Charlie Magri

Last updated

Charlie Magri
Born
Carmel Magri

(1956-07-20) 20 July 1956 (age 67)
NationalityBritish
Other namesChampagne Charlie
Statistics
Weight(s) Flyweight
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Reach64 in (163 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights35
Wins30
Wins by KO23
Losses5

Carmel Magri (born 20 July 1956), who boxed under the name Charlie Magri, is a British former professional boxer. He is from a Tunisian family that settled in Mile End, London, where he grew up. During his professional career he held the WBC and lineal flyweight titles.

Contents

Early life

Born Carmel Magri in Tunis, Tunisia in 1956 to Andre and Rose Magri, both of whom were born in Tunisia and had some French-Maltese heritage via their grandparents, [1] [2] Magri moved with his parents and six siblings to England in 1958, and Magri was raised (after moving house a couple of times) on the Burdett Estate in East London. [2] [3] [4] Charlie Magri went to St Philip Howard RC Secondary School in Upper North Street E14. It has been demolished and is now a housing development.

Amateur career

After playing for the Millwall F.C. youth team, which was captained by Jimmy Batten, who was already boxing regularly, Magri decided to take up boxing. [5] As an amateur he boxed for Arbour Youth Boxing Club in Stepney Green and was trained by Jimmy Graham, who arranged for the name on Magri's ABA registration to be changed to Charlie when he was 11. [6] [7]

He gained the following ABA titles:

He also won a bronze medal at the 1975 European championships, [8] and boxed for Great Britain in the 1976 Summer Olympics losing in the third round to Ian Clyde of Canada. [9] [10]

1976 Olympic results

Below are the results of Charlie Magri, a flyweight boxer, who competed for Great Britain at the 1976 Montreal Olympics:

Professional career

Magri was 5 ft 3 in tall and had an exciting, aggressive style, being a two-handed puncher who did not care much for defence. He was managed by Terry Lawless.

While working as a tailor's cutter by day, [11] he had his first professional fight in October 1977, at the age of twenty-one; He knocked out Neil Mclaughlin in the second round at the Royal Albert Hall. [12]

In only his third fight he gained the vacant British flyweight title after his fight with Dave Smith was stopped in the seventh round, equalling Dick Smith's 63-year old record for becoming British champion in the fewest fights. [11] [13] In December 1977 he was voted Best Young Boxer by the Boxing Writers' Club. [14]

In his twelfth fight, in May 1979, having won the previous eleven, he won on points against Franco Udella to take the European flyweight title. He won on points over twelve rounds at Wembley Arena. [15]

In December 1979, he defended his European title against Manuel Carrasco, of Spain, winning on points. [16] In June 1980, he defended it again, this time against Giovanni Camputaro of Italy, winning on a technical knockout in the third. [15]

In February 1981, he defended his European title against Spaniard, Enrique Rodríguez, knocking him out in the second round. [17] In September he fought a re-match with Rodríguez in Avilés, Spain, and again knocked him out in the second.

World title

In March 1983, he fought Eleoncio Mercedes, of the Dominican Republic, for the WBC and lineal flyweight titles. [18] The fight was at Wembley Arena and Magri won the titles when the fight was stopped in the seventh on cuts. [19]

In September 1983, he defended his world titles against Frank Cedeno, of the Philippines. The fight was at Wembley Arena, and Magri lost his titles when the referee stopped the fight in the sixth, after Magri had been knocked down three times. [19]

Later fights

In his next fight, in August 1984, Magri fought for the vacant European flyweight title that he had previously relinquished. He fought Italian Franco Cherchi in Cagliari, Italy. Magri won in the first round when a clash of heads left the Italian so badly cut that the referee had to stop the fight.

In his next fight, in February 1985, he fought for the WBC flyweight title again. Since Magri had lost it, it had changed hands several times and was now held by Sot Chitalada of Thailand. The fight was held at the Alexandra Palace, London and Chitalada won on a technical knockout at the start of the fifth, after Magri's corner retired him due to cuts. [20]

In October 1985, Magri fought a re-match against Franco Cherchi, in Alessandria, Italy, winning by a knockout in the second round. [21]

In May 1986, Magri had his last fight, defending his European title against Duke McKenzie of Croydon. [22] Magri had relinquished his British flyweight title in August 1981, and McKenzie was now the holder. The fight was stopped in the fifth round when Magri was knocked down and his manager, Lawless, threw in the towel when Magri beat the count.

Professional boxing record

35 fights30 wins5 losses
By knockout235
By decision70
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
35Loss30–5 Duke McKenzie RTD5 (12)1986-05-20 Wembley Arena, Wembley, England, U.K.Lost EBU flyweight title
34Win30–4Franco CherchiKO2 (12)1985-10-30Palazzetto dello Sport, Alessandria, ItalyRetained EBU flyweight title
33Loss29–4 Sot Chitalada RTD4 (12)1985-02-20 Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, England, U.K.For WBC flyweight title
32Win29–3Franco CherchiTKO1 (12)1984-08-24Cagliari, ItalyWon vacant EBU flyweight title
31Loss28–3 Frank Cedeno TKO6 (12)1983-09-27 Wembley Arena, Wembley, England, U.K.Lost WBC flyweight title
30Win28–2 Eleoncio Mercedes TKO7 (12)1983-03-15 Wembley Arena, Wembley, England, U.K.Won WBC flyweight title
29Win27–2Jose TorresPTS10 (10)1982-11-23 Wembley Arena, Wembley, England, U.K.
28Win26–2 Enrique Rodríguez TKO2 (12)1982-09-18Pabellón Deportivo de La Magdalena, Aviles, SpainRetained EBU flyweight title
27Loss25–2Jose TorresTKO9 (10)1982-05-04 Wembley Arena, Wembley, England, U.K.
26Win25–1Ron CisnerosTKO3 (10)1982-04-20 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
25Win24–1Cipriano ArreolaPTS10 (10)1982-03-02 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
24Loss23–1Juan DiazKO6 (10)1981-10-13 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
23Win23–0Jose HerreraKO1 (10)1981-06-20 Empire Pool, Wembley, England, U.K.
22Win22–0 Enrique Rodríguez TKO2 (12)1981-02-24 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.Retained EBU flyweight title
21Win21–0 Santos Laciar PTS10 (10)1980-12-08 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
20Win20–0Enrique CastroTKO1 (10)1980-10-14 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
19Win19–0 Alfonso López PTS10 (10)1980-09-16 Conference Centre, Wembley, England, U.K.
18Win18–0 Giovanni Camputaro TKO3 (12)1980-06-28 Empire Pool, Wembley, England, U.K.Retained EBU flyweight title
17Win17–0Aniceto VargasKO3 (10)1980-01-22 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
16Win16–0Manuel CarrascoUD12 (12)1979-12-04 Empire Pool, Wembley, England, U.K.Retained EBU flyweight title
15Win15–0Candy IglesiasTKO3 (10)1979-10-23 Conference Centre, Wembley, England, U.K.
14Win14–0Raul PachecoTKO6 (10)1979-09-25 Empire Pool, Wembley, England, U.K.
13Win13–0Freddie GonzalezKO3 (10)1979-05-29 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
12Win12–0 Franco Udella SD12 (12)1979-05-01 Empire Pool, Wembley, England, U.K.Won EBU flyweight title
11Win11–0Mike StuartKO3 (10)1979-02-20 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
10Win10–0Filippo BelvedereTKO1 (8)1979-01-23 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
9Win9–0Mariano GarciaKO3 (8)1978-12-05 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
8Win8–0Claudio TandaTKO1 (8)1978-10-24 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
7Win7–0Sabatino De FilippoTKO7 (8)1978-09-12 Conference Centre, Wembley, England, U.K.
6Win6–0Manuel CarrascoPTS8 (8)1978-04-25 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
5Win5–0Dominique CesariRTD3 (8)1978-04-04 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
4Win4–0Nessim ZebeliniTKO3 (8)1978-02-21 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.
3Win3–0Dave SmithTKO7 (15)1977-12-06 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.Won vacant BBBofC flyweight title
2Win2–0Bryn GriffithsTKO2 (8)1977-11-15 York Hall, Bethnal Green, England, U.K.
1Win1–0Neil McLaughlinKO2 (8)1977-10-25 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, England, U.K.

After boxing

Magri was the manager for super-featherweight boxer, Dean Pithie. Magri owned a sports shop on the Bethnal Green Road and later owned the Victoria pub in Bow, east London. [3] [23]

In 2017 he became a coach at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College's boxing academy. [24]

See also

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References

  1. Magri (2007), p. 1
  2. 1 2 Magri (2007), p. 3
  3. 1 2 "History of London Boxing", BBC, 28 October 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2017
  4. "Charlie Magri", London Ex-Boxers Association. Retrieved 26 December 2017
  5. Magri (2007), p. 14
  6. Magri (2007), p. 5
  7. "Charlie Magri" . Birmingham Daily Post. 10 June 1974. Retrieved 26 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Russians Take Six Golds" . Aberdeen Press and Journal. 9 June 1975. Retrieved 26 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Draw Boost for British Boxers" . Aberdeen Evening Express. 17 July 1976. Retrieved 26 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Big, Big Shock" . Sports Argus. 24 July 1976. Retrieved 26 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. 1 2 "Magri Wins a Cracker" . Aberdeen Press and Journal. 7 December 1977. Retrieved 26 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. New Statesman, vol. 100 (1980), p. 10
  13. "Super '77" . Sports Argus. 31 December 1977. Retrieved 26 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Magri Is Voted Best Young Boxer" . Aberdeen Evening Express. 15 December 1977. Retrieved 26 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. 1 2 Bunce, Steve (2017) Bunce's Big Fat Short History of British Boxing (Kindle edition), Transworld Digital, ASIN B01KUHG9R0
  16. "Magri Out Until Next Season" . Aberdeen Press and Journal. 27 April 1978. Retrieved 26 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. Thackrah, John Richard (1983) The Royal Albert Hall, Terence Dalton, ISBN   978-0861380121, p. 160
  18. "Charlie Magri - Lineal Flyweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  19. 1 2 Fleischer, Nat & Andre, Sam (2002) An Illustrated History of Boxing, Citadel Press, ISBN   978-0806522012, p. 405
  20. Mee, Bob (1997) Boxing: Heroes & Champions, Book Sales Inc., ISBN   978-0785807780, p. 71
  21. Britannica Book of the Year 1985, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., p. 387
  22. Harding, John (2016) Lonsdale's Belt: Boxing's Most Coveted Prize (Kindle edition), Pitch Publishing, ASIN B01LDFM1XY
  23. "Boxing News". Archived from the original on 22 June 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
  24. King, Samantha Lauren (2017) "Former world-champion boxer Charlie Magri is new coach at college’s boxing academy", feweek.co.uk, 24 September 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017

Sources

Sporting positions
Amateur boxing titles
Previous:
Michael Abrams
ABA Light-Flyweight champion
1974
Next:
Michael Lawless
Previous:
Maurice O'Sullivan
ABA Flyweight champion
1975 – 1977
Next:
Gary Nickels
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
John McCluskey
British flyweight champion
6 December 1977 – 1977
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Kelvin Smart
Preceded by EBU flyweight champion
1 May 1979 – 1982
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Antoine Montero
Vacant
Title last held by
Antoine Montero
EBU flyweight champion
24 August 1984 – 1984
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Franco Cherchi
Preceded by
Franco Cherchi
EBU flyweight champion
30 October 1985 – 20 May 1986
Succeeded by
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBC flyweight champion
15 March 1983 – 27 September 1983
Succeeded by
The Ring flyweight champion
15 March 1983 – 27 September 1983