Maurice Hope (born 6 December 1951) is a British former

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 world junior middleweight champion. Born in

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, he grew up in Hackney, London. He represented

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at the

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Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

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Boxing career

Amateur career

Maurice Hope was born in St. John's,

, and moved at a very young age to the UK. Hope's aptitude towards boxing was evident early in

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

; he began to

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

as a very young boy. Hope went on to box at the

, where he would lose to German boxer

János Kajdi János Kajdi (30 December 1939 – 10 April 1992) was a boxer from Hungary. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics in the lightweight, light-welterweight and welterweight (– 67 kg) division, respectively, and won a silver medal ...

in the quarter finals.

Professional career

Hope made his professional debut on 18 June 1973, defeating John Smith by decision in eight rounds at

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 ...

. On Hope's second fight, held on 25 September of that year, he scored his first

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 ...

win, a victory in three rounds over Len Gibbs in Shoreditch. Hope won his first four professional fights. On 21 November, he suffered his first defeat, being beaten by Mickey Flynn over eight rounds by decision. After that loss, Hope went on to win five fights in a row, four by knockout, before winning his first regional belt, when he beat Larry Paul, 5 November 1974, by a knockout in round eight of a fifteen-round bout, at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, to win the British Jr. Middleweight title. Hope then won three more fights, including one (a fourth-round knockout of Don Cobbs on 11 February 1975 at

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

) which was refereed by legendary referee

Harry Gibbs Sir Harry Talbot Gibbs, (7 February 191725 June 2005) was Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1981 to 1987 after serving as a member of the High Court between 1970 and 1981. He was known as one of Australia's leading federalist ...

, who also oversaw the refereeing of the

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraCarlos Zarate

bout Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrumen ...

, among many other famous fights. After these three wins, Hope went up in weight to fight for the vacant British Middleweight title, vacated by

Kevin Finnegan Kevin Finnegan (18 April 1948 – 23 October 2008) was an English boxer. Finnegan's older brother Chris was an Olympic gold medalist and also a professional boxer. Early in his career when Kevin was still an amateur he was banned for 18 mont ...

, who, in turn, lost four times to Alan Minter. On 10 June, Hope was defeated by knockout for the first time, losing to Bunny Sterling in the eighth round for that regional title. Hope's career took on an upwards movement after the loss to Sterling. He followed that loss with a knockout in a rematch against Larry Paul on 30 September at London's Empire Pool. This was the beginning of a four knockout win streak that took him to fight Tony Poole, 12 April 1976, for the vacant British Commonwealth Jr. Middleweight title. He won the regional belt by knocking out Poole in the twelfth round, and, after one more win, he met future world Middleweight champion

Vito Antuofermo Vito Antuofermo (; born February 9, 1953) is an Italian American actor and retired professional boxer. He is a former undisputed World Middleweight Champion. Background Antuofermo was born in Italy, in the town of Palo del Colle, about inland ...

, on 10 October, at

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

, for the European Boxing Union's Jr. Middleweight title. Hope conquered his third regional title by knocking out Antuofermo (who would later last the full fifteen rounds in a fight with

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 ...

), in the fifteenth and last round. This bout was Hope's first fight abroad. Having won three regional titles, Hope was ranked among the top Jr. Middleweight challengers by the WBC, and so, he obtained his first world title try, on 15 March 1977, against the WBC's world champion,

Eckhard Dagge Eckhard Dagge (February 27, 1948 in Probsteierhagen, Germany – April 4, 2006 in Hamburg), was a professional boxing, boxer in the super welterweight (154 pound (mass), lb) division. Eckhard Dagge was Germany's second world champion, after Max ...

, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After fifteen rounds, the fight was declared a draw (tie). Hope regrouped with six wins in a row, before getting his second world title try. On 4 March 1979, he faced the then WBC world champion

Rocky Mattioli Rocky Mattioli (born Rocco Mattioli, 20 September 1953) an Italian-born Australian former boxer at junior middleweight, and former world champion. Rocky was the 2004 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns category. ...

Sanremo, Italy Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

. Hope became a world champion by knocking Mattioli out in the ninth round. On 25 September, he defended the WBC's world title for the first time, knocking out Mike Baker in the seventh round, at London. His second defence, on 12 June 1980, was a rematch with Mattioli. This time, they fought in London, and Hope repeated his previous win, but with an eleventh round

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 strikin ...

instead. On 26 November, he defended his crown against well known

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n contender Carlos Herrera in London, winning by a fifteen-round decision. Hope went to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, for his next defence, which also turned out to be his first, and, ultimately, last fight in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He planned to

marry Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

his girlfriend while in Las Vegas. On 23 May 1981, at the Caesars Palace, Hope lost the world Jr. Middleweight title to

Wilfred Benítez Wilfred "Wilfredo" Benítez (born September 12, 1958) is an American-born Puerto Rican former professional boxer and the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Earning his first of three career world titles in separate weight division ...

, suffering a twelfth-round knockout that later made

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

sports show highlights. While Benitez became the first

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

to win world titles in three different divisions, the youngest boxer in history to do so, and the first in 40 years to achieve the accomplishment, Hope had to be

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

ised, but he recuperated and was able to marry his girlfriend before returning to England. After one more defeat, to

Luigi Minchillo Luigi Minchillo (17 March 1955 – 25 September 2023) was an Italian professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He twice challenged for a light middleweight world title in 1984, losing to Thomas Hearns by 12-rounds unanimous decision fo ...

, Hope permanently retired from boxing. Throughout his career Hope was managed by his mentor Terry Lawless, whose stable of top-quality boxers also included

John H Stracey John Henry Stracey MBE (born 22 September 1950) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1969 to 1978. He is a former welterweight world champion, having held the WBC and lineal welterweight titles between 1975 and 1976. At reg ...

, Jim Watt,

Charlie Magri Carmel Magri (born 20 July 1956), who boxed under the name Charlie Magri, is a British former professional boxer. He is from a Tunisian family that settled in Mile End, London, where he grew up. During his professional career he held the WBC a ...

and

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 ...

. Their PR was handled by Norman Giller who, like all the boxers apart from Scottish hero Watt, was based in East London. They all trained in the famous East End fight academy run by Lawless at the Royal Oak in Canning Town. Most of their major fights were under the umbrella of leading London promotion team of Harry Levene, Mike Barrett and Mickey Duff.

Professional boxing record

Later life

Hope continued in the public eye in England, doing various jobs, and he has enjoyed his earnings as a boxer. Furthermore, with Benitez suffering from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and boxing-related conditions, he has become a frequent visitor to

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where he and Benitez sometimes spend days talking about their old days as boxers. Hope now lives in Antigua after being given land by the government to mark his achievements in the ring. Hope has been an outstanding ambassador for Antigua and is happily involved in the island's tourist industry. In recognition of Hope's achievements while a resident, the London Borough of Hackney named a major cycle route after him.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Maurice 1951 births Living people Antigua and Barbuda male boxers People from St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda emigrants to England English male boxers People from Hackney Central Boxers from Greater London Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Great Britain Middleweight boxers British Boxing Board of Control champions Commonwealth Boxing Council champions European Boxing Union champions World light-middleweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions