Mick Leahy (12 March 1935 – 5 January 2010) was an Irish-born British 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 ...
. Born in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, he became a British citizen in 1961 and lived the rest of his life in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
. In a career which spanned from 1956 to 1965, Leahy won the British
Middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
title and fought such names as
László Papp
László Papp (25 March 1926 – 16 October 2003) was a Hungarian professional boxer from Budapest. He was left-handed and won gold medals in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and the 1956 Summer Olym ...
and
Nino Benvenuti
Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti (born 26 April 1938) is an Italian former professional boxer and actor. He held world titles in two weight classes, having held the undisputed super-welterweight championship from June 1965 to June 1966 and the undispute ...
.
Leahy began boxing as an amateur in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
during the 1950s, where he became the Amateur Irish
Lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
Champion. After moving to
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
to work in the building trade he was spotted by the manager George Middleton and he turned professional in 1956.
Professional career
Leahy made his professional debut on 22 October 1956 in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
. It did not take long for Leahy to record his first victory as his opponent, Steve Gee, was
knocked out
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 ...
during the first round. After remaining undefeated throughout the first year of his career (16 wins and 1 draw), Leahy suffered his first loss on 28 October 1957 in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, where he was knocked out in one round by Tommy Tagoe.
Leahy fought 13 more times in the UK (8 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws) before travelling overseas to fight in Australia and New Zealand from April to October 1959. Leahy fought 11 times in Australia, compiling a record of 8 wins and 3 losses which included bouts in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Sydney and
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. In his last bout before returning to the UK Leahy lost a 12-round decision to
Tuna Scanlan in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
.
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
was the location for Leahy's first fight in the UK since returning from Australia. The fight took place on 23 April 1960, Leahy made a winning return as he beat
Al Sharpe by a decision over 8 rounds. On 23 February 1961 Leahy unsuccessfully challenged the Welshman
Brian Curvis
Brian Nancurvis (14 August 1937 – 9 January 2012), who fought under the name Brian Curvis as a professional, was a boxer from Swansea, Wales who was active from 1959 to 1966. He fought as a Welterweight, becoming British welterweight cha ...
for the British and Commonwealth
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 the ...
titles, he was knocked out in the eighth round. On 10 November 1962 Leahy travelled to the United States to fight
Joey Archer
Joey Archer (born February 11, 1938 in New York City, New York) is an American retired boxer. He defeated Sugar Ray Robinson in Robinson's final fight in 1965 (by unanimous decision) and fought Hall of Fame boxers such as Emile Griffith and Dick ...
. Although Leahy was knocked down twice, the fight, which took place at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
, went the 10 round distance, all three judges scored the fight to Archer.
Leahy's second shot at the British title came on 28 May 1963 when he challenged the
Middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
champion
George Aldridge in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
. Leahy, cheered on by 3,000 Irish fans, took just 1 minute and 45 seconds to knock Aldridge out and thus become the British champion. After the fight
Sugar Ray Robinson
Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded ...
,
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
and
Randy Turpin
Randolph Adolphus Turpin (7 June 1928 – 17 May 1966), better known as Randy Turpin, was a British boxer in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1951 he became world middleweight champion when he defeated Sugar Ray Robinson. He was inducted into the Inter ...
jumped into the ring to embrace the new champion.
[
Leahy then went on to beat Gil Diaz in Birmingham and launched an unsuccessful challenge for the Commonwealth Middleweight title against ]Gomeo Brennan
Gomeo Brennan (born 17 January 1939 in Bimini) is a Bahamian professional welter/ light middle/ middle/ super middle/light heavyweight boxer of the 1950s, '60s and '70s who won the Commonwealth middleweight title (twice), and was a challenger ...
in London. There were two further losses to Tuna Scanlan and Dante Pelaez (controversially stopped due to a cut over Leahy's right eye); plus a unanimous decision victory in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
over Larry Carney.
In 1964, Leahy went up against a 43-year-old Sugar Ray Robinson
Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarded ...
in Paisley, Scotland. Although Robinson at this point was considered past his best, he had the support of the Scottish crowd behind him, and managed to trouble the much younger Leahy with his handspeed and volume of punches. However, he was only able to sustain that level for two out of every three minutes, and Leahy won the fight by decision after 10 close-fought rounds.
After the Robinson fight Leahy travelled to Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria to challenge the undefeated Hungarian László Papp
László Papp (25 March 1926 – 16 October 2003) was a Hungarian professional boxer from Budapest. He was left-handed and won gold medals in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and the 1956 Summer Olym ...
for the EBU
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...
title. Papp was announced as the winner after fifteen rounds, it was to be Papp's last fight as he retired shortly afterwards. In his next fight Leahy attempted to defend his British middleweight crown for the first time, however, he once again lost a 15-round decision, enabling Wally Swift
Wally Swift (10 August 1936 – 10 November 2012) was a British boxer who won the British welterweight title in 1960 and twice fought for the Commonwealth title before moving up to middleweight, becoming British champion between 1964 and 1965. ...
to become the new champion. After losing to future world champion Nino Benvenuti
Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti (born 26 April 1938) is an Italian former professional boxer and actor. He held world titles in two weight classes, having held the undisputed super-welterweight championship from June 1965 to June 1966 and the undispute ...
in Milan, Leahy fought for a final time on 19 March 1965, losing to Jupp Elze in Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, Germany.[
]
Later years and death
Leahy's boxing career came to an abrupt end in September 1965. As he was driving to see his manager in Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
, he ran into the back of a car transporter which was parked up; its driver asleep and its lights off. As a result of the crash Leahy lost the sight of his left eye and his hearing was damaged. In 2003 Leahy was on a family trip to New York with his wife Teresa; sister-in-law Eileen and eldest son, Noel; when it became apparent that his memory was failing. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
in 2004 and was cared for by Teresa – to whom he had been married for 52 years – at home until it was clear that he needed professional care. He attended a local care home and then the Caludon Centre at Coventry's Walsgrave Hospital. He then moved into and spent the last eighteen months of his life at Evedale care home in Coventry. In December 2009 he developed colitis
Colitis is swelling or inflammation of the large intestine ( colon). Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases.
In a medical context, the label ''colitis'' (without qualification) ...
and was again admitted to Walsgrave Hospital. This in turn developed into bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014
It is often ...
complicated by Alzheimer's and he died on 5 January 2010 at the age of 74. Approximately 400 people attended his funeral, which was held in his hometown of Coventry and filmed by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, Mick
British male boxers
Middleweight boxers
Welterweight boxers
1935 births
2010 deaths
Irish male boxers