Page 3 Profile: Curtis Woodhouse, boxer

Carl Woodhouse (Rex Features)

Has he won a title?

On the contrary, boxer Curtis Woodhouse dropped his light-welterweight belt this weekend in a controversial split decision. The former Birmingham City footballer has, however, gained a legion of fans after confronting a Twitter troll. A spineless individual going by the handle @jimmyob88 fired a torrent of abuse at Woodhouse, calling him a “complete disgrace”, an “awful boxer” and ordering him to “retire immediately”. Taunting the athlete, he said: “What you going to do knock me out like your last opponent ooops.”

What an absolute fool

Had Jimmy been able to tear his hands away from his keyboard for just a few seconds, he might have stepped back and realised the error of his ways. He might have considered that in 2001, when a thief tried to steal one of former champion boxer Nigel Benn’s bags at Gatwick airport, the robber was apprehended with a vicious headlock. Last year, when six men tried to steal Amir Khan’s £100,000 Range Rover, they “got dropped one by one” according to a witness. Of course, it is the veil of anonymity that gives trolls their lifeblood and offers them the chance to say things they would never dare in real life. But Mr Woodhouse decided he would attempt to lift that veil. He offered £1,000 to anyone who could provide him with the troll’s name and address.

Uh-oh!

When it became clear the troll’s address had been identified, he backtracked, saying: “Chill out pal I was only doing it so you would bite back it was only a bit of harmless fun.” Sadly, Mr Woodhouse was having some harmless fun of his own, threatening to give him a “right pasting” and “film it” for everyone to see. However, when he arrived at the Sheffield house, the troll had either fled or was cowering indoors.

What a shame

Though he never got his hands on his prey, the boxer earned plaudits from his thousands of Twitter followers, as well as Lennox Lewis and former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Hopefully, this episode will have taught some trolls a valuable real-life lesson.