Bobby Arthur (25 July 1947 – 27 July 2023) was a British boxer who was national welterweight champion between 1972 and 1973.
Bobby Arthur | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 25 July 1947 Coventry, England | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 27 July 2023 (aged 76) Coventry, England | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Weight(s) | Welterweight, light middleweight | ||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 41 | ||||||||||||||
| Wins | 26 | ||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| Losses | 15 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career edit
From Coventry, Bobby Arthur had a successful amateur career, including representing England and winning a silver medal at welterweight at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, in Kingston, Jamaica.[1][2][3] He made his professional debut in March 1967 with a win over Pat Walsh. He won his first 14 fights, before suffering his first defeat in November 1969 to former British lightweight champion Maurice Cullen. He won only two of seven fights in 1970 but a win over Ernest Musso in May 1971 started a run of three wins which led to a fight against John H. Stracey in October 1972 for the vacant British welterweight title at the Royal Albert Hall. Stracey was disqualified in the seventh round for punching after the referee had called a break, giving Arthur the title.[4]
Arthur and Stracey met again for the title at the same venue in June 1973; This time Stracey was the winner via a fourth-round knockout.[5]
Arthur then moved up to light middleweight to face Larry Paul for the newly created British title in September 1973.[6][7] Paul knocked Arthur out in the tenth round to take the title.[8]
Arthur was out of the ring for over a year, returning with a loss to Jeff Gale in December 1974. He continued until late 1976 but only won three more fights.
Death edit
Bobby Arthur died from lung cancer in Coventry on 27 July 2023, just after his 76th birthday.[9]
References edit
- ^ "1966 Athletes". Team England.
- ^ "Kingston, Jamaica, 1966 Team". Team England.
- ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
- ^ "October 31 down the years", ESPN. Retrieved 7 October 2015
- ^ Davies, Gareth A. (2012) "Memorable nights at the Royal Albert Hall", The Daily Telegraph, 20 March 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2015
- ^ Boxing News, 24 August 1973
- ^ "Paul Seeks Title in Eighth Bout", Glasgow Herald, 24 September 1973, p. 4 (Sports Herald). Retrieved 7 October 2015 via Google Newspapers
- ^ Boxing News, 28 September 1973
- ^ Lockley, Mike (29 July 2023). "Bobby Arthur loses his toughest battle". Fight City. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
External links edit
- Boxing record for Bobby Arthur from BoxRec (registration required)