Ronnie James (8 October 1917 – 12 June 1977) was a British

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 ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

champion. Born in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, James had over 130 professional bouts winning 114 of them, 61 through knockout. In 1946 he challenged

Ike Williams Isiah "Ike" Williams (August 2, 1923 – September 5, 1994) was a lightweight world boxing champion. He took the World Lightweight Championship in April 1945 and made eight successful defenses of the title against six different fighters prior to ...

at Cardiff for the NBA Lightweight title, but lost the contest in the ninth round.

Boxing career

James' first recorded professional fight was on 21 January 1936 against local fighter Sid Williams. James then went on an unbeaten run of 52 contests before being stopped by

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 on 12 January 1936. Although many of the matches in his early career were against fairly inexperienced fighters, several notable opponents were faced; including wins over Welsh champions Boyo Rees and

Terence Morgan Terence Ivor Grant Morgan (8 December 1921 – 25 August 2005) was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He played many "villain" roles in British film but is probably best remembered for his starring role in the TV historical ...

; a draw with Southern area champion

Dick Corbett Richard Coleman (28 September 1908 – 3 March 1943), better known as Dick Corbett, was a two-time British bantamweight champion. He was from Bethnal Green, London. Boxing career According to his traceable fight record Corbett remained undefea ...

and a victory against future NBA World champion

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

. After the Crowley contest, James began to face more challenging contests on a regular basis. James fought and lost against Spaniard

Baltasar Sangchili Baltasar Berenguer Hervas (October 15, 1911 – September 2, 1992), popularly known in his time as Baltasar Sangchili, was a Spanish boxer who claimed the World Bantamweight Championship. He was the first Spanish fighter in history to win a world ...

, but then knocked out fellow Welshman Phineas John in the eighth round in October 1936. These bouts were followed with another points draw with Corbett. The end of 1936 through to 1937 saw James face a dearth of experienced challengers, before he met

Cuthbert Taylor Cuthbert Taylor (11 December 1909 – 15 November 1977) was a Welsh boxer who competed for Great Britain in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He was the Welsh Bantamweight Champion. Amateur boxing career According to boxing historian, Gareth Jones, Cu ...

St Helen's St Helens or St. Helen's may refer to: Places Australia * St Helens, Queensland (Fraser Coast Region), a locality in the Fraser Coast Region * St Helens, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality in the Toowoomba Region * St Helens Beach, Queenslan ...

in Swansea. The match was won by James, which was followed by another victory, this time against Douglas Kestrell. The Kestrell fight was followed by a loss to Liverpool fighter Tony Butcher, who came off a twelve-match losing streak to stop James by a

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 striking, a ...

in the sixth of a twelve-round bout in the Market Hall of

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

. James bounced back in 1938 with four straight wins, three by knockout, before being disqualified in a contest in front of his hometown against NBA ex-champion Freddie Miller of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He then took in ten winning bouts, most notably over Tommy Hyams and Dick Corbett, before two losses, to Dave Finn and another loss to Crowley. After losing to Crowley in April 1939, James didn't lose a fight until May 1942, including wins over both Finn and Crowley. By 1943 James was heading towards a British title fight, which had evaded him before this date. Although losing three bouts on a run on the build-up to his championship claim, one to Lefty Satan Flynn and two to

Arthur Danahar Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more ...

, he was still allowed a shot at the title against

Eric Boon Eric Boon (28 December 1919 – 19 January 1981) was a champion British lightweight boxer. Born in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, he was known by the nicknames Boy Boon and the Fen Tiger. Of a total of 119 fights, he won 92 ( KO 62), lost 21 (KO ...

. The Boon contest was for the British Lightweight title and took place on 12 August 1944 at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

in the Welsh capital. James took the title after a tenth-round knockout.Odd, Gilbert E. (ed.) (1946) ''Boxing News Annual 1946'', War Facts Press, p. 53 He served as a sergeant-instructor in the

Army Physical Training Corps The Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC) is the British Army corps responsible for physical fitness and physical education and has been headquartered in Aldershot since its foundation in 1860. Its members are all Royal Army Physical Trainin ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. James never defended his British title but before retiring he challenged American Ike Williams for the NBA World Lightweight title. The match brought the champion to Wales, the first time a boxing title had been held in the country, taking place at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

on 9 September 1946. James was knocked out in the ninth round after suffering six knockdowns during the bout. James retired from boxing in 1947 after being beaten by a 19-year-old

Cliff Curvis Cliff Curvis (19 November 1927 – 22 April 2009), was a champion welterweight boxer from Swansea, Wales. Curvis fought professionally from the mid-1940s until 1953, winning both the British and Commonwealth titles when he beat Wally Thom ...

at the

Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the club moved to the newly built Liberty Stadium in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at ...

in Swansea. James had failed to make the weight limit for the challenge against Curvis, for which he was stripped of his British title, and subsequently retired from boxing.

References

External links

*
Ike Williams v Ronnie James World title commentary
BBC Sport {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Ronnie Welsh male boxers Lightweight boxers 1917 births 1977 deaths Boxers from Swansea Royal Army Physical Training Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Swansea

Boxing career

See also

References

External links