Frank Moody (27 August 1900 – 29 July 1963) was a Welsh

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who fought between 1914 and 1936. He is most notable for winning the British and Empire middleweight boxing championship in 1927 and 1928 and the light-heavyweight title from 1927 to 1929.

Boxing career

Early career

Moody was born in

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

and came from a large family, and was one of seven brothers to fight in the boxing ring. Moody began working down a coal mine at the age of eleven. By the time he was thirteen, he had begun boxing, with his first recorded fight, against "Kid Evans", taking place in

Tonypandy Tonypandy is a town, community and electoral ward located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, the town ...

at the age of fourteen. His early fights as a youth were mainly held in South Wales, with a few ventures to Plymouth and Liverpool. Some of his early notable bouts included a win over Australian Jack Mignot at Covent Garden and a points loss to Freddie Jacks at

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

. Moody gained the nickname "The Pontypridd Puncher" and was notable for his powerful right hand delivery. By 1919, Moody was fighting on a regular basis, sometimes twice a week. His biggest match to date came on 13 January 1920, when he faced

Ted "Kid" Lewis Ted "Kid" Lewis (born Gershon Mendeloff; 28 October 1893 – 20 October 1970) was an English professional boxer who twice won the World Welterweight Championship (147 lb). Lewis is often ranked among the all-time greats, with ESPN ranking ...

at the

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in Manchester. Although scheduled for twenty rounds, Moody was out-classed by his opponent, losing to Lewis by a first round knock-out. His following boxing career was solid if unspectacular, fighting little known opponents, with some success, around Britain.

Fights in the United States

Moody's fortunes changed when in October 1923 he travelled to the United States to fight a series of bouts, beginning in

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. He won three arranged bouts in

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, and then beat Jackie Clark in

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

on 30 November. On 10 December 1923, Moody fought and beat Young Fisher at Madison Square Garden in New York. This was followed by a points defeat to Lou Bogash in Boston, in February 1924. After a handful of fights in the US, Moody faced Bogash again, this time winning by technical knock-out, and in the fight was reported to be the first person to floor Bogash in a contest. After his victory over Bogash, Moody won two more contests in Massachusetts, over experienced American boxers, George Robinson and Jock Malone.Jock Malone – The Boston Fighter Who Kept His Promise
boxinginsider.com In contrast, his subsequent four fights saw his worst run whilst in America, though facing formidable opposition. Just three days after his victory over Malone, Moody travelled to

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

, to fight world middleweight champion

Harry Greb Edward Henry Greb (June 6, 1894 – October 22, 1926) was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Pittsburgh Windmill", he is widely regarded by many boxing historians as one of the best pound for pound boxers of all time. He was the Ame ...

. Greb stayed out of the reach of Moody's powerful right, and floored the Welshman in the fourth round with a powerful body shot; and after that Moody had little fight left, being knocked out for the count after a barrage of blows in the sixth. This was followed by defeats in rematches to Bogash and Malone, before facing future light heavyweight champion of the world,

Jack Delaney Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

. Delaney won the fight in the fifth on a technical knock-out. After the Delaney contest, Moody took an uncharacteristic two-month break, before returning to fight Pat McCarthy, who had himself just fought Delaney. Moody won the fight with a first round knock-out, but then lost his next fight to New York's Jeff Smith. After a handful of fights in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, Moody was given a shot at

Kid Norfolk Kid Norfolk (born William Ward, 10 July 1893 – 15 April 1968) was an American professional boxer who fought as a Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight from 1910 through 1926, holding wins over many notable boxers of his day including Joe Jeanette ...

in a match staged at the

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, New York. Moody proved a strong opponent, stopping Norfolk in the fourth round, though Norfolk was at the end of his career, and this would be his penultimate fight. Moody fought another nineteen matches in the United States, including contests against

Tiger Flowers Theodore "Tiger" Flowers (August 5, 1895 – November 16, 1927) was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Georgia Deacon", he rose to prominence in the early 20th century, becoming the first African-American World Middleweight Boxing ...

Maxie Rosenbloom Max Everitt Rosenbloom (November 6, 1906 – March 6, 1976) was an American professional boxer, actor, and television personality. Nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie", he was inducted into '' The Ring's'' Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972, the International Je ...

and

Dave Shade Dave Shade (March 3, 1902 – June 23, 1983) was an American boxer who was active from 1918 to the 1935 and amassed a total of nearly 250 bouts fought during the course of his career.

; and on 16 August 1926 he beat

Del Fontaine Del Fontaine ne Raymond Henry Bousquet (22 February 1904 – 29 October 1935) was a Canadian boxer who fought between 1925 and 1935. He is most notable within boxing for winning the Canadian middleweight boxing championship in 1926 and again in ...

, future Canadian middleweight champion, which was Moody's only fight in Canada.

British return

In December 1926, Moody was back in Britain and in his first few weeks back in Wales, he was boxing in Cardiff, beating Joe Bloomfield in the fourth round. Just two months later Moody was carded to fight

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at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

for the vacant British and Empire middleweight titles. Moody lifted the middleweight belt by beating Todd in a points decision. On 11 April 1927, Moody fought

Gipsy Daniels William "Gipsy" Daniels (9 February 1903 – June 1967), was a Welsh Light-heavyweight boxing champion of Britain who, in an eighteen-year career, took in 141 contests, including eight fights in New York City, and notably knocked out Max Schmeli ...

for the Welsh Light Heavyweight title, but lost on points in a 20-round fight. After a victory over Jack Stanley, he then travelled to Italy for his first fight on mainland Europe, losing to Michele Bonaglia, who would later become the Italian champion. Following the Bonglia defeat, Moody won five straight contests on British soil, before facing

Ted Moore Ted Moore, (7 August 1914 – 1987) was a South African-British cinematographer known for his work on seven of the James Bond films in the 1960s and early 1970s. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Fred Zinnemann's ...

for the British Light Heavyweight title, which had been vacated by fellow Welshman, Gipsy Daniels. The fight went the full 20 rounds, with Moody winning on points. Moody was now fighting with less frequency, and on 6 August 1928 he travelled to Glasgow to face

Tommy Milligan Thomas Milligan (2 March 1904 – 17 December 1970) born in Shieldmuir, Wishaw was a Scottish professional welter/middleweight boxer of the 1920s. Early years Milligan was a childhood friend of Hughie Gallacher. While Gallacher decided on ...

for the British middleweight title, which Moody had vacated earlier. Milligan was knocked out in the first round, but Moody would lose his newly recaptured title just three weeks later when he was defeated by

Alexander Ireland Alexander Ireland may refer to: * Alexander Ireland (boxer) (1901–1966), Scottish amateur and professional welter/middleweight boxer * Alexander Ireland (journalist) Alexander Ireland (1810–1894) was a Scottish journalist, man of letters, a ...

. That was Moody's final fight of 1928, and in 1929 he fought just four times, which included a win over Italy's

Leone Jacovacci Leone may refer to: Geography *Leone, American Samoa *Monte Leone, mountain in the ''Leone-Gruppe'' as part of Western Alps *Sierra Leone, independent nation in West Africa Leone as a given name * Leone Battista Alberti (1404–1472), Italian R ...

, a loss to the great

Len Harvey Leonard Austen Harvey (11 July 1907 – 28 November 1976) was a British boxer. A great defensive boxer, he boxed at every weight division available at the time, from flyweight to heavyweight. He became the light-heavyweight and heavyweight ch ...

and then losing his British Light Heavyweight title to Harry Crossley. 1930 began well for Moody, when he lifted the Welsh Light Heavyweight title by beating Gipsy Daniels in their third encounter. He then earned a respectable draw against German Ernst Pistulla in a contest in Hamburg. After a win over Theo Sass, he then fought a single match in 1931, before apparently retiring.

Boxing return

In 1935 Moody returned to boxing, winning two fights in Wales. These victories led to a contest with South African heavyweight

Ben Foord Benjamin Foord (21 January 1913 – 29 September 1942) was a South African professional mixed class boxer of the 1930s and 1940s, who won the South African heavyweight title, British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoFC) British heavyweight tit ...

, which saw Moody beaten in the eighth round in front of his home crowd of Pontypridd. Moody's next two bouts were against one of the greatest Welsh boxers of all time,

Tommy Farr Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

. The first encounter was for the Welsh light heavyweight title, and ended in a draw after 15 rounds. The second match with Farr in December 1935 ended in Moody's defeat in the fourth round. Moody ended his boxing career in 1936, losing by technical knockout to Frank Hough.

Notable bouts

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