Anthony "Tony" Willis (born 17 June 1960 in
Liverpool, England
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 populat ...
) is a Former British boxing champion winning the
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 ...
out right and won a
Light Welterweight Bronze medal at the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
.
As a professional, he held the British lightweight boxing title between 1985 and 1987.
1980 Olympic results
Representing Great Britain, Willis was a bronze medalist in the Light Welterweight (63.5 kg) class at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. His results were:
* Round of 32: Defeated
Jaime Franco (Brazil) on points, 5-0
* Round of 16: Defeated
Shadrach Odhiambo (Sweden) on points, 5-0
* Quarterfinal: Defeated
William Lyimo (Tanzania) by third-round knockout
* Semifinal: Lost to
Patrizio Oliva
Patrizio Oliva (born 28 January 1959) is an Italian former professional boxer, who won the gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 1980 Moscow Olympics as an amateur and the WBA light welterweight title as a professional.
Early lif ...
(Italy) on points, 0-5 (was awarded bronze medal)
Amateur titles
*1980
Amateur Boxing Association
England Boxing, known until 2013 as the Amateur Boxing Association of England, is the Sports governing body, governing body of amateur boxing clubs in England. There are separate organisations for Scotland and Wales with boxing in Northern Irela ...
British
light-welterweight champion
*1981 A.B.A. Light welterweight champion
[
]
Pro career
Willis had his first professional fight in September 1981, beating Winston McKenzie. He won his first thirteen fights putting himself in line for a British lightweight title fight. In December 1983 he fought George Feeney for his British lightweight title. He lost when the fight was stopped in the first round.
In May 1985 he fought for the vacant British lightweight title against Ian McLeod, winning on points over twelve rounds. In November 1985 he defended his British title against Paul Chance. Willis won when the fight was stopped in the fifth round, Chance having been knocked down three times. In May 1986 he defended his title against Steve Boyle in 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 ...
, winning by a technical knockout in the ninth round.
In September 1987 he defended his title for the third time, against Scottish boxer, Alex Dickson. The fight was held in Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, and Dickson won on points over twelve rounds to take Willis's title. After losing his title, Willis continued fighting but retired in May 1989 after being knocked out in a light-welterweight fight by Pat Barrett.
See also
* List of British lightweight boxing champions
List of British lightweight boxing champions is a table showing the boxers who have won the British lightweight title. The title had been sanctioned by the National Sporting Club from 1909–1929 where they awarded the Lord Lonsdale Challenge B ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Tony
1960 births
Living people
English male boxers
Light-welterweight boxers
Lightweight boxers
Boxers at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Olympic boxers for Great Britain
Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
Boxers from Liverpool
Olympic medalists in boxing
Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics