Lloyd Honeyghan
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Lloyd Honeyghan (born 22 April 1960) 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 1980 to 1995. He reigned as the
undisputed Undisputed may refer to: Film * ''Undisputed'' (film), a 2002 action-thriller-drama film ** ''Undisputed'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film * Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, a 2006 American martial arts film * Undisputed III: Redempt ...
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 ...
champion from 1986 to 1987, and held the WBC, '' The Ring'' magazine welterweight titles twice between 1986 and 1989. At regional level 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, ...
, European and Commonwealth welterweight titles between 1983 and 1985, and the Commonwealth
super-welterweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA a ...
title from 1993 to 1994.


Early life and amateur career

Honeyghan was born in Jamaica and spent his early years there. He came to England at the age of nine to join his parents who had settled in
Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...
. He took up boxing at the age of 11 with the Fisher Amateur Boxing club. He was a good, rather than an outstanding amateur boxer. He boxed for England but never won an ABA title, being beaten in the English semi-finals by Joey Frost in 1979. In the 1980 ABA championships he was beaten early in the competition on points by Gunther Roomes, at the South East Division of the London championships and decided to turn professional.


Professional career

Honeyghan turned professional with
Terry Lawless Terry Lawless (29 March 1933 – 24 December 2009) was an English boxing manager and trainer who worked in London, most successfully during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Biography Born in West Ham, Lawless started his coaching and management ca ...
in 1980. He debuted with a six-round points decision victory over fellow novice Mike Sullivan. He won his first 13 fights, including a victory over the tough Kostas Petrou. Before positioning himself for an eliminator against the capable Lloyd Hibbert for the British welterweight title on 18 January 1983. Honeyghan outpointed the future British super-welterweight champion over ten rounds. He followed this by capturing the Southern Area welterweight title with a fourth-round knockout over the dangerous Sid Smith in March 1983.


British welterweight champion

Honeyghan captured the British welterweight title via a twelve-round points decision against the tough Cliff Gilpin on 5 April 1983, after suffering the first knockdown of his career in the second round. Honeyghan later stated that Gilpin gave him one of his hardest fights. He remained busy throughout 1983, travelling to the United States to defeat Kevin Austin, then outpointing US contender Harold Brazier in London before rounding off the year with a clear points victory in a British title rematch with Cliff Gilpin. In 1984 Honeyghan fought only once, defeating Roberto Mendez. He suffered a broken thumb and had to have a pin inserted into his left hand to keep the bone in place.


European welterweight champion

On 5 January 1985 he captured the European welterweight title with a highly impressive third-round knockout of future two-time super-welterweight world champion Gianfranco Rosi in
Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...
, Italy. In sparring preparing for the contest Honeyghan had been knocked out by former ABA champion David Dent, who was not known as a puncher. However, it didn't affect his performance as he achieved the rare feat of a foreign fighter obtaining a victory in Italy. Following this, Honeyghan defeated R W Smith (better known as Robert Smith) who is the current General Secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control in six rounds. He kept extremely busy during 1985, defeating three US contenders in world title challenger Roger Stafford, followed by Danny Paul and Ralph Twinning. Honeyghan and Lawless parted company because Honeyghan believed that Lawless was spending too much time on the career of
Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...
and not enough on his career. As such the two couldn't get on and things came to a head following an altercation between Honeyghan and his trainer Jimmy Tibbs, in the Royal Oak gym run by Lawless. Apparently Honeyghan turned up late for training and an argument between the two ensued ending with bystanders having to drag them apart. Following the incident, Lawless banned Honeyghan from his gym; Honeyghan promptly signed with Mickey Duff.Twenty and Out: A Life in Boxing - Mickey Duff Honeyghan appointed former British featherweight champion
Bobby Neill Bobby Neill (born 10 October 1933)
as his new trainer and closed out 1985 with a stoppage victory over fellow world rated Briton and former stablemate Sylvester Mittee, for the British, European, and Commonwealth welterweight titles. On 20 May 1986 Honeyghan stopped top US contender Horace Shufford in eight rounds in London, earning him a title shot against the unbeaten and undisputed welterweight world champion
Donald Curry Donald Curry (born September 7, 1961), is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1991, and in 1997. He held the WBA world welterweight title from 1983 to 1986, the undisputed world welterweight title from 1985 to 1986 a ...
of the US.


Undisputed welterweight champion

On 27 September 1986, Honeyghan defeated Curry for the undisputed welterweight title. The fight took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and was televised by Showtime. At the time Curry was considered to be one of the best
pound for pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are irrespective of their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete direc ...
fighters in the world with his only possible rival being
Marvin Hagler Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) was an American professional boxer and film actor. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight divisi ...
. Honeyghan was given little chance by the majority of the media. However, there were rumours that Curry was having difficulty making the welterweight limit and that this would be his last fight at the weight. The betting odds prior to the fight were 7.5–1 against Honeyghan. His manager Duff placed a bet of $5,000 on Honeyghan to win. When he told Honeyghan what he had done he said that they could split it down the middle. Duff refused and told him to place his own bets. Honeyghan asked Duff to place a bet of $5,000 on his behalf but when he went back to place the bet the odds had reduced to 6-1 and Duff placed the bet. When he told Honeyghan about the reduced odds he said they could split the difference and again Duff refused. He caused a major upset by dominating the fight, nearly dropping Curry in the second round, before Curry retired at the end of round six. Curry suffered a broken nose along with cuts to his lip and above his eye, which required 20 stitches. As a result of his bet Honeyghan earned an additional $30,000 and Duff relented and split the difference paying him an additional $3,750 because he was the one who had won the fight.. At the press conference before the fight Curry had dismissed his little known and lightly taken British opponent, asking "Who is this ragamuffin?" Because Honeyghan had come to the press conference in casual clothes. Honeyghan thereafter adopted the title 'Raggamuffin' with relish. Embracing his Jamaican heritage where a raggamuffin is a streetwise tough guy. Prior to this his ring moniker had been Lloyd 'Honey' Honeyghan. The fight had taken place one night after another "expert shocker", when
Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...
knocked out Livingstone Bramble in two rounds to claim the WBA lightweight title, and one week after Honeyghan's win, ''
Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
'' magazine mentioned his victory on their "Weekend of shockers!" issue's cover. (Rosario's photo was featured on the cover of that issue).


WBA title vacated

Honeyghan disagreed with the WBA's rules that allowed fights to take place in
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
South Africa, so he publicly and controversially dumped the WBA welterweight title into a London trash bin soon after winning it, relinquishing the title rather than defending it against South African Harold Volbrecht. Honeyghan was criticised for showing a lack of respect after dropping the belt in the trash can, especially as Deuk Koo Kim had lost his life in 1982 when fighting Ray Mancini for the WBA Lightweight title. Honeyghan did admit to regretting his actions, which had resulted after he had been prompted to do so by tabloid newspaper photographers. His stance proved significant, as soon after, the WBA stopped sanctioning fights held in South Africa. It also provided his manager Mickey Duff with the opportunity to avoid
Mark Breland Mark Anthony Breland (born May 11, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1997, and held the WBA welterweight title twice between 1987 and 1990. He later became an actor with a wide range of movie and television ...
who would have become the number one contender, assuming that Honeyghan had won. The vacant title was won by Breland following a seventh-round stoppage of Volbrecht.


Continued title defences

After winning the world title he changed his boxer-puncher style to that of more of a brawler. He became known for his full frontal assault on opponents. Most boxers would spend the early rounds boxing cautiously until they had figured out their opponent's style of fighting. Honeyghan went for a knockout from the opening bell. Asked why he had changed his fighting style Honeyghan quipped "You don't get paid for overtime in this business." In his first defence, after dominating and flooring his opponent in the first round. He caused controversy by (legally at that time) racing across the ring and trying to hit his opponent, former super-lightweight world champion
Johnny Bumphus Johnny 'Bump City' Bumphus (August 17, 1960 – January 31, 2020) was an American professional boxer who held the WBA super lightweight title in 1984 and challenged once for the WBC and IBF welterweight titles in 1987. Amateur career Bumphus ...
, as soon as the bell sounded to start the second round. Honeyghan threw a left hook which missed but the momentum from his forearm knocked an unsteady Bumphus to the canvas. Honeyghan had a point deducted from his score and Bumphus was given time to recover. However, the fight had already been knocked out of him and he did not last much longer. Asked why he had done this, Honeyghan stated "The bell went ding and I went dong." The rules were changed following this incident so that at the beginning of each round the referee stands in the middle of the ring. Instead of in a neutral corner, as it had previously been, to prevent punches being thrown until both fighters are ready. In his second defence of the title, Honeyghan defeated the then unbeaten future world champion Maurice Blocker on points. He became a crowd pleaser with his all action style of fighting and recorded one of the fastest wins in a world title fight with a 45 second blowout of former Super-lightweight champion Gene Hatcher of the US. His manager Duff said after the fight "The best fighter I have been involved with was
John Conteh John Anthony Conteh, (born 27 May 1951) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980. He held the WBC light-heavyweight title from 1974 to 1978, and regionally the European, British and Commonwealth titles between 1 ...
, even though he never reached his full potential. Lloyd is catching him up fast. I've never known a more dedicated fighter."


Losing the titles

He controversially lost his WBC title to Jorge Vaca in 1987 when a clash of heads meant that the fight had to be stopped due to a cut sustained by Vaca. Vaca had come in as a late replacement for Bobby Joe Young who had been deemed an unacceptable opponent by the British Boxing Board of Control. Honeyghan was expected to win the fight as Vaca was a relatively unknown fighter. However, an off form Honeyghan was given plenty of trouble by the heavy-handed Mexican. The WBC implemented their technical decision rule (which has now been withdrawn) and Honeyghan had a point deducted from his score, even though the clash of heads had been deemed accidental and the round had not been completed. Without the point deduction the fight would have been a draw meaning that Honeyghan would have retained his title. After the point deduction the scorecards favoured Vaca and he became the new champion. The fight was not for the IBF title which was declared vacant and was subsequently won by Simon Brown. Many fans said that Vaca had been given the decision because the WBC who are based in Mexico were holding their convention in London during the week of the fight. Honeyghan became only the second British boxer in history to regain a world title, when he knocked Vaca out in a return fight for the WBC title in the third round. The first being Ted "Kid" Lewis earlier in the 20th century. In the post-fight press conference Honeyghan, who could at times be an outspoken character. Expressed his views on Mickey Duff, stating "Mickey and I don't mix outside of boxing, he looks at me as a pawn, a commodity. I don't like him." This elicited a memorable response from Duff who stated "There is nothing in our contract that says we have to like each other I will continue to do the best job I can for him." Honeyghan next defended against tough South Korean Yung-Kil Chung, halting him in five rounds in July 1988 when the Korean refused to get up after being hit with an accidental low blow. In February 1989 Honeyghan lost his WBC title to former Don Curry victim and arch-rival
Marlon Starling Marlon Starling (born August 29, 1959) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1990. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1987 to 1988 and the WBC welterweight title from 1989 to 1990. Professional boxing career ...
. There was bad blood between the two fighters and Honeyghan boxed wildly against the defensively excellent Starling. He was stopped in the ninth round after taking heavy punishment throughout the fight. Years before the two fought Starling came out with a classic foot in mouth boxing quote when he said "I'll fight Lloyd Honeyghan for nothing if the price is right." Honeyghan returned later in the year, labouring to a points decision over Delfino Marin in Florida, however he appeared to be a fading force. He had to apologise to the WBA for his previous actions in order to fight for the WBA title in 1990 against Mark Breland. By this time Honeyghan was past his best and was stopped by Breland in three rounds after being knocked down six times.


Later career at super-welterweight

In 1991, he resumed his career at super-welterweight having outgrown the welterweight division. During 1991 and 1992 he won six consecutive fights against relatively modest opposition in Mario Olmedo, John Welters, Darryl Anthony, Alfredo Ramirez, Mickey Duncan and Carlo Colarusso. In early 1993 he was still good enough to win the Commonwealth super-welterweight title by defeating the useful Mickey Hughes. However, in June of that year he was stopped in ten rounds by former world champion
Vinny Pazienza Vinny Paz (born Vincenzo Edward Pazienza, December 16, 1962), formerly Vinny Pazienza, is an American former professional boxer who held world titles at lightweight and light middleweight. The 2016 film ''Bleed for This'' is based on his comebac ...
in a contest made at middleweight. Victories over Steve Goodwin and in 1994 Kevin Adamson followed, with Honeyghan retaining the Commonwealth title in the latter fight. He did not fight for another year and retired after he was stopped in a bout by fellow Briton Adrian Dodson in three rounds in 1995, on the undercard of Nigel Benn vs. Gerald McClellan.


Doping allegations

Lloyd Honeyghan always had trouble with his hands and tested positive for a painkilling drug after his fight against Marlon Starling. He was fined $1,500 by the
Nevada Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...
.


Personal life

On leaving school Honeyghan became an apprentice printer and he continued in this trade until he became a full time professional boxer. In his younger days Honeyghan developed a reputation for being a flashy dresser and a ladies' man. The tabloid newspapers had a field-day when he became a world champion and revealed that he had fathered five children with three different women, none of whom he had married. He was attacked and hit on the head with a hammer at a weigh-in at the Thomas A' Beckett gym in 1993. A fellow boxer, Darren Dyer, was arrested and charged with causing actual bodily harm after the attack but was acquitted in the subsequent trial. There had been bad blood between the two stemming from the Curry fight, when Dyer who was also managed by Duff had been one of Honeyghan's sparring partners. The trouble between them started when Dyer was talking on the telephone in his hotel room to one of his relatives in England. The relative asked him how he thought Honeyghan would get on against Curry. Dyer stated that he didn't think that Honeyghan stood a chance and that Curry would knock him out. Unbeknown to him Honeyghan was in the hotel room next to his and heard everything that he said. Honeyghan took offence to his comments and confronted him about them. Dyer felt that Honeyghan had taken liberties with him in sparring as a means of getting his revenge for the comments. Bearing in mind that despite being a former ABA champion and Commonwealth games gold medal winner, Dyer at the time was still to make his professional debut. There had been an altercation between him and Dyer in the changing rooms following his win over Mickey Hughes for the Commonwealth title. Dennie Mancini had prevented Dyer from hitting Honeyghan on the head with the trophy he had just been presented with, as a result of winning the fight. When
Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...
fought Oliver McCall for the WBC World heavyweight title in September 1995. Honeyghan entered the ring as a member of McCall's camp, despite the fact that he and Bruno had been friends in the past, when they had both been part of the
Terry Lawless Terry Lawless (29 March 1933 – 24 December 2009) was an English boxing manager and trainer who worked in London, most successfully during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Biography Born in West Ham, Lawless started his coaching and management ca ...
stable of fighters. He received a lot of criticism from British boxing fans as a result of his actions. Honeyghan and Mike Tyson are friends and when Tyson came to England he acted as his guide. They had first met at the Curry fight where Tyson had been ringside and had been impressed by Honeyghan's performance. He stated "He's mean and nasty, he doesn't fight like a British fighter." At that time British fighters had a reputation in America for being gentlemanly but ending up horizontal. In 2014 Bruno had to step in to stop Honeyghan and
Errol Christie Errol Christie (29 June 1963 – 11 June 2017) was an English professional boxer and boxing trainer. He was the captain of the English amateur boxing team from 1980 to 1983 and European amateur champion in 1983. After turning professional he wa ...
from squaring up to each other at the Boxing Writers’ Club’s 63rd annual dinner at London’s Savoy Hotel. This came as a shock to many observers as the two had once been close friends. Christie stated “There was a bit of an incident with Lloyd. I don’t know what planet he was on but it’s different to the rest of us. No punches were thrown, he was just mouthing off and acting the big shot. He even had a go at Frank.” He had a block of flats named after him in Southwark to mark his achievements. Honeyghan put on a lot of weight in retirement and in October 2017, it was reported that he had suffered a heart attack but was making a good recovery in hospital. It was reported in September 2020 that Honeyghan had suffered a blood clot on his lung (
Pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...
) and was again being treated in hospital. As a result of his poor health, Honeyghan can no longer walk and has to use a wheelchair.


Business dealings

Towards the end of his boxing career Honeyghan got involved in the music business. He produced two CDs featuring various reggae artists. In common with a lot of former boxing champions Honeyghan found himself in financial difficulties towards the end of his career and was forced to fight on beyond the point where he should have retired. At one stage he had owned a Rolls-Royce and several properties. However, he was declared bankrupt in 1994 and automatically discharged from bankruptcy in 1997. Following his retirement, he tried his hand as a boxing manager and promoter. He promoted a few boxing shows in South London. However, without the backing of a television company it was difficult for him to make money and he eventually relinquished his promoter's licence.


Professional boxing record


See also

* List of welterweight boxing champions * List of WBA world champions * List of WBC world champions * List of IBF world champions * List of ''The Ring'' world champions *
List of undisputed boxing champions This is a list of undisputed champions in professional boxing. Eras that are not listed do not have any undisputed champions. Championship recognition Titles have been awarded by: *New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), founded in 1920 ...


References


Further reading

*Mickey Duff "Twenty & Out" Harper Collins 1999 *Hugh McIlvanney "McIlvanney on Boxing" Stanley Paul 1982 *Errol Christie "No place to hide" Aurum Press 2010 *Jimmy Tibbs "Sparring with life" Trinity Mirror Sport Media 2014


External links

*
Article at BoxingSceneArticle at BoxingScene
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honeyghan, Lloyd 1960 births Living people Doping cases in boxing World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions International Boxing Federation champions World welterweight boxing champions World boxing champions People from Saint Elizabeth Parish British male boxers Light-middleweight boxers Commonwealth Boxing Council champions European Boxing Union champions The Ring (magazine) champions British Boxing Board of Control champions