Mike Honeyman (11 November 1896 – 1944) was a British

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 ...

who was British

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

champion between 1920 and 1921.

Career

From

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

, London, Mike Honeyman had his first recorded professional fight in 1914. He won most of his early bouts, but in March 1915 was knocked out in the second round by Charlie Hardcastle. Between September 1915 and December 1916 he lost more fights than he won, suffering defeats to Ben Callicott, Bob Cotton, and Hardcastle, but beat some highly regarded opponents including

Curley Walker Curley Walker (4 February 1894 – 1973) was a British boxer who was British bantamweight champion between 1914 and 1915. Career Born in Bermondsey and based in Bermondsey, Cornelius "Curley" Walker made his professional debut in August 1909. I ...

and Alex Lafferty. He started 1917 with a win over Young Joe Brooks, and went on to build up a ten-fight unbeaten run, which included wins over Cotton and

Tommy Noble Tommy Noble (4 March 1897 – 1 April 1966) was a British boxer who was British bantamweight champion between 1918 and 1919, and European champion in 1919. He won the World featherweight title in 1920. Career Noble enlisted into the British Arm ...

. He drew with Walker in March 1918 and in May 1919 beat a then novice

Seaman Nobby Hall James Hall (15 October 1892 – 13 November 1953), better known as Seaman Nobby Hall, was a Scotland, Scottish Boxing, boxer who was British and European lightweight champion between 1922 and 1923. Career Born in Peebles in 1892, James Hall bega ...

and in October beat Billy Marchant. By the end of 1919 he had built up a run of eleven straight wins, and in January 1920 faced Marchant at 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 ...

for the vacant British featherweight title. Honeyman took a points decision to become British champion. In May 1920 he faced Arthur Wyns for the vacant European featherweight title, losing after being knocked out in the tenth round. He beat Callicott in September and in October beat future European

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 ...

champion Lucien Vinez. He made the first defence of his British title in October 1920, his opponent

Tancy Lee James "Tancy" Lee (31 January 1882 – 5 February 1941) was a Scottish professional boxer who competed from 1906 to 1926. He held the IBU world, EBU European and the National Sporting Club’s British flyweight titles in 1915, becoming the first ...

retiring in the nineteenth round. He made a second defence in October 1921, Joe Fox taking the title on points. Honeyman beat Callicott twice in the space of eight days in January 1922. He never again challenged for a title, but fought many of the top boxers of the era during the last few years of his career, including Harry Mason (lost, drew), Joe Conn (won twice), Danny Frush (lost), Ernie Rice (lost), and

Sam Steward Sam Steward (born 1906) was a British boxer who was British lightweight champion between 1928 and 1929. Career Born in Lewisham, London, Sam Steward made his professional boxing debut in January 1922 with a decision over Rube Painter. After win ...

(lost). He retired in 1929 after losing his last six fights. Honeyman became boxing instructor to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

in 1923, and also worked as a referee. He continued in his RAF role until illness forced him to leave in 1939. After a long period in West Ham Sanitorium, Dagenham, he died in 1944, aged 48, the death reported on 2 December.

References

External links

Career record
at boxinghistory.org.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Honeyman, Mike 1896 births 1944 deaths English male boxers Featherweight boxers Boxers from Greater London Royal Air Force Physical Training instructors