The crazy life of Curtis Woodhouse seems to finally be settling down
It’s fair to say most professional athletes have lived an eventful life that most mere mortals can only dream of. But when it comes to Curtis Woodhouse, that viewpoint can be classed as a major understatement.
Woodhouse has lived a life most people can only dream of
Curtis Woodhouse has been a professional footballer and then a professional boxer. Just for good measure, he’s now involved in football again, managing at Marske United FC of the Northern Premier League.
It sounds like a cliche, but Woodhouse is a tough guy from the north of England. He is probably best remembered for his spell at Sheffield United early in his career when he also played four times for England’s Under-21 side. Woodhouse’s Sheffield United team was in the Championship back then, a place they find themselves again now. They are currently fighting for a return to the Premier League, where they are just -400 with the best bookmakers for taking football bets to get back to the promised land.
The Championship is where Sheffield United was when Woodhouse was playing for the Blades. He left the Blades in a million-pound transfer to Birmingham City in 2001, where among other things (he managed to get arrested and charged with affray) he reached the Premier League with the Blues in 2002.
The club are delighted to announce the appointment of Curtis Woodhouse as first team manager.
Curtis brings a plethora of management experience to the club, most notably during his time at Gainsborough Trinity, where he surpassed expectations in the NPL. pic.twitter.com/wapxzcAhmM
— Marske United FC (@MarskeUnitedFC) November 2, 2022
Things never really worked out for Woodhouse after promotion, and after only three matches in the top flight of English football, Woodhouse was loaned out to Rotherham United (playing in the third tier of the football pyramid). From there his football career never really got going again, and Woodhouse drifted around the lower leagues before eventually quitting the sport in 2006 to take up boxing.
Combining professional boxing with English football
Woodhouse had one fight at a professional level, beating Dean Marcantonio before a previous indiscretion led to another police charge, which led to the suspension of his boxing license. So off he trotted again, and ended up back in football, this time at Rushden and Diamonds.
Woodhouse soon got himself his boxing license back though and remarkably had four fights in 2007, whilst also playing semi-professional football for the Diamonds in the Conference Premier. Woodhouse continued combining playing at this level (he also had a brief stint with Mansfield Town), whilst fighting professionally until 2009 when he finally quit football to focus on boxing.
Happy Boxing Day guys. Hands up, chin down, bombs away — pic.twitter.com/6P6x7SfNVq
— Curtis Woodhouse (@curtiswoodhous8) December 26, 2022
In the end, Curtis Woodhouse fought on until 2017, finishing with a career record of 24 wins, and seven losses from his 31-fight career. He achieved the highs of becoming both English and British Light Welterweight boxing champions. To do what he did in both sports to a reasonable level of quality was quite an achievement, and just goes to show the grit and determination of the man.
In 2021, Woodhouse was awarded a BEM for services to boxing and football. He openly admits he thought it was a wind-up and couldn’t understand getting such an award. These days Woodhouse not only manages Marske but is also the founder of ‘It Starts Monday’, a movement that focuses on mental health and well-being, putting all his fighting and sporting knowledge to good use. Finally, Woodhouse’s crazy life seems to have settled down.
