Nelson "Nel" Tarleton (14 February 1906Odd, Gilbert E. (ed.) (1946) ''Boxing News Annual 1946'', War Facts Press, p. 53 – 12 January 1956) was an

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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, this ...

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 ...

from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

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. He was

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featherweight champion on three separate occasions. Tarleton was one of only seven fighters to win two or more

Lonsdale Belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), inten ...

s outright, being the first to do so, Tarleton was twice World title challenger at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool.

Boxing style

Tarleton lacked a punch, but was immensely skilful, winning most of his important fights on points. He was tall and very thin. He had only one lung from the age of two, but was still able to box successfully until he was 42.

Professional career

Born in Liverpool, Tarleton had his first professional fight on 14 January 1926 (his twentieth birthday), when he beat George Sankey on points over ten rounds at

Liverpool Stadium Liverpool Stadium was a boxing arena on St. Paul's Square, Bixteth Street, Liverpool, England. The UK's first purpose built boxing arena. The foundation stone was laid by the Earl of Lonsdale on 22 July 1932, and it opened to the public on 20 O ...

. He built up an impressive domestic record, with only the occasional defeat, fighting most of his bouts in his hometown of Liverpool. Then, in October 1929, he went to the United States and had a number of fights in various venues in

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, scoring five wins, two losses, and one draw.

British featherweight title

His next fight, in November 1930, was a title challenge against the British featherweight champion, Johnny Cuthbert. The pair fought a fifteen-round draw in Liverpool Stadium. In October 1931, the pair had a rematch at Anfield Football Ground, and this time Tarleton won on points. In November 1932, he defended his British title against Tommy Watson, in Liverpool Stadium, and lost on points.

Title regained

In July 1934, Tarleton had a re-match with Watson, at Anfield, and regained his title with another point win. In September 1934, Tarleton fought for the world featherweight title against American fighter, Freddie Miller. The fight was held in Liverpool, and Miller won on points to retain his featherweight title. In December 1934, Tarleton defended his title against

Dave Crowley Dave Crowley (4 May 1910 – 11 December 1974) was a British Boxing, boxer. After winning an Area title at bantamweight, he moved up to featherweight, at which he challenged for a world title, before moving up again to lightweight, at which he wa ...

at the Empire Pool,

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, winning on points, and also winning the

outright. In June 1935, Tarleton fought Freddie Miller again for his world featherweight title. The fight, as before, was held in Liverpool, and Miller won on points again, to retain his title. In May 1936, he defended his British title against

Johnny King Johnny Cecil King (born 2 July 1942) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was ...

of Manchester, defeating him on points. In September 1936, he defended his title again, against Johnny McGrory. The fight was held at Anfield, and Mcgrory won on points to take Tarleton’s title.

Third title

In February 1940, Tarleton fought for the British featherweight title again. The fight was against holder

Johnny Cusick Johnny "Nipper" Cusick (27 January 1916 – 1 March 1990) was an English professional bantam/ feather/light/welterweight boxer of the 1930s and 1940s who won the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) Northern (England) Area featherweight ...

and was also for the Commonwealth title. Tarleton won on points at Liverpool Stadium to take the British title for the third time. In November 1940, he defended his British and Commonwealth titles at Liverpool Stadium, against Tom Smith of Sunderland, winning on points. Tarleton continued fighting, until February 1945, when he defended his British and Commonwealth featherweight titles against Al Phillips, at Belle Vue,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. At the age of 39, he won on points against his 25-year-old opponent, and retained his titles. Tarleton did not defend his titles again but relinquished them in February 1947, at the age of 41. After retiring, Tarleton struggled with ill health and died at the age of 49. He left a wife Barbara, and a twin boy and girl.

References