Profile of Brian Nielsen on Famous Like Me

Brian Nielsen (born April 1, 1965 in Korsør, Denmark). Danish boxer who won a bronze medal in the super heavyweight division at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and turned pro shortly after.

Nielsen's pro career looked obscure at first, but things started to change after his fifth-round stoppage of former WBA champion James 'Bonecrusher' Smith in October, 1994. That win seemed to boost Nielsen's confidence, and through better performances combined with skillful matchmaking, he began to climb the rankings. Nielsen earned a reputation of a man who could take a punch and didn't mind trading them with his opponents. A chubby fighter who always looked somewhat out of shape, he won many of his fights by simply wearing out the opposition. During his career, he defeated a number of former world champions, including Jeff Lampkin, Tony Tubbs, Carlos De Leon, Larry Holmes, Tim Witherspoon, Orlin Norris and Uriah Grant, all of whom were past their prime when they faced Nielsen.

Nielsen's record won him a shot at a world title with one of boxing's minor sanctioning organizations. In January of 1996, he became the International Boxing Organization's heavyweight champion of the world when he stopped Tony LaRosa in the second round. He would defend the IBO title five times, most notably by a split decision against Larry Holmes in January, 1997. Along the way, Nielsen equalled the legendary Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0. However, this is not generally recognized as a record, since Nielsen never won the world championship of a major sanctioning organization.

His 50th fight was a disaster, as he lost an absurd match against Dicky Ryan in June, 1999. Nielsen was stopped by the referee in the 10th without being hit by his opponent. He was hospitalized and found to be suffering from massive dehydration. Although the bout had not been classified as a title fight, the IBO still stripped Nielsen of their title as a consequence of his defeat. He would later win a rematch against Ryan by decision.

He quickly came back and continued his string of victories, leading to an International Boxing Council world championship fight against Troy Weida, whom Nielsen knockouted in the eighth round in January, 2000. He defended his second minor championship twice before finally landing the opponent of his dreams: Mike Tyson.

Nielsen faced Tyson in the Parken Stadium of Copenhagen on October 13, 2001. He put on a courageous performance but was outclassed and didn't come out to the seventh round. After Tyson, Nielsen had two more fights but didn't seem to have the heart anymore, and he wisely decided to call it quits. He won his last fight by decision against Uriah Grant on April 19, 2002.

Nielsen's pro record stands at an impressive 64 wins to only 2 losses, with 43 wins by knockout.

Nielsen went by the nickname of 'Super Brian'. He always entered the ring to the tune of Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. This streak of dark humour was typical of Nielsen, who wasn't afraid of putting on a show, often clowning about or jeering his opponent. His cheerful attitude, snappy interview remarks and courageous displays in the ring won the hearts of Danish boxing fans and made him a household name in his home country. He is in all likelihood the most popular prizefighter ever to have fought out of Denmark.

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