Ron Barton (25 February 1933 – 4 June 2018) 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

light-heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserw ...

champion in 1956 and also fought for the commonwealth title.

Career

Born in

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

, London, Barton served in 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) and ...

and worked at

Smithfield Market Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Bartho ...

, and was ABA

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 as an amateur, also representing Britain at the 1953 European Boxing Championships in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He began his professional career in February 1954 and won all twelve of his fights that year. In January 1955 he beat

Arthur Howard Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Camberwell, London, Howard was the younger son of Lilian (née Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" ...

in an eliminator for the British light-heavyweight title at the

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 ...

. He also won his next six fights, including victories over former Spanish champion Ramon Martinez and Canadian champion

Yvon Durelle Yvon Durelle (October 14, 1929 – January 6, 2007), was a Canadian champion boxer. He was of Acadian descent. Early life From a family of fourteen children, Yvon Durelle grew up in Baie-Ste-Anne, a small Acadian fishing village on Miramich ...

, before suffering his first defeat in November 1955 to Italian middleweight champion

Alessandro D'Ottavio Alessandro D'Ottavio (26 August 1927 – 25 December 1988) was an Italian boxer. He won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in 1948 for Italy in the 67 kg category. He was born in Rome, Italy , established_title = Fou ...

on points. He fought D'Ottavio again in January 1956, this time taking the points decision. In March 1956 he faced

Albert Finch Albert Finch (16 May 1926 – 23 January 2003) was a British boxer from Croydon in South London, who was active from 1945 to 1958. He fought as both a middleweight and light-heavyweight, becoming British middleweight champion in 1950. He was ...

for the British light-heavyweight title at the

Harringay Arena Harringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958. Construction Harringay Arena was built and owned by Brigadier-General Alfred Critchley under ...

, stopping the defending champion in the eighth round. Three months later he fought Gordon Wallace for the commonwealth title vacated by

Randolph 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 Intern ...

at Clapton Greyhound Track; Barton was knocked down four times but the fight went the full 15-round distance, with Wallace winning on points. Barton announced his retirement from boxing after the fight. Barton went on to work at

.Batchelor, Kevin (2019) "Ron Barton, a Belated Epilogue", ''Boxing News'', 9 July 2019, p. 12 In February 1958 Barton was seriously injured in a car crash in which one person was killed.Barton's Birthday
, ''

Singapore Free Press ''The Singapore Free Press'' was an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore. History The paper was founded as Singapore's second English-language newspaper by William Napier, Edward Boustead, Walter Scott Lorrain and Geo ...

'', 12 March 1958, p. 14. Retrieved 12 March 2015 Three years after his defeat to Wallace, Barton returned to the ring. He won his first four fights in 1959 but lost three of his last four before retiring in 1961. He won 26 and lost 5 of his 31 fights. In 1983, Barton suffered a brain haemorrhage, leaving him with short term memory problems, but after 15 months off work he returned to his market job, until finally retiring aged 63. He died on 4 June 2018, aged 85.

References

External links

*
Career record
at boxinghistory.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Ron 1933 births 2018 deaths English male boxers Boxers from Greater London Light-heavyweight boxers