Making history has become a common occurrence in modern day sport. Right across the board ‘records’ are broken with alarming regularity, records which have principally been created to serve the increasing demand for content from competitive media outlets.
Subsequently, the significance of such a statement has lost the gravity it once possessed, wheeled out on almost every sporting occasion to provide impetus where it doesn’t belong. We can’t help but become desensitised to the context of these achievements, what has passed before and whether or not they’re indeed worthy of our reverence.
The latest attempt at boxing history takes place within the Agganis Arena, Boston, this Saturday night when British super-middleweight James DeGale takes on American Andre Dirrell for the IBF World super-middleweight title – vacated by Carl Froch earlier in the year.
Victory for DeGale will see him become the first British fighter to ascend to the top of the professional game, having won Olympic Gold during his amateur career. In the world of constant media saturation, his achievement will likely not carry the weight it deserves, but its magnitude should not be under-estimated.
In 107-years of esteemed amateur and professional British boxing history, DeGale represents 14 heroic – both sporting and otherwise – Olympic champions, an exclusive club yet to be bestowed with the sports highest honour.
Fittingly, it was the 4th Olympiad held in London during 1908 when Great Britain first tasted Olympic glory, claiming Gold medals in all 5 contested weight classes (bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight). Actually, of the 15 medals available to the competing nations – Australasia, Denmark, France and Great Britain – the home nation won 14, in a display of dominance befitting of a country that supplied 32 of the competitions 42 participants.
Professional boxing glory avoided all five 1908 Olympic champions, alongside the ability to defend the championships they had earned. In 1912, Swedish authorities deemed boxing unappealing and as a result removed the event from the games. An 8-year absence would ensue in the wake of the outbreak of World War I leading to the cancellation of the 1916 Berlin games.
It was the Great War – as it is oddly referred – which would present these men with their sternest test, but their achievements in the ring will never be forgotten.
Three years after claiming bantamweight Gold, Albert Henry “Harry” Thomas would become a US citizen, where he served honourably in the United States Navy throughout the conflict. In his 7-year professional career Thomas would contest 62 fights, winning 36, of which 16 were decided by sports writer consensus when a no contest was declared. The thought of such a decision method in this day and age makes me shudder – see twitter during DeGale v Dirrell for examples.
Richard Kenneth Gunn became the oldest ever Olympic boxing champion when victorious in the featherweight division just short of his 38 birthday. A career amateur – in which he reportedly lost 1 fight in 15 years – Gunn held the title of British amateur champion from 1894-96 until he was asked to retire due to ‘acknowledged superiority’, before coming out of retirement to claim Gold in 1908.
Lightweight champion Frederick Grace retained his amateur status post Olympics to win ABA titles in 1909, 1913, 1919 and 1920. Grace was the only fighter of the five, who go on to compete unsuccessfully in the 1920 Olympic boxing tournament held in Antwerp.
John “Johnny” Douglas was a cricketer by trade – captaining England on 18 occasions – either side of his 1908 Olympic triumph in the middleweight division. A descendant of John ‘Sholto’ Douglas the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, who lent his name to the rules that form the basis of modern boxing order, Douglas also claimed the 1905 ABA middleweight title.
It took less than 3 minutes for heavyweight Albert Leonard Oldman to win Olympic Gold. The beneficiary of a semi-final bye, Oldman knocked out his foes in both the first stage and final to cement his superiority. A colourful character with a love of literature, Oldman went on to tour the world with ‘Gentleman’ Jim Corbett and the great Jack Johnson.
When Olympic boxing returned in 1920, the available weight classes had swelled to 8, however, British success did not follow the trend. Of the 6 British men to claim medals, only Ronald Rawson Rawson (not a duplication) and Henry William “Harry” Mallin – arguably the best British amateur boxer of all time – claimed Gold.
Rawson was a war hero, serving in the Royal Engineers during the First World War and the recipient of the Military Cross in 1917. When he knocked all three of his opponents out to claim heavyweight Olympic Gold, he was a Captain and reigning ABA heavyweight champion. Upon his retirement his amateur record read 28-0 (27KO’s).
It is said that middleweight Harry Mallin was unbeaten in over 300 amateur contests when he retired. On his journey he collected 5 consecutive British amateur championships from 1919-23, was World amateur champion from 1920-28 and became the first man and the last Brit to defend his Olympic championship in Paris 1924. We can only speculate as to what Mallin might have achieved as a professional, with an amateur career that parallels that of current featherweight wonder Vasyl Lomachenko.
The British medal decline persisted during Paris 1924, which saw a reduction to 4 medallists – two of which were Gold. It was of course Mallin who continued to dominate the middleweight category, joined by 4-time ABA light-heavyweight champion Henry James “Harry” Mitchell who would be the last British Olympic Gold medallist for 32 years, defeating Dane Thyge Petersen in the light-heavyweight final.
The ramifications of two devastating World War’s had taken its toll on a nation whose only medals in the intervening 32-year period were Silver, claimed by middleweight Don Scott and light-heavyweight John Wright in the 1948 games, held once more in London.
When Scotsman Richard “Dick” McTaggart first met Terence “Terry” Spinks boxing for England in 1955, when the latter was only 17, a lifelong friendship defined during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics was formed.
In that first year, they had travelled across the world and toppled it together.
When Spinks took flyweight Gold, he became the country’s first flyweight champion and the youngest Gold medallist in British history at the age of 18 – a record he retains to this day. The popular Spinks – a former apprentice Jockey – went on to an excellent professional career in which he claimed and defended the British featherweight title and retired with a final record of 41-7-1 (13KO’s).
In death his popularity endured, leading to over 200 ex-boxers attending his funeral in mid-2012. McTaggart was of course in attendance, the loss of his great friend landing like body shot he would never recover from.
It was McTaggart who took the games by storm, winning out in the lightweight division and being awarded the prestigious Val Baker Trophy, reserved for the stand-out boxer at the games – previous winners included Teofilo Stevenson (1972), Roy Jones Jnr (1988) and Vasyl Lomachenko (2008).
McTaggart would never go on to become a professional, competing in Rome 1960 (claiming Bronze), Tokyo 1964 (losing in 3rd round) before retiring with a reported remarkable record of 610 win in 634 fights.
The disparity between old-school and modern day Olympic champion boxers has never been shown in a clearer light than when you direct it at the careers of Mexico City 1968 Olympic middleweight Gold medallist Chris Finnegan and Sydney 2000 Olympic super-heavyweight champion Audley Harrison.
Amazingly, similarities do exist between the two men, Finnegan like Harrison was the sole British medallist during his respective games and they became the first two British Olympic champions to contest a legitimate World title fight.
However, when it comes to financial gains from their achievements, all comparisons come to an abrupt end.
Finnegan an out of work labourer with pre-Olympic financial troubles (outstanding National Insurance stamp debt) was highly thought of when he turned over thanks to his Olympic success.
But, highly thought of in the 60’s didn’t pay well and Finnegan had to earn his crust.
In his 15th professional fight he would challenge Tom Bogs (53-1-1 at the time) in Copenhagen for the European middleweight title – he lost a close 15 round decision. Not to be deterred Finnegan went on an 11-fight winning streak, claiming the European light-heavyweight title along the way and earning a shot at unified light-heavyweight champion Bob Foster.
Finnegan was stopped by Foster in the 14th round of a valiant assault at greatness, which led to the fight being awarded ‘Ring Magazine Fight of the Year 1972’. He would add the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles to his record before bringing an end to his stellar career in October 1975, upon reclaiming his British title in a rematch with Johnny Frankham.
Harrison on the other hand was a clear beneficiary of the change of the times, attitudes and the level of coverage available to the masses. His super-heavyweight victory brought to an end Britain’s quest for an amateur king and his rewards were lavish. He turned professional almost immediately, signing a £1m, 10 fight deal with the BBC, the first British boxer to sign a direct broadcast deal.
The results were disastrous, Harrison managed his own affairs, match-making and in the process the gradual turning off of the British general public to boxing. The BBC responded in kind and pulled all boxing from its programming indefinitely.
Audley Harrison went on to have a respectable career, culminating in a complete mismatch for David Haye’s WBA World heavyweight title. Harrison was obliterated in 3-rounds without throwing a punch. He peaked during his Olympic triumph and the mismanagement of his transition has served as an important lesson to British boxing in how to maximise the potential of elite amateur talent.
Finnegan and Harrison scaled the mountain via different roads, but ultimately were unable to plant their flags at its summit. James DeGale has other ideas and when he enters the ring on Saturday night, the Beijing 2008 Gold medallist represents the best opportunity of success yet.
His road has been far from smooth, a victim of post-Olympic poor management in parts, injury and troubles expressing himself in a fan friendly manner.
DeGale turned professional following his outstanding triumph in the Far East – beating Cuban Emilio Correa 16-14 in the final – ripping through the super-middleweight domestic scene in double quick time.
It was archrival George Groves who brought an end to the DeGale charge, winning a debatable 12-round majority decision in London’s O2 Arena. From that moment the DeGale career began to slump ever so slightly and despite avoiding defeat and claiming the European super-middleweight title, he didn’t look the same explosive James DeGale we had saw before.
Now settled with his newly promotional outfit Matchroom and injury free – following knee surgery at Arsenal FC – he has dispatched two respected super-middleweights in Brandon Gonzalez and Marco Antonio Periban in spectacular fashion – looking every bit a World champion in waiting.
Should his coronation be this Saturday, he will create history and become the first British fighter to win Olympic Gold and a legitimate World title. In doing so, he will reap the rewards unavailable to most Olympic champions gone before him, rewards which would have been impossible without their tremendous contributions.
Their history is certainly worthy of remembrance.
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It should be noted now that London 2012 Olympic Gold medallists Luke Campbell and Anthony Joshua remain active and retain genuine prospects of World titles in both lightweight and heavyweight divisions respectively. Both fighters continue to benefit from post-Olympic management experience and remain undefeated.
Additionally, previous Olympic medallists who unfortunately failed to claim Gold, but went on to win legitimate World Titles are as follows;
Alan Minter – WBC & WBA middleweight champion 1980 – Bronze (Munich 1972)
Ritchie Woodhall – WBC super-middleweight champion 1998-99 – Bronze (Seoul 1988)
Robin Reid – WBC super-middleweight champion 1996-97 – Bronze (Barcelona 1992)
Amir Khan – WBA & IBF light-welterweight champion 2009 – 11 – Silver (Athens 2004)
Finally, Pat Cowdell twice challenged for the WBC World featherweight title only to be defeated by Salvadore Sanchez and Azumah Nelson – Cowdell claimed Bronze in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
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