Jim McDonnell (born 12 September 1960) is a British former
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 won the European
featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...
title and twice fought for World titles at
super featherweight.
Career
Amateur
He represented
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 ...
and won a
silver medal in the lightweight division, at the
1982 Commonwealth Games in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
,
Australia. He won the 1982
Amateur Boxing Association British
lightweight title, when boxing out of the St. Pancras ABC.
Professional
Born in London and a
caretaker
Caretaker may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker''
* '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital
* Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...
working for
Camden Council outside of boxing, McDonnell made his professional debut in March 1983 with a points win over Phil Duke. In March 1985 he beat
Clyde Ruan to take the
BBBofC Southern Area featherweight title, a fight that was also a British title eliminator.
The British title fight didn't materialise but in November 1985 he faced
Jose Luis Vicho for the vacant European featherweight title; McDonnell stopped the Spaniard in the fourth round to become European champion. He successfully defended the European title in July 1986 against
Salvatore Bottiglieri, taking a points decision.
By 1988 he had moved up to super featherweight and still with a 100% record from 24 fights fought South African
Brian Mitchell for the latter's
WBA super featherweight title in November. The fight went the full twelve rounds but Mitchell won via a comfortable unanimous decision, the first defeat of McDonnell's career.
[McDonnell in the Pink]
, ''Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'', 3 November 1989. Retrieved 11 October 2015
McDonnell returned in March 1989 with a points win over
Benjie Marquez, and in May of that year faced
Barry McGuigan
Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed ''The Clones Cyclone'' and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 198 ...
at the
G-Mex Centre
Manchester Central Convention Complex (commonly known as Manchester Central or GMEX (Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre)) is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester, Engl ...
, Manchester. Although the underdog, McDonnell dominated the fight and won after it was stopped in the fourth round due to a cut over McGuigan's right eye. The defeat effectively ended McGuigan's career.
[Mee, Bob (2004)]
McDonnell Lands Dream Ticket
, '' Daily Telegraph'', 10 December 2004. Retrieved 11 October 2015
In November 1989 McDonnell got a second shot at a World title when he challenged for
Azumah Nelson
Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC super-featherweight title twice ...
's
WBC super featherweight title at the
Royal Albert Hall. Nelson had McDonnell down four times and stopped him in the twelfth and final round.
He returned in September 1990 when he was stopped by future WBF World champion
Kenny Vice in the fourth round.
After more than seven years out of the ring, and at the age of 38, he returned in February 1998 against Peter Feher, losing a six-round points decision.
Personal life
After retiring from boxing he worked as a painter and decorator, ran a gym in
Camden, and became a trainer, most notably working with
Danny Williams and
James DeGale
James Frederick DeGale (born 3 February 1986) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2019. He held the IBF super-middleweight title twice between 2015 and 2018, and regionally the European and British super-middlew ...
.
[Fissler, Neil (2014)]
James DeGale's world title pledge to trainer who missed out
, '' Sunday Express'', 18 May 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2015 He also ran the
London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...
several times, his best time 2 hours 49 minutes.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonnell, Jim
1960 births
Living people
Featherweight boxers
Super-featherweight boxers
Boxers from Greater London
English male boxers
Boxers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing
Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games