Lonsdale Belt
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The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest
championship belt A championship belt is a large, extravagantly designed belt used primarily in combat sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling to signify the champions of the promotion or company, much like a cup or trophy in other s ...
in British
professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...
.
Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, (25 January 1857–13 April 1944) was an English peer and sportsman. Early life Born in 1857, he was the second son of Emily Susan (), daughter of St George Francis Caulfeild of Donamon Castle of R ...
, introduced the prize on behalf of 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 ...
(NSC), intending it to be awarded to British boxing champions. Arthur Frederick Bettinson, manager of the NSC, introduced terms and conditions regarding the holding of the belt, which ensured its lasting prestige. Freddie Welsh earned the first Lonsdale Belt in 1909 after winning the NSC British Lightweight title. Heavyweight
Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. Coo ...
was the first and only boxer to win three Lonsdale Belts. In 1929 the
British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...
(BBBofC) assumed responsibility for awarding the belt, which continues to be bestowed on British champions. Only six boxers have won two Lonsdale belts each outright since 1934, which led to the BBBofC introducing more stringent rules of attainment in the 1980s and 1990s. The last winner of two belts was
Clinton McKenzie Clinton McKenzie (born 15 September 1955) is a former British professional boxer. He fought in the light welterweight division and became the British light welterweight title holder and briefly held the European title. Background McKenzie was ...
in 1987. The Lonsdale belt is a coveted prize with great monetary and sentimental value, finding homes in private collections and museums, and has been auctioned for large sums of money. Belts have been stolen on numerous occasions, none of which have ever been found. Since 1909, only 161 boxers have won a Lonsdale belt outright across all weights. In 2013 the BBBofC in a move to acknowledge further the esteem held for outright Lonsdale belt winners introduced the Lonsdale Badge. Outright winners of the belt are now entitled to display this badge on their boxing shorts during bouts.


History


1909–1936: National Sporting Club

Lord Lonsdale was the first president of 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 ...
(NSC). In 1909, he introduced the Lonsdale Belt—originally the Challenge Belt—as a new trophy for British boxing champions in each weight division. A 9-carat or 22-carat gold belt composed of two heavy chains with a central enamel medallion depicting a boxing match, the centrepiece is flanked by enamel medallions showing single boxers and gold medallions with a scroll on which is inscribed the names of belt winners. The medallions are interspersed with smaller gold medallions depicting the Union Rose. The belts are backed with a red, white and blue ribbon. The first belts were made in the
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
workshop of jewellers
Mappin & Webb Mappin & Webb (M&W) is an international jewellery company headquartered in England. Mappin & Webb traces its origins to a silver workshop founded in Sheffield . It now has retail stores throughout the UK. Mappin & Webb has held Royal Warrants ...
The silversmiths and trophy makers
Thomas Fattorini Ltd Thomas Fattorini Ltd is a manufacturing jeweller and designer-maker of awards, trophies, ceremonial swords, civic insignia, medals and name badges. The company is located on three sites in Manchester, Birmingham and London with their head office i ...
, were commissioned to make the belts in sterling silver in the early 1970s and have been making them since. The manufacturer and the date a belt was manufactured can be identified by the hallmark on the parts. Each portrait of Lord Lonsdale is uniquely hand painted in
vitreous enamel Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word comes from the Lati ...
. A total of 22 Lonsdale belts were issued by the NSC; 20 were won outright. The manager of the NSC Arthur Frederick Bettinson published details about the terms and conditions of holding the belt agreed by the NSC in '' Sporting Life'' on 22 December 1909. The main rules were: * The holder was required to defend his title within six months of a challenge. Minimum stake of a side (£200 for heavyweights, £50 for flyweights) * The belt became the holder's property after three successful bouts held under the auspices of the NSC, consecutive or otherwise, or after it was held for three consecutive years. Outright winners would also receive an NSC pension of £50 a year from the age of 50. * The holder was required to pay a deposit and insurance for the belt. The first recipient of this belt was Freddie Welsh, who defeated Johnny Summers on 8 November 1909 for the NSC British Lightweight title.


1936–present: British Boxing Board of Control

The NSC became virtually defunct in 1929 and lost control of the sport to the
British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...
(BBBofC), which started to issue the Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt in 1936. Lonsdale consented to the use of his name and image on the belt in perpetuity; an image of his face remains on it. In 1939 the last 9-carat gold belt was launched by the BBBofC and won by the lightweight Eric Boon that year. The last 9-carat gold belt was won outright by
Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. Coo ...
in 1959. Belts made from 1945 are composed of
hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...
ed silver and the laurel-leaf border has the thistle, daffodil and shamrock added to the extant rose to represent the four national flowers of the UK. The belt was machine-made for a short time in the 1970s before the BBBofC decided to have it hand-made again, passing the contract to
Thomas Fattorini Ltd Thomas Fattorini Ltd is a manufacturing jeweller and designer-maker of awards, trophies, ceremonial swords, civic insignia, medals and name badges. The company is located on three sites in Manchester, Birmingham and London with their head office i ...
, who continue to make the belts . Each belt costs £14,000.


Changes

In 1987, the BBBofC decided to award only one belt to any boxer in each division. A boxer can, however, win belts outright in different weight classes. On 1 September 1999 the BBBofC changed the criteria for winning a belt outright; boxers must now win four—rather than three—championship contests in the same weight division. The rule also stipulates that one of the four wins must be a mandatory contest. The BBBofC general secretary John Morris cited the rising costs of making the belts as the chief reason for the rule change. The BBBofC introduced the Lonsdale Badge in 2013; it is worn by outright winners. According to a Eurosport report:


Donations and auctions

The Lonsdale belt won by Bombardier Billy Wells in 1911 is now kept at the
Royal Artillery Barracks Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a barracks of the British Army which forms part of Woolwich Garrison. The Royal Regiment of Artillery had its headquarters here from 1776 until 2007, when it was moved to Larkhill Garrison. History In 17 ...
in
Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
, London, and is not on display to the general public. Johnny Brown's Lonsdale Belt was donated to the
Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...
in 2010. In November 2000 the belt awarded to
Randy Turpin Randolph Adolphus Turpin (7 June 1928 – 17 May 1966), better known as Randy Turpin, was a British boxer in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1951 he became world middleweight champion when he defeated Sugar Ray Robinson. He was inducted into the Inter ...
in 1956 was auctioned for £23,000 while in September 2011, the belt won by the welterweight Jack Hood in 1926 fetched £36,000. Hood, who died in 1992, had displayed his belt above the bar at the Bell public house, of which he was the licensee, in
Tanworth-in-Arden Tanworth-in-Arden (; often abbreviated to Tanworth) is a small village and civil parish in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is southeast of Birmingham and northeast of Redditch, and is administered by Stratford-on-Avon District Council ...
. In 1993, Henry Cooper sold all three of his belts for £42,000 after losing heavily on the Lloyd's insurance market. One of the belts—the last one made of gold—was sold for £22,000. The others sold for £10,000 each. Cooper was expecting £70,000 for the sale but was content they were all sold together.


Theft

The belts have attracted targeted theft over the years. The first recorded in the media was
Don Cockell Donald John Cockell (22 September 1928 – 18 July 1983) was an English boxer. He fought for most of his career as a light-heavyweight and became the British and European champion at that weight. Later in his career he moved up to heavyweight ...
's Lonsdale belt, which was stolen in 1952 from a glass cabinet at his home in London while he was out dancing. He did not own the £15,000 belt at the time, needing one more victory. In 2007, after attending a training camp, Bobby Vanzie returned to his home to Bradford and discovered his belt had been stolen. Tara promoter Jack Doughty said in the ''
Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...
'': "This is the best belt a boxer can win. It is better than those for world title fights, gold plated with a portrait of Lord Lonsdale in the middle." Pat McAteer's belt was stolen from his son's home at
Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
, in 2012. The boxer's son, also named Pat, told the ''
Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...
'' that since his father's death he has only had the belt out once to show his nine-year-old nephew Will. "Will was like ‘wow’ when he saw ‘Pop Pop’s’ belt. He was going to inherit the belt from me and he was to pass it to his son and so on, so it would stay in the McAteer family." Jack Petersen's Lonsdale belt was stolen from his son's home in
Burnham, Buckinghamshire Burnham is a large village and civil parish that lies north of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough, about 24 miles west of Charing Cross, London. It is probably best known for the nearby Burnham Beec ...
in 2013. His son Robert, managing director of Cardiff PR firm Petersens, told ''
Wales Online Media Wales Ltd. is a publishing company based in Cardiff, Wales. As of 2009 it was owned by Reach plc (formerly known as the Trinity Mirror Group). It was previously known as the Western Mail & Echo Ltd. History The ''Western Mail'' was fo ...
'': "It’s the family’s crown jewels, a magnificent looking piece of art. It would be a terrible shame if it was melted down."


Current holders of the BBBofC Lonsdale Belt

This table is updated periodically using the
British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...
Website


Outright winners of Lonsdale belt


Key



See also

* Evolution of professional boxing


Bibliography

* * Golesworthy, Maurice (1988). ''Encyclopaedia of Boxing (Eighth Edition)'', Robert Hale Limited,


References


Video

*


External links

*
Boxrec.com – Lonsdale Belt article"
*
Bbc.co.uk – Lonsdale Belt article"
* {{British boxing Boxing awards Boxing in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1909 1909 establishments in the United Kingdom History of boxing Boxing competitions in the United Kingdom Professional boxing organizations