Lee Purdy (born 29 May 1987) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2013. He held the

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, ...

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

title in 2011, challenged once for the vacant Commonwealth welterweight title in 2010 and once for the EBU European welterweight title in 2013.

Professional boxing career

British Champion

Purdy claimed the British title with a win over Craig Watson via 5th round stoppage to become Colchesters first British boxing champion at the MEN Arena in Manchester on 16 April 2011.Boxrec , Lee Purdy professional record
/ref> This victory was followed up in his first defence on 16 July 2011 with another victory over Watson, this time in Oldham and with another stoppage in the 5th round. Despite starting brightly, Watson began to be worn down in the third round as two heavy shots from Purdy landed. Eventually after Watson was knocked down twice in the 5th, the referee called a halt to the contest. Purdy lost the title in his second defence against former British light welterweight champion

Colin Lynes Colin Lynes (born 26 November 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2017. He held the IBO super lightweight title from 2004 to 2005. At regional level, he held the British super lightweight title in 2007; the ...

. Purdy lost a majority points decision to Lynes after getting up off the canvas in the 10th to produce a strong finish. On 18 May 2013, Lee Purdy fought Devon Alexander at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ. The bout was originally scheduled for the IBF welterweight title but Purdy failed to make the weight. Purdy took the fight at 4 weeks notice after Kell Brook pulled out with a hand injury. The fight was controversially stopped by Purdys trainer (Darren Barker) in the 7th round, although Purdy was not hurt at any stage throughout the fight and was looking to come on strong in the later rounds.

Alleged money laundering offence

In August 2013 Purdy was charged with money laundering along with five other people in what was believed to be a £1 million scam against elderly people. He was due to appear at Colchester Magistrates Court in September 2013. Purdy, as well as the other accused, denied the charges. Lee Purdy was found not guilty by unanimous verdict (jury) of money laundering. He thanked everyone who had supported him via Twitter. After several operations on a detached retina suffered during the Leonard Bundu fight in December 2013, Purdy is expected to return to the ring in 2015 and would possibly meet the winner of the Frankie Gavin and Bradley Skeete bout for the British title.

Retirement

After sustaining a severed and detached retina in a fight with European welterweight champion Leonard Bundu in late 2013, Purdy was forced to retire from the sport of boxing. His promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed the retirement in an interview with iFLTV on 16 February 2015.

Professional boxing record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purdy, Lee English male boxers Welterweight boxers Living people 1987 births Sportspeople from Colchester