John Brown (29 November 1909 – 15 March 1971), better known as Jackie Brown, was a

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

world champion. He held the NBA, IBU and British flyweight titles. He would be stripped of both his NBA and IBU titles while still having not been beaten at flyweight since the beginning of his reigns. The NBA stripped him on July 6, 1934 when he was arrested and sentenced to four months in prison for assault. while he was stripped of his IBU title for not giving Valentin Angelmann another chance after a draw in a title bout against him. His British flyweight title would be the only title he lost in the ring when he was defeated on September 9, 1935 to

Benny Lynch Benjamin Lynch (2 April 1913 – 6 August 1946) was a Scottish professional boxer who fought in the flyweight division. He is considered by some to be one of the finest boxers below the lightweight division in his era and has been described a ...

thus taking all claims he laid to being a flyweight champion.

Professional career

Born John Brown in

Collyhurst Collyhurst is an inner city area of Manchester, England, northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Rochdale Road (A664) and A62 road, Oldham Road (A62), bounded by Smedley, Manchester, Smedley, Harpurhey and Monsall tram stop, Mons ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he had his first professional fight on 18 May 1925, at the age of sixteen, defeating Harry Gainey on points over six rounds. In October 1929, he won the vacant British flyweight title, knocking out Bert Kirby in three rounds. The BBBofC subsequently recognised Brown as the World Champion, succeeding the later

Johnny Hill Johnny Hill (14 December 1905 – 27 September 1929) was a Scottish boxer who was British flyweight champion from May 1927, European champion from March 1928, and World champion from August 1928, until his death at the age of 23. He was the fir ...

, and received confirmation from the

New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

that they were willing to allow him to defend the title in the US. In March 1930, he defended the British title against Kirby, and was knocked out in the third round. In February 1931, he met Kirby for the third time, winning back the title with fifteen-round points decision. In May 1931, he won the European flyweight title, beating Lucian Popescu, of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

on points. In the next two months he defended this title twice, winning on points against Emile Degand, of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and Vincenzo Savo, of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In October 1931, Brown married Mary Chapman. In September 1932, he defended both his titles against Jim Maharg, winning on a disqualification in the eighth, for a low blow.

Legal issues

In October 1933, Jackie Brown ran over and killed Margaret Thornley with his car. He did not receive any punishment whatsoever for taking her life. The very next year, Brown actually found himself in trouble with the law when he was convicted of assault by occasioning bodily harm for biting a piece out of the ear of Louis Tarchman in a Manchester street after Tarchman had called him a "cheese champion". Brown served four months of imprisonment with hard labour in August 1934. In September 1935, he was fined £10 and had his driving licence endorsed after being caught speeding; At the trial it emerged that he had over 20 previous convictions for driving offences, some of them serious.

World titles

In October 1932, he fought Victor 'Young' Perez, of

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for the World flyweight championship, beating him in thirteen rounds when Perez' corner threw in the towel. Brown was recognized as world

champion by the

National Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

of America. In June and September 1933, he defended his World and European titles against Valentin Angelmann, of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, winning both defences on points. In December 1933, he defended his British, European and World titles against Chris ‘Ginger’ Foran of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, winning on points. In June 1934, he defended his World and European titles against Angelmann, for the third time, this time, after his previous two wins drawing on points. In 1935, Brown was stripped of his European title for not giving Angelmann a return bout. On 29 July 1935, Brown won two fights on the same night, stopping Jackie Quinn in the second round of twelve, and Sid Rose in the third of six. In September 1935, he defended his British and World flyweight titles against the talented Scottish fighter,

. He lost his titles when the referee stopped the contest in the second round.

Later Career at Bantamweight

Following the loss of his titles, Brown continued fighting as a

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 ...

. Having won the Northern Area title in October 1936, in May 1937 he fought holder

Johnny King Johnny Cecil King (born 2 July 1942) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...

for the British bantamweight title, losing by a knockout in the thirteenth round. This was his last challenge for a national or international title, but he continued fighting until July 1939. He then retired, but made a one-fight comeback in February 1948, when he scored a points victory over Billy Stevens over eight rounds.

Professional boxing record

References

Sources

* Maurice Golesworthy, Encyclopaedia of Boxing (Eighth Edition) (1988), Robert Hale Limited,

External links

*
Biography
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Jackie 1909 births 1971 deaths English male boxers World boxing champions World flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions People from Collyhurst Flyweight boxers