Lyn Philp (1924-1981) was a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
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 ...
, and New Zealand's
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 mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
Champion from 1947 - 1954.
*Ranked fourth best bantamweight New Zealand all-time greats.
With his punching power, speed and elusive style, Philp soon became the #1 contender for the bantamweight belt. In 1960 he was ranked third best bantamweight in New Zealand history.
Biography
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Philp was drafted into the
New Zealand Army
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, serving with distinction in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Amateur career
In the spring of 1942, the
United States First Marine Division sailed for Wellington, prior to opening a counteroffensive against the advancing Japanese forces. The marines were matched to fight local boxers on the preliminaries to the Strickland-Mullett heavyweight title fight. In the local team there appeared two Wellington fighters who were to turn professional after the war, Jack McCann and Lyn Philp. Both had wins over US Marines, and 15-year-old
Bobby Goslin, drawn to meet P. Gonsalves, less than a minute later they were picking a semi-conscious Marine up off the deck! Goslin who would represent New Zealand at the 1948 Olympics. Philp, incidentally, fought Goslin three times, winning once and losing twice. Philp while serving with
J Force
J Force (sometimes referred to as "Jayforce") was the name given to the New Zealand forces that were allocated to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) which occupied Japan following the end of the Second World War. The force was deploy ...
in Japan after the war, he would win a tournament in
Kure, beating an Australian in the final. Kure is at the southern end of Japan's main island Honshū. The allocated area of occupation included the Hiroshima Prefecture.
Professional career
He started his pro-career as a bantamweight joining the training stable of the legendary
Dick Dunn. His first professional fight was a win against
Ronnie Hawes on 21 April 1947 at
Wellington Town Hall
The Wellington Town Hall ( mi, Te Whare Whakarauika) is a concert hall and part of the municipal complex in Wellington, New Zealand, which opened in December 1904. It has been closed to the public since the 2013 Seddon earthquake, and it is curr ...
.
[
]
At Hastings New Zealand on 6 August 1947, and his second professional fight he met
Tot Hoggarth the bantamweight champion in the first of three meetings between the pair, being defeated in round twelve. In his rematch with Tot Hoggarth, on 6 October 1947 at Petone New Zealand he won by KO, setting the stage for the final showdown and the battle for the belt.
The Philp-Hoggarth battle took place on 21 February 1948 at the
Petone Recreation Ground New Zealand. For the third and final time they would meet to decide the champion. Hoggarth was stopped by knock-out, Philp winning the New Zealand
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 mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from Ba ...
title and the belt. He retained the belt until his eventual retirement from the ring on 6 June 1954, when he vacated the title.
In 1954 he stepped up to featherweight fighting
Johnny Hanks for the vacant featherweight title, losing by KO in round eight.
World Title Fight
![Townsville Daily Bulletin Qld](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Townsville_Daily_Bulletin_Qld._Saturday_17_January_1953.jpg)
He was matched for a world title bout against World Champion
Jimmy Carruthers.
For reasons unclear the fight never went ahead.
Career record
Personal life
After retiring from the ring Lyn Philp opened a boxing gym where he became a trainer and coach.
References
External links
*
New Zealand boxing matches - 1941 - 1950New Zealand J Force
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philp, Lyn
Sportspeople from Lower Hutt
New Zealand Army personnel
New Zealand people of World War II
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
New Zealand professional boxing champions
Bantamweight boxers
1924 births
1981 deaths
New Zealand male boxers