Wikipedia

Chris Evangelou

Christopher Evangelou (12 January 1986) is a British actor and former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2016.[1]

Christopher Evangelou
Born (1986-01-12) 12 January 1986 (age 38)
Wood Green, London, England
NationalityBritish
Other namesThe Flash
Statistics
Weight(s)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights16
Wins13
Wins by KO2
Losses3

Early life

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Christopher Evangelou was born in Wood Green, London in the United Kingdom on 12 January 1986.[2] He is of Greek Cypriot origin.[3]

Growing up, Evangelou and his family would wake up at 3 AM to watch Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and Naseem Hamed fight.[4]

Evangelou's brother, Preston, took up boxing and exposed Chris to boxing in person at an early age.[5]

When Evangelou was 17 he was involved in a verbal altercation in the street. While the incident did not get physical, he said that he felt "an inch tall after that"[6] and he "could've done better," so he decided to start boxing.

Amateur career

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Evangelou started boxing at the Haringey Boxing Gym in Tottenham when he was 17 under coach Chris Hall and had his first amateur fight after 6 months of training.[7] He decided to pursue boxing as a career at age 18.[8] As an amateur, he won 5 international gold medals[9] and a 2006 national champion in the under-20 category. He was recruited to box for Cyprus at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing but he lost his last qualifying match to the number one boxer on the German team.[10] Evangelou turned professional at the age of 23 after an amateur career of 40 fights with 35 wins.[11]

Professional career

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As a professional, Evangelou was offered contracts at several boxing gyms. He went to the Wildcard Boxing Gym in Los Angeles, California to meet acclaimed boxing trainers Freddie Roach and Jesse Reid. After a sparring session, the coaches at the Wildcard Boxing Gym offered Evangelou a contract but he refused because he wanted to stay in the UK, where his family and fans were. He also spent time training with boxing legend Ricky Hatton. Evangelou was considering signing with Hatton's camp and also the camp of Calzaghe Promotions, a boxing organization run by former World Boxing Organization super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. Evangelou finally decided to sign for Matchroom Promotions which is part of the Barry Hearn sporting group.

Evangelou suffered his first defeat on 8 September 2012 to Danny Connor 98–94 in a ten-round competition at London's Alexandra Palace. The decision was questioned by many boxing pundits and professionals who had thought it a clear win for Evangelou. In July 2011, he set a goal to be fighting for an English title by the end of the year.[12] In an interview in March 2012 with World Boxing News, he said that he would like to compete against Darren Hamilton for the Southern Area Belt to earn a spot in the rankings as one of Britain's top 10 fighters.[13]

A rematch with Danny Connor ended with a 97–93 victory to Connor who knocked Evangelou down twice in the 7th round. Evangelou suffered a further loss on 30 November 2013 on points 56–59 to Ashley Mayall making a 3rd defeat in a row.[14]

In 2014 Evangelou won both bouts he contested, a points win 40–37 over journeyman Dan Carr and a first-round KO of Mick Mills.

Evangelou was scheduled to face Zoran Cvek on 27 September 2014 for the International Masters Welterweight Title.

Evangelou is managed by his father Costakis Evangelou, who handles publicity and sponsorship for his son.[15]

Evangelou's older brother Andreas "The Ace" Evangelou is also a boxer and is undefeated in the light heavyweight division.[16]

Professional boxing record

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16 fights 13 wins 3 losses
By knockout 2 0
By decision 11 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
16 Win 13–3   James Gorman PTS 4 12 Mar 2016   York Hall, London, England
15 Win 12–3   Zoran Cvek PTS 10 27 Sep 2014   York Hall, London, England Won vacant International Masters welterweight title
14 Win 11–3   Mick Mills KO 1 (6), 3:09 12 Jul 2014   York Hall, London, England
13 Win 10–3   Dan Carr PTS 4 22 Feb 2014   York Hall, London, England
12 Loss 9–3   Ashley Mayall PTS 6 30 Nov 2013   Copper Box Arena, London, England
11 Loss 9–2   Cassius Connor PTS 10 9 Mar 2013   Wembley Arena, London, England For Southern Area super-lightweight title
10 Loss 9–1   Cassius Connor PTS 10 8 Sep 2012   Alexandra Palace, London, England For vacant Southern Area super-lightweight title
9 Win 9–0   Joel Ryan PTS 4 9 Nov 2011   York Hall, London, England
8 Win 8–0   Jon Baguley PTS 4 23 Jul 2011   Wembley Arena, London, England
7 Win 7–0   Ibrar Riyaz PTS 4 30 Apr 2011   Olympia, London, England
Win 6–0   Jason Nesbitt PTS 4 19 Feb 2011   Wembley Arena, London, England
5 Win 5–0   Arek Malek PTS 6 27 Nov 2010   Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland
4 Win 4–0   Aaron Fox PTS 4 9 Jul 2010   York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0   Marius Jasutis KO 1 (4), 0:49 9 Apr 2010   Alexandra Palace, London, England
2 Win 2–0   Johnny Greaves PTS 4 12 Feb 2010   York Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0   Kristian Laight PTS 4 18 Dec 2009   York Hall, London, England

Acting career

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Evangelou retired from boxing to pursue acting. [17] He appeared in the Guy Ritchie film, The Gentlemen, as a boxer/hitman named "Primetime."[18] Later in 2020, Evangelou released a short film called Shadow Boxer that tackled the topic of mental health in the boxing community. [19] The short was sent to the film festival circuit. [20]

In 2023, Evangelou started portraying Troy in EastEnders.

References

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  1. ^ Boxrec | Chris Evangelou professional record. Retrieved 8 April 2012
  2. ^ [1].Boxrec.com
  3. ^ Rickson, Tim (23 March 2020). "Retired boxer Chris Evangelou finds salvation in acting". British Boxing News. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  4. ^ Blaine Henry (10 April 2020). "Chris Evangelou: Boxer Turned Actor". Fight-Library.com.
  5. ^ Blaine Henry (10 April 2020). "Chris Evangelou: Boxer Turned Actor". Fight-Library.com.
  6. ^ Foley Paul, "The Flash-Boxing's newest superhero" The Morning Star, 8 July 2010
  7. ^ Simpson, David (11 December 2009). Boxrec | Interview with Chris 'The Flash' Evangelou ahead of his debut Archived 23 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 April 2012
  8. ^ Boxingprospects.tv | Chris Evangelou Interview
  9. ^ Foley Paul, "The Flash-Boxing's newest superhero" The Morning Star, 8 July 2010
  10. ^ Boxingprospects.tv | Chris Evangelou interview
  11. ^ Jay, Phil (8 March 2012). Wbn-World Boxing News: 12 rounds with Chris "The Flash" Evangelou Archived 23 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 April 2012
  12. ^ Stafford, Dominique (21 July 2011).NORTHLONDON TODAY | SPORTS | Evangelou sets his sights on fighting for the English title. Retrieved 9 April 2012
  13. ^ Jay, Phil (8 March 2012). Wbn-World Boxing News: 12 rounds with Chris "The Flash" Evangelou Archived 23 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 April 2012
  14. ^ "World Boxing News - Chris Evangelou loses Frank Warren debut, drops third fight in a row". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  15. ^ Boxingprospects.tv | Costakis Evangelou Interview
  16. ^ Boxrec | Andreas Evangelou professional record
  17. ^ Blaine Henry (10 April 2020). "Chris Evangelou: Boxer Turned Actor". Fight-Library.com.
  18. ^ Blaine Henry (10 April 2020). "Chris Evangelou: Boxer Turned Actor". Fight-Library.com.
  19. ^ Blaine Henry (10 April 2020). "Chris Evangelou: Boxer Turned Actor". Fight-Library.com.
  20. ^ Blaine Henry (10 April 2020). "Chris Evangelou: Boxer Turned Actor". Fight-Library.com.
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