London.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
23Win18–5 Arvydas TriznoPTS622 Jul 2017Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England.png" />
22Loss17–5 Martin GethinTKO4, 2:2826 Nov 2016For vacant IBF International light-welterweight title
21Loss17–4 Andrea ScarpaTKO6, 2:5525 Jun 2016For WBC Silver light-welterweight title
20Win17–3 Tommy MartinKO12, 1:3830 Jan 2016Retained Commonwealth and WBC International light-welterweight titles
19Win16–3 Dave RyanTKO10, 1:4312 Sep 2015Won Commonwealth and WBC International light-welterweight titles
18Loss15–3 Dave RyanTKO9, 2:0030 May 2015Lost WBC International light-welterweight title;
For Commonwealth light-welterweight title
17Win15–2 Tyler GoodjohnTKO8, 0:5331 Jan 2015Retained WBC International light-welterweight title
16Win14–2 Leonardo Esteban GonzalezTKO5, 2:1811 Oct 2014Won vacant WBC International light-welterweight title
15Win13–2 Michal DufekTKO4, 2:1719 July 2014Won vacant International Masters light-welterweight title
14Win12–2 Michal VosykaTKO1, 2:5715 Mar 2014
13Win11–2 Calum CooperTKO8, 0:1827 Sep 2013Won vacant British Masters Gold light-welterweight title
12Loss10–2 Dave RyanPTS109 Mar 2013
11Win10–1 Arek MalekPTS86 Dec 2012
10Win9–1 Leon FindlayPTS1012 Oct 2012Retained British Masters Silver welterweight title
9Win8–1 Tommy CowardPTS108 Jun 2012Won vacant British Masters Silver welterweight title
8Loss7–1 Kevin McIntyre37 Jun 2011
7Win7–0 William WarburtonPTS64 Dec 2010
6Win6–0 Matt ScrivenPTS624 Apr 2010
5Win5–0 Rick Boulter2, 3:0021 Mar 2010
4Win4–0 Bheki MoyoTKO2, 2:366 Dec 2009
3Win3–0 Kevin McCauley49 Oct 2009
2Win2–0 Andrew Patterson2, 0:3413 Sep 2009
1Win1–0 Damien Turner1, 2:2521 Jun 2009