Ron Richards (born Ranold;/Randell William Richards; 8 May 1910 – 14 January 1967, in

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is a city in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River, it is approximately west of the Brisbane central business district. The city is renowned for its architectural, natural and cultural heritage. Ipswich p ...

) was an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

middle/

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

boxer of the 1930s and 1940s who is considered one of the greatest fighters ever to come from Australia. He won many championship titles in Australia and fought 146 professional fights. He was seen as a serious contender for the world middle and light heavyweight championships.

Life and career

Richards studied at the local state school for Aboriginal children and worked cutting timber with his father at age 14. His family was exempt from the Aboriginal Protection Act (1897) and so were able to move around the

Boonah Boonah is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Boonah had a population of 2,484 people. Geography The town is positioned near the Fassifern Valley, McPherson Range and Main Ran ...

district. They worked part of this time as share-croppers. His brother Maxie was also a very successful bantam-weight boxer. Richards started his career boxing in travelling shows like many other Aboriginal boxers, including his father who was a bareknuckle boxer. He then moved on to stadium fights, and took on Australian championships. He also fought internationally against prominent American and English fighters. His earnings allowed him to buy four houses He married Dorothy Elizabeth Iselin in St Luke's Church of England, Brisbane, on 14 December 1935. He later re-married to Colleen Boyle, an Irish immigrant. He intentionally fought harder than he was told to at times, winning fights that organisers had told him to lose, and was often matched against fighters in higher weight categories. His reputation was also marred by gambling, including the 'ring-in' known as the 'bowser boy affair' in 1936. He was an exceptionally skilled and famous boxer, and was considered a serious contender for the world middle and light heavyweight championships for his incredible wins including his defeat of 34 out of 50 bouts against overseas celebrity boxers.

Post-career

The death of his wife, Dorothy, in 1937 from tuberculosis had severely affected him. At the end of his career, he fought in Sydney pubs against any who would challenge him. He eventually used up all his earnings and the native affairs branch of the Queensland government was requested to take jurisdiction over him after police in Sydney charged him with vagrancy in May 1947. He was subsequently incarcerated at the

Woorabinda Woorabinda is a rural town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda, Queensland, Australia. In the , Woorabinda had a population of 962 people. It is an Aboriginal community. Geography Woorabinda is in Central Queensland, inland abo ...

Aboriginal settlement and was released after three years. He briefly lived in Brisbane, and then Sydney. While in Sydney he was arrested for 'vagrancy and drunkenness' and, under the 'Queensland Act', was sent to the

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...

Palm Island, Queensland Palm Island is a locality consisting of an island group of 16 islands, split between the Shire of Hinchinbrook and the Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island, in Queensland, Australia. The locality coincides with the geographical entity known as the ...

, where he tended gardens and refused to talk about his boxing career. He also worked as a carpenter's labourer and managed a single men's home. At some point, he returned to Sydney after his daughter sent word of his estranged wife falling ill. He died of a heart condition in

Dulwich Hill Dulwich Hill is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 7.5 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. Dulwich Hill ...

in 1967. He was buried at Rookwood cemetery. He had a Catholic funeral which drew a great crowd, with many Australian boxing celebrities attending. He was survived by his daughter.

Legacy

Richards was inducted into the

Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held across Australia. Inductees are nominated and then voted upon by a panel of ...

in 2003.

Professional boxing record

Richards' professional fighting weight varied from , i.e.

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

to , i.e.

. His record includes: * Queensland State heavyweight champion * Queensland State middleweight champion * Australian middleweight champion: 1933 and 1936-1942 * Australian lightweight champion: 1936-1938 and 1941 * Australian heavyweight champion * Australian light heavyweight champion * British Empire middleweight champion

References

External links

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Image - Ron Richards Image - Ron Richards
1910 births 1967 deaths Light-heavyweight boxers Middleweight boxers Sportspeople from Ipswich, Queensland Indigenous Australian boxers Australian male boxers Commonwealth Boxing Council champions Sportsmen from Queensland {{Australia-boxing-bio-stub