John Anthony Conteh, (born 27 May 1951) is a British former
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 1971 to 1980. He held the
WBC light-heavyweight title from 1974 to 1978, and regionally the
European
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In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
,
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, ...
and
Commonwealth titles between 1973 and 1974. As an
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
gold medal in the
middleweight division at the
1970 British Commonwealth Games. In 2017, Conteh was awarded an
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
for services to boxing at the
Queen's Birthday Honours.
Professional career
Born in
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 ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
(now
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
) to an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
mother and
Sierra Leonean
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
father, Conteh began boxing at the age of 10 at a boxing club in
Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...
that was a training ground for fellow British amateur
Joey Singleton
Joey "The Jab" Singleton (born 2 June 1951) is a former British professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1982. He is a former British light-welterweight champion.
Early life
Singleton was born on 2 June 1951 in, Liverpool, England. He won ...
. At 19, he won the
middleweight gold medal at the
1970 British Commonwealth Games. He won the
WBC light-heavyweight title in October 1974 by defeating
Jorge Ahumada. He held the title until 1977 when he was stripped for not going through with a
mandated defence.
Conteh lost a 15-round
split decision to the
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
n fighter
Mate Parlov
Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian boxer and Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as an amateur and as a professional.
Background
Mate Parlov was born in Split, the youngest of four ...
when he attempted to regain the title. He failed twice in further efforts to win back the crown, in 1979 and then again seven months later in 1980, on both occasions fighting the American
Matthew Saad Muhammad
Matthew Saad Muhammad (born Maxwell Antonio Loach; June 16, 1954 – May 25, 2014) was an American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World for two-and-a-half years.
Background
Saad Muhammad's mother died when ...
. Muhammad won both bouts but the first victory was declared void because his cornermen used an illegal substance on a cut.
Appearances outside boxing
Conteh was one of the celebrities featured dressed in prison gear on the cover of the 1973
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
album, ''
Band on the Run''. He was the subject of ''
This Is Your Life'' in 1974.
Conteh was the British ''
Superstars'' competition champion in 1974, the second year of the televised sporting event. Conteh is now an after-dinner speaker and speaks at venues all across the country.
Conteh appeared on the BBC television programme ''Sporting Legends'' which was presented by
. There he spoke at length at how he started out in boxing and how Ali persuaded him to fight at light-heavyweight instead of heavyweight. Ali believed that Conteh was too small to be a heavyweight. Conteh also spoke of how his lifestyle led to
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
and a charge of assault, he stated that at the time he appeared on ''Sporting Legends'' he had been dry for nine years.
Conteh also appeared in films such as ''
Man at the Top'' (1973), ''
The Stud'' (1978) and ''
Tank Malling'' (1989), and made a starring appearance in the television show ''
Boon
Boon may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Boon (game), a trick-taking card game
* ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells
* ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick
* The Ultimate Boo ...
'' in 1989, as a washed-up boxer. He more recently appeared on a boxing special of ''
The Weakest Link
''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...
'' in 2009, where he finished in third place. His most recent TV acting appearance was in the crime drama ''
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
'', in which he again played an ex-boxer.
Conteh was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2017 Birthday Honours for services to boxing.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conteh, John
1951 births
Living people
English male boxers
English people of Irish descent
English sportspeople of Sierra Leonean descent
People from Kirkby
Black British sportspeople
Boxers at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
Boxers from Liverpool
England Boxing champions
Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing
Commonwealth Boxing Council champions
European Boxing Union champions
World Boxing Council champions
World light-heavyweight boxing champions
Middleweight boxers
Members of the Order of the British Empire
British Boxing Board of Control champions
Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games