Lefty 'Satan' Flynn (born 17 March 1917) born Selvin Campbell in

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

(present day

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

) was a professional

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 ...

. Flynn also known as ''His Satanic Majesty'' fought out of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

becoming Jamaican featherweight and later welterweight champion. After taking the Jamaican titles he moved to Britain in late 1936. Flynn was a successful opponent in British boxing circles and fought many of the up-and-coming fighters of his age. In 1954 he made an unsuccessful attempt at the British Honduras welterweight title in Belize City.

Personal history

Flynn, born as Selvin Campbell in British Honduras, moved to Jamaica while still an adolescent. He went to school in Kingston, Jamaica, and travelled to Great Britain in 1936. With the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the Merchant Navy.Lee (2009) p.279

Boxing career

Flynn's first recorded professional fight, weighing in as a flyweight, was as a nineteen-year-old facing similarly inexperienced fighters in Kingston, Jamaica. After a draw against Kid Walcott, He faced Kid Bailey three times, winning twice and drawing once. There is no official record of another professional encounter until four years later in 1931 when Flynn faced Young Harvey at the Ward Theatre in Jamaica. On 23 April 1932 he faced St Andrew Pup for the Jamaican Lightweight title, though there is no record of this being a vacant title and neither men being the holder. Flynn stopped Pup for the first time in his career, taking the championship crown. Flynn held the title until relinquishing the belt after rising to lightweight and challenging Kid Silver on 12 November 1932. Flynn failed in his challenge but continued to fight in Jamaica winning the majority of his contest. In early 1936, and now fighting at the next weight level of welterweight, Flynn fought Kid Silver again this time for the Jamaican Welterweight title. Silver was disqualified in the eighth giving Flynn his second Jamaican boxing title. Flynn fought a few more bouts in Jamaica, before travelling to Britain to continue his career. His first British fight was against Joe Kerr, a future Scottish Lightweight champion, winning by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the second round. He lost to Boyo Rees towards the end of 1936, but then beat Len 'Tiger' Smith in January 1937. In Britain Flynn was unable to challenge for any of the British belts, but was a popular attraction on boxing cards during his time in the country. He fought at The Stadium in Liverpool,

Earls Court Arena Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds ...

and both the

National Sporting Club The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation. Origins The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...

and

Kelvin Hall The Kelvin Hall, located on Argyle Street in Glasgow, Scotland, is one of the largest exhibition centres in Britain and now a mixed-use arts and sports venue that opened as an exhibition venue in 1927. It has also been used as a concert hall, ...

in London. Flynn beat several notable British boxers during his time in the UK, including British champion

Ronnie James Ronnie James (8 October 1917 – 12 June 1977) was a British Lightweight boxing champion. Born in Swansea, Wales, James had over 130 professional bouts winning 114 of them, 61 through knockout. In 1946 he challenged Ike Williams at Cardiff for ...

, EBU welterweight champion

Ernie Roderick Ernie Roderick (25 January 1914 – 5 June 1986) was a British boxer who was British champion at both welterweight and middleweight, and European champion at welterweight and was a World title challenger losing on points against Henry Armstrong w ...

, Welsh middleweight champion

Tommy Davies Thomas Glanville Davies (7 May 1920 – 16 December 1998) was a Welsh Middleweight boxer. Davies was Wales middleweight champion from 1943 until his retirement in 1949. He successfully defended his title on four occasions. Davies was considere ...

and Southern area title holder Arthur Danahar. In 1946, Flynn left the United Kingdom and travelled back to the Caribbean. On 30 April 1946 he faced the Venezuelan welterweight champion, J.J. Fernandez at

Port-of-Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

in Trinidad and Tobago. Flynn lost the match on points. Although no record of his interim fights is available, in 1954 Flynn re-appears on the boxing scene in a challenge for the British Honduras welterweight title against

Rudolph Bent Rudolph or Rudolf may refer to: People * Rudolph (name), the given name including a list of people with the name Religious figures * Rudolf of Fulda (died 865), 9th century monk, writer and theologian * Rudolf von Habsburg-Lothringen (1788� ...

. Bent won the contest by points, and in a rematch two months later in November Bent beat Flynn again, this time by technical knockout.

Notes

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Lefty Satan 1917 births Welterweight boxers Belizean male boxers Year of death missing Southpaw boxers Jamaican male boxers British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II British Honduras people of World War II Belizean emigrants Immigrants to Jamaica