Alan Sydney Minter (17 August 19519 September 2020) was a British
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 1972 to 1981. He held the
undisputed
Undisputed may refer to:
Film
* ''Undisputed'' (film), a 2002 action-thriller-drama film
** ''Undisputed'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film
* Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, a 2006 American martial arts film
* Undisputed III: Redempt ...
middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
title in 1980, having previously held the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
middleweight title from 1975 to 1976, and the
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
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* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
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middleweight title twice between 1977 and 1979. As an
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
, Minter won a bronze medal in the
light-middleweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the International Boxing Federation, IBF or ...
division at the
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
.
Early life
Minter was born in
Penge
Penge () is a suburb of South East London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross.
History
Penge was once a small hamlet, which was recorded under the name Pence ...
,
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...
, Kent, to his German-born mother Anne Minter,
and his father Syd Minter, a plasterer.
His family moved to
Crawley
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
,
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
, and he joined Crawley Boxing Club at aged 11,
training under John Hillier and Dougie Bidwell.
Amateur career
Minter took part at the 1970 European Junior Championships at the middleweight division, but in the very first fight he was stopped in the 2-nd round by
Vyacheslav Lemeshev
Vyacheslav Ivanovich Lemeshev (russian: Вячеслав Иванович Лемешев) (April 3, 1952 in Moscow — January 27, 1996) was an Olympic boxing, Olympic boxer from the Soviet Union, USSR. Soviet physiologists, while exa ...
(
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
). Because Minter was the 1971
Amateur Boxing Association of England Middleweight Champion, he was selected to box for UK in the Olympics 1972.
He won a bronze medal at the 1972
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in the
light-middleweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the International Boxing Federation, IBF or ...
classification, losing in the semifinal to
Dieter Kottysch
Dieter Kottysch (30 June 1943 – 9 April 2017) was a German amateur middleweight boxer; he competed for West Germany in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1972.
1968 Olympic results
Below are the results of Dieter Kottysch ...
of West Germany by a 3-2 marginal decision which was hotly disputed.
Kottysch went on to win the gold medal.
1972 Olympic results
Minter's results at the 1972 Munich Olympics are as follows:
* Round of 64: bye
* Round of 32: Defeated
Reggie Ford (Guyana) by second-round knockout
* Round of 16: Defeated
Valeri Tregubov
Valery Tregubov (19 March 1942 – 1986) was a Russian boxer. He competed in the men's light middleweight event at the 1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly k ...
(Soviet Union) by decision, 5–0
* Quarterfinal: Defeated
Loucif Hamani
Loucif Hamani (15 May 1950 – 9 November 2021) was an Algerian boxer who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in the light-middleweight event where he reached the quarter finals before losing to Alan Minter of Great Britain. Earlier, Hama ...
(Algeria) by decision, 4–1
* Semifinal: Lost to
Dieter Kottysch
Dieter Kottysch (30 June 1943 – 9 April 2017) was a German amateur middleweight boxer; he competed for West Germany in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1972.
1968 Olympic results
Below are the results of Dieter Kottysch ...
(West Germany) by decision, 2–3 (was awarded bronze medal)
Professional career
Minter began his professional career with 11 straight wins,
the first against Maurice Thomas in London on 31 October 1972, winning by knockout in the 6th round.
Minter won his first five fights by knockout until 16 January 1973, when Pat Dwyer went the distance, Minter taking the fight on points.
Minter won his next five fights, three by knockout,
before being defeated for the first time after the referee stopped the fight in the eighth round against "Scottish" Don McMillan due to bad cuts suffered by Minter. Two more wins followed before facing Jan Magdziarz, who beat him twice in a row (once in the eighth and once in the sixth) again due to cuts.
1974 was a mixed year for Minter, beating
Tony Byrne by a decision in eight,
losing in two to Ricky Torres (again on cuts),
having a third fight with Magdziarz, resulting in a no contest,
closing the year with a win against Shako Mamba in
Hamburg, Germany
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
.
In 1975, he won four fights in a row, including another bout in Hamburg and, by the end of the year, he challenged
Kevin Finnegan
Kevin Finnegan (18 April 1948 – 23 October 2008) was an English boxer.
Finnegan's older brother Chris was an Olympic gold medalist and also a professional boxer. Early in his career when Kevin was still an amateur he was banned for 18 mont ...
for the British
Middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
title, winning it by a 15-round decision.
In 1976, he won six fights, to extend his streak to ten consecutive wins.
Among the boxers he beat were Billy Knight by a knockout
and Finnegan once again, by decision in 15,
both in defence of his British title,
along with former world title challenger Tony Licata,
knocked out in six and United States Olympic Games Gold medal winner
Sugar Ray Seales,
in five rounds. These wins gave Minter a ranking among the top ten Middleweight challengers.
In 1977, he won the European Middleweight title by beating Germano Valsecchi by a knockout in five in Italy.
But in his next fight his winning streak ended when he lost to former world title challenger
Ronnie Harris by a knockout in eight.
Minter returned to top ten challenger status by upsetting the former World
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
and
Light Middleweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
Champion
Emile Griffith
Emile Alphonse Griffith (February 3, 1938 – July 23, 2013) was a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who won world titles in three weight divisions. He held the world light middleweight, undisputed welterweight, and middleweight t ...
with a ten-round decision win in
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
,
but then he lost his European title to Gratien Tonna by a knockout in eight at
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
.
He closed '77 with a third 15-round decision win over Finnegan to retain his British title.
1978 was a sad year for Minter, although he won all three of his bouts. On 15 February, at the
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
–
Leon Spinks
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
I undercard in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, he won his first bout in the United States by knocking out Sandy Torres in five.
Then, he went to Italy once again to regain his European Middleweight title by knocking out Angelo Jacopucci in twelve rounds.
Jacopucci died a few days afterwards, due to injuries sustained in the bout.
Minter finished his year by avenging his loss to Tonna with a six-round knockout.
In 1979, Minter won all four of his fights, two of them by knockout. On 16 March 1980, in Las Vegas, he was given a shot at World Middleweight Champion
Vito Antuofermo
Vito Antuofermo (; born February 9, 1953) is an Italian American actor and retired professional boxer. He is a former undisputed World Middleweight Champion.
Background
Antuofermo was born in Italy, in the town of Palo del Colle, about inland ...
's title at
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks.
Caesars P ...
. He won the title by a 15-round split decision
in which the judges' scorecards varied wildly. A Venezuelan judge had Minter losing the fight, while the British judge (Roland Dakin) had Minter winning 13 of the 15 rounds. In a rematch held three months later in London on 28 June, Minter retained the world title by a TKO in eight rounds.
On 27 September 1980, Minter's short run as world champion came to an abrupt end when he was stopped on cuts in the third round against 'Marvelous'
Marvin Hagler
Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) was an American professional boxer and film actor. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight divisi ...
at
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
in London. The fight was controversial owing to a racist remark Minter made during the build-up, which Minter had later tried to qualify, and then by a crowd riot once the referee had agreed with Minter's corner that he was unable to continue, with chairs, bottles and glasses being hurled into the ring after the decision.
Minter beat fringe contender Ernie Singletary in London, in 1981,
but after losses to future Hagler challengers
Mustafa Hamsho
Mustafa Hamsho ( ar, مصطفى حمشو; born 10 October 1953) is a Syrian former professional boxer who competed from 1975 to 1989, challenging twice for the undisputed middleweight world title in 1981 and 1984.
Professional career
The Syrian ...
in Las Vegas
and
Tony Sibson in London,
he retired for good.
He left boxing with a record of 39 wins, 9 losses and 1 no contest, with 23 wins by knockout.
Death
Minter died of cancer in September 2020, in
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
at the age of 69.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of middleweight boxing champions Championship recognition
1884–1910
Champions were recognized by public acclamation. A champion in that era was a fighter who had a notable win over another fighter and kept winning afterward. Retirements or disputed results could lead to a cha ...
*
List of WBC world champions
This is a list of WBC world champions, showing every world champion certificated by the World Boxing Council (WBC). The WBC is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and certifies world champions in 18 different weight cla ...
References
External links
*
Alan Minter profileat Cyber Boxing Zone
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minter, Alan
1951 births
2020 deaths
Sportspeople from Crawley
English male boxers
Olympic boxers of Great Britain
Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
World middleweight boxing champions
Southpaw boxers
England Boxing champions
Olympic medalists in boxing
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Light-middleweight boxers
The Ring (magazine) champions
European Boxing Union champions
World Boxing Association champions
World Boxing Council champions
British Boxing Board of Control champions
Deaths from cancer in England