Jim Rock
Name: Jim Rock
Alias: The Pink Panther
Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 180cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record
Jim Rock aka The Pink Panther (born 12 March 1972 in Dublin, Ireland) is a professional boxer and IBC Middleweight Title and Irish Super Middleweight champion. Rock usually fights at middleweight or the divisions either side.
Background
Rock was born into a large family in the Blanchardstown area of west Dublin in 1972. Rock is a brother of Irish hip-hop artist Ste V Roc and a cousin of former Irish welterweight champion Robbie Murray.
Out of the ring, Rock is a successful businessman and entrepreneur and runs a car dealership in Dublin, dealing in high class motor vehicles such as Mercedes, Ferrari and BMW. Rock fights for the love of the sport and has been known to denote the earnings from fights to charity.
In 2003, Rock trained Irish-American actor Matthew McConaughey in preparation for his role in the film Reign of Fire.
In March 2007, Rock fought a five round exhibition fight in Dublin against former Olympic champion Michael Carruth.
Along with Mick Dowling, Rock is a co-presenter of RTE's boxing broadcasts.
Career
Rock boxed as an amateur before turning professional in November 1995, winning his first fight at the Point Depot in Dublin, in which Rock beat previously unbeaten Craig Lynch on an undercard that included Steve Collins and Eamonn Magee.
Rock is a vetran of the Dublin professional fight scene however he fights out of the Breen Gym in Belfast. Rock is a former WAA Inter-Continental European Super Middleweight Title, IBC Middleweight Title, WBF Continental European Light Middleweight Title, Irish Light Middleweight Title and Irish Super Middleweight Title holder and current Irish Middleweight Title holder. However, agrueable his biggest fight to date was against Margate based Iranian, Mehrdud "Takaloo" Takalobigashi for the WBU Light Middleweight Title which took place in Belfast's Odyssey Arena in February 2003. Rock lost this keenly contested fight to an explosive over hand right knock out defeat in the ninth round.
Brian Peters
Rock currently fights on Brian Peters promotions which are broadcast on Irish station RTE and is unbeaten since 2003. Derry fighter John Duddy has displayed interest in taking on Dubliner for the Irish middleweight title. Duddy's management attended Rock's June 3, 2006 fight against Kevin Phelan in Dublin, a seventh round TKO victory for Rock. The fight was initially scheduled for September 29, 2006 at Madison Square Garden, but has then postponed, for a November 2006 bout in Dublin, Ireland which again did not materialise.
The speculation of a potential superfight against John Duddy continued to into 2007 and a bill including a Duddy/Rock match up and a Bernard Dunne title defense is planned for late summer 2007.