Walter Ross (born 3 July 1898) was a Scottish

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

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

champion in 1919 and fought for the European title the same year.

Career

Born 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 ...

, but based during much of his professional career in

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

, London, Ross made his professional debut in March 1915 with a points win over Joe Clark at

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

. He won six of his first ten fights and in August 1916 faced Sid Shields for the vacant Scottish flyweight title, winning on points over 20 rounds. In March 1917 he fought a draw with Louis Ruddick at the

Holborn Stadium Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon ...

. In November he beat

Johnny Hughes John "Johnny" Hughes (born 1950) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played as a left wing-back at senior level for the Galway county team. Born in Mountbellew, County Galway, Hughes served his Gaelic football apprenticeship with the loc ...

over 20 rounds, and followed that in January 1918 with a win over

Digger Stanley George 'Digger' Stanley (28 February 1876 – 7 March 1919) was an English boxer who was British and European bantamweight boxing champion. Early life Stanley was a gypsy, and was born in a caravan at Kingston-upon-Thames. He could not read or ...

. He beat Stanley again in April, his opponent being disqualified in the sixth round, but lost to

Tommy Noble Tommy Noble (4 March 1897 – 1 April 1966) was a British boxer who was British bantamweight champion between 1918 and 1919, and European champion in 1919. He won the World featherweight title in 1920. Career Noble enlisted into the British Army ...

on points in October. In June 1919 he challenged for Noble's British bantamweight title at the

National Sporting Club The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation. Origins The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...

. Ross dominated the fight, and Noble's corner threw in the towel midway through the tenth round, giving Ross the British title. Ross faced

Eugène Criqui Eugène Criqui (15 August 1893 – 7 July 1977) was a French boxer who held the World Featherweight title in 1923. After his death, he was added to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Eugène was the 2015 Inductee for the Australian Nat ...

in September 1919, the Frenchman knocking him out in the fifteenth round. Three months later he challenged for

Charles Ledoux Charles Ledoux (27 October 1892 – 21 May 1967) was a French bantamweight boxer who was active from 1909 to 1926. While never capturing a world title, he squared off against the best opposition available to him both nationally and internation ...

's European bantamweight title at the Cirque de Paris, but lost after retiring in the twelfth and final round while well behind. Only two weeks after the fight with Ledoux, he faced

Joe Symonds Hubert Toms (28 December 1894 – 4 March 1953), better known as Joe Symonds, Young Joe Symonds, or Young Symonds, was a British professional boxer who competed from 1910 to 1924. He held the IBU world and National Sporting Club’s British fly ...

in Plymouth. He fought a draw with Robert Dastillon in January 1920. After losing his next two fights he put together a run of wins which included defeats of Alf Goodwin, Sid Whatley, Marcel Lepreux, and former British champion

Bill Beynon Bill Beynon (8 April 1891 – 20 July 1932) was a Welsh boxer who fought professionally between 1909 and 1931. He is most notable for winning the British and Empire bantamweight boxing championship in 1913. Boxing career Beynon was a collier f ...

. The run came to an end when he was disqualified for hitting low against Dastillon in Paris in October. In 1921 he beat Beynon and Dastillon, but lost to Symonds in October. In 1922 he travelled to Australia for a series of fights, but won only one (against Silvino Jamito). After three and a half years out of the ring he returned in December 1925, losing three fights before finally retiring in 1926.

References

External links

Career record
at boxinghistory.org.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Walter 1898 births Date of death unknown Scottish male boxers Flyweight boxers Bantamweight boxers Featherweight boxers Boxers from Glasgow Boxers from Greater London