Hugh Russell (born 15 December 1959) is a former

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 ...

from Northern Ireland who competed from 1981 to 1985. He held the 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 MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

title in 1983, and the British

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 ...

title from 1984 to 1985. As an amateur, he won bronze medals at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

and 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 ...

, both in the flyweight division.

1980 Olympic results

Below are the results of Hugh Russell, an Irish flyweight boxer who competed at the 1980 Moscow Olympics: * Round of 32: Defeated Samir Khiniab (Iraq) on points, 5-0 * Round of 16: Defeated Emmanuel Mlundwa (Tanzania) on points, 5-0 * Quarterfinal: Defeated Yo Ryon-Sik (North Korea) on points, 3-2 * Semifinal: Lost to

Peter Lessov Petar Lesov ( bg, Петър Лесов, born 12 September 1960) is a former Bulgarian boxer, who won the Flyweight Gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics. He is a two-time European champion in the flyweight division (1981 and 1983). Lesov is cu ...

(Bulgaria) on points, 0-5 (was awarded bronze medal)

Professional career

Known as "Little Red", Russell turned pro in 1981 and won two British titles in Bantamweight and Flyweight. He was the first boxer to win a British title at both divisions in that order. In October 1982 he defeated Davy Larmour at the Ulster Hall to win the Irish Bantamweight title. The fight was also a final eliminator for the British Bantamweight title. An iconic image of Russell reaching through the ropes to kiss his mother, Eileen, after winning the fight, appears in photographer Brendan Murphy's book ''Eyewitness''. In January 1983, he fought in the last 15 round British title fight against reigning Bantamweight champion John Feeney. The fight was stopped in the 13th round when the referee disqualified Feeney. Russell retired in 1985 as undefeated British flyweight champion after securing 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), int ...

References

* * 1959 births Living people Boxers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Male boxers from Northern Ireland Olympic boxers of Ireland Olympic bronze medalists for Ireland Boxers from Belfast Boxers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Northern Ireland Olympic medalists in boxing Irish male boxers Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Bantamweight boxers {{Ireland-Olympic-medalist-stub

1980 Olympic results

Professional career

See also

References