Sammy McCarthy (5 November 193110 February 2020) was a British

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who was the

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 ...

champion between 1954 and 1955. He also fought for the 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 ...

title and the European and British Empire featherweight titles.

Career

Born one of ten children in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

, London to a

costermonger A costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables in British towns. The term is derived from the words ''costard'' (a medieval variety of apple) and ''monger'' (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers i ...

father, McCarthy was a boyhood friend of

Terry Lawless Terry Lawless (29 March 1933 – 24 December 2009) was an English boxing manager and trainer who worked in London, most successfully during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Biography Born in West Ham, Lawless started his coaching and management ca ...

, and had a successful amateur career fighting out of St. George's Gym in Stepney, winning 83 of 90 fights and representing England four times.Sammy McCarthy, Flyweight Champion
, ''Spitalfields Life'', 12 July 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2016Dirs, Nick
Sammy McCarthy
, London ex-Boxers Association. Retrieved 5 March 2016 He turned professional under managers Jarvis Astaire and Ben Schmidt, and made his pro debut in April 1951 with a first round knockout of Hector Macrow. He was unbeaten in his first 28 fights, which included wins over Freddie King, Jackie Turpin, Ronnie Clayton, and Jim Kenny. In December 1952 he was chosen as the best young fighter of the year by the Boxing Writers Club. He suffered his first defeat in October 1953 when he was beaten on points 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 ...

by future World champion Hogan "Kid" Bassey. He also lost his next fight, to former European champion Ray Famechon, before challenging for the European title himself when he faced Jean Sneyers 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 t ...

in February 1954. Sneyers won on points to retain the title. McCarthy beat Teddy Peckham in April before challenging for the British title that Clayton had held for almost 7 years in June 1954 at

White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car ...

. Clayton retired at the end of the eighth round due to impaired vision, giving McCarthy the title, and Clayton was forced to retire from boxing after the fight due to his injuries.Golesworthy, Maurice (1988) ''Encyclopaedia of Boxing'', Robert Hale Limited, , p. 170 McCarthy won four more fights that year, the last a points victory over Roy Ankrah in December. In January 1955 he made his first defence of the British title against Billy "Spider" Kelly, with Kelly's British Empire title also at stake. The fight went the full 15 rounds, with Kelly winning on points. McCarthy was offered a rematch with Kelly, but after failing to make featherweight against Sneyers in November 1955 decided to move up to lightweight, winning his first fight at the weight against Austrian champion Willi Swoboda. Despite losing to

Dave Charnley David Fraser Charnley (10 October 1935 – 3 March 2012) was an English lightweight boxer considered to be one of the greatest British fighters in his weight class. Known as "The Dartford Destroyer", the left-handed Charnley had a 10-year caree ...

in April 1956, he faced Joe Lucy in June for the British title. The referee stopped the fight in the thirteenth round with Lucy well ahead on points. McCarthy beat Midlands Area champion Johnny Mann twice that year and also beat Johnny Miller and Jacques Dumesnil, but in January 1957 lost on points in what proved to be his final fight, against Guy Gracia. In 1957 he was featured on '' This Is Your Life'', the first boxer to be the subject of the programme, and at 25 the youngest subject. He subsequently ran the Prince of Wales pub and went into boxing management, working with boxers such as

Terry Spinks Terence "Terry" George Spinks MBE (28 February 1938 – 26 April 2012) was a boxer from Great Britain, who won the gold medal in the flyweight division (– 51 kg) at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. In the f ...

and Bobby Day.Lambert, Sharon (2005)
A life of boxing clever
, ''Lancaster Guardian'', 16 November 2005. Retrieved 5 March 2016 He later turned to crime and served three prison sentences (3, 6 and 14 years) for

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

of banks before living in retirement in

Wanstead Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...

. He died on 11 February 2020, aged 88.

References

External links

Professional record
at boxinghistory.org.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Sammy 1931 births 2020 deaths English male boxers Featherweight boxers Lightweight boxers Boxers from Greater London