Successful British Boxers

The 1908 Olympic Games in London British Boxers Cleaned Up The Medals

Among British amateur boxers, only those who won Olympic gold medals tended to achieve recognition beyond the limits of boxing enthusiasts. They included Harry Mallin Middleweight , 1920 and 1924, Terry Spinks Flyweight, 1956, Dick McTaggart Lightweight, 1956 and Christ Finnegan Middleweight, 1968. In 1908, at the Olympic Games in London, five weight divisions were contested, Bantam weight, Featherweight, Lightweight, Middleweight and Heavyweight. British boxers won them all, and four of the finals were all-British! It is the professional side of boxing, however, that has produced the celebrities whose activities the public have generally followed. In the period between bare knuckle pugilism and post Queensberry boxing, Jem Mace was important. He carried many of the traditions of the old London Prize-Ring, but promoted the use of gloves and helped to popularize the sport in the United States and Australia. In the post Queensberry era, the first British fighter to achieve superstar status was Bob Fitzsimmons.

Britain Became A Popular Place For Title-Fights In The 1950s And 1960s

In 1909, the first of twenty-two belts were presented by the fifth Earl of Lonsdale to the winner of a British title-fight held at the N.S.C. In 1929, the B.B.B.C. continued to award Lonsdale Belts to any British boxer who won three title-fights in the same weight division. The "title fight" has always been the focal point in professional boxing. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, however, there were title-fights at each weight. Promoters who could stage profitable title-fights became influential in the sport. So, too, did boxers' managers. The best promoters and managers have been instrumental in bringing boxing to new audiences and provoking mass media and public interest.. In Britain, Jack Solomon's success as a fight promoter helped re-establish professional boxing after the World WarII and made Britain a popular place for title-fights in the 1950s and 1960s.

Little Boxing Wizards of Wales And Scotland

Bob Fitzsimmons weighed less than 12 stone but won world titles at Middleweight 1892, Heavyweight 1897 and Light heavyweight 1903. He fought his last bout at the age of fifty-two. Successful fighters have provoked fierce local pride. More recently Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis have won World titles in the Heavyweight division. Bruno in 1995. Lewis is three times World Heavyweight Champion 1993,1998 and 2001. The best example was Jimmy Wilde, a Welsh Flyweight who won the world Flyweight Championship in 1916 and held it until 1923. He once had a sequence of eighty-eight fights without defeat. Between 1911 The Welsh boxing fans commonly believed him to be the best boxer, pound for pound boxer that ever lived. He was described as the Mighty Atom and the ghost with a hammer in his hand Freddy Hall Thoomas, from Pontypridd, won the Lightweight title in 1912. The Scots had a similar pride in Benny Lynch, a Flyweight from Glasgow, who held the world Flyweight title in 1935 and again in 1937. Over the years, Scots have had great success at this weight; Jackie Paterson won the title in 1943 and Walter McGowan in 1966. Ken Buchanan won the Lightweight title in 1971 and Jim Watt in 1980. In Northern Ireland, Rinty Monahan held the Flyweight title from 1947 to 1950.

In England, Referees Are Not Allowed To Score In Title Fights

In England judges might score the fight under a 5 point must system instead, and they might also award half a point to the loser example 4 and a half points if desired, except when a world title fight is being held. Although generally referees do not act as judges, in England, referees are sometimes allowed to score too, although they can not score in world title fights held in the UK. In the rare case a fight can not go on because of an injury caused to one of the competitors by a headbutt, there are different rules: If the fight has not reached the end of round three, in some places, round four, the fight is automatically declared a technical draw. If it has reached beyond the end of round three or four, then the scorecards are read and whoever is ahead, wins by a technical decision. Serious injuries are far more common in professional boxing, a sport with considerable though waning spectator appeal, but with a large number of dubious organisations promoting world championship bouts, some with long connection to organised crime.

Tragic Death Of A Boxer

In the past, matches were traditionally fought for up to fifteen rounds in professional boxing, but the tragic death of boxer Duk Koo Kim in November of 1982 after a fight with Ray Mancini began to change that. By 1988, all fights had been reduced to a maximum of 12 rounds only. With the discovery, in April of 2004, that Heavyweight Joe Mesi, a relatively new comer was an undefeated prospect, but that night he suffered several blood clots to his brain during a win against Vassiliy Jirov. More medical testing may be required for professional boxers before a fight is scheduled. However, as of May, 2004, doctors have only said that they will look further into the matter.

Successful British Boxers