George 'Digger' Stanley (28 February 1876 – 7 March 1919) was an English boxer who was British and European
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...
boxing champion.
Early life
Stanley was a
gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
, and was born in a caravan at
Kingston-upon-Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
. He could not read or write, but developed into a clever boxer. His early boxing career was spent fighting in fairground booths.
Professional career
He began boxing professionally in 1899. In November 1903 he won the vacant British bantamweight title and in December of the same year he won the British flyweight title, but the titles were not recognised by the
British Boxing Board of Control until 1909.
In October 1910 he fought Joe Bowker for the British and European bantamweight titles. He scored an eighth-round knockout to secure the titles. Stanley was also recognised by the
National Sporting Club
The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation.
Origins
The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...
as the holder of the World bantamweight title, although he was not recognised as such in America.
In December 1910 he defended his British title against Johnny Condon, winning on points. In September 1911 he defended it again, against Ike Bradley, again winning on points.
In April and June 1912, he defended his European title twice against the Frenchman,
Charles Ledoux. He won the first fight in
Covent Garden on points, but lost the second fight in
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
, being knocked out in the seventh round.
In October 1912, he successfully defended his British title against Alex Lafferty, winning on points.
In June 1913, he lost his British title to
Bill Beynon, on points, but four months later he beat Benyon on points to regain it. However, in his next defence, in April 1914, he lost the British title to
Curley Walker
Curley Walker (4 February 1894 – 1973) was a British boxer who was British bantamweight champion between 1914 and 1915.
Career
Born in Bermondsey and based in Bermondsey, Cornelius "Curley" Walker made his professional debut in August 1909. I ...
on a disqualification in the thirteenth.
He continued to box but had only ten more fights, losing eight of them and winning two.
He had his last fight in February 1919, losing to Mike Blake, and died a month later, in poverty.
Lonsdale belt
In 1909, the
National Sporting Club
The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation.
Origins
The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...
began awarding a
Lonsdale Belt to the British champion at each weight. The belts were made from 22 carat gold and enamel. Digger Stanley was awarded the first bantamweight belt and was allowed to retain it after successfully defending his British title.
Professional boxing record
All
newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club ...
s are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.
See also
*
List of British bantamweight boxing champions
The following is a table showing the boxers who have won the British bantamweight title. The title has been sanctioned by the National Sporting Club since 1909, and later by its replacement British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) since 1929.
A ...
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Digger
1876 births
1919 deaths
English male boxers
Bantamweight boxers
European Boxing Union champions