Thomas Thomas | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Statistics | |
Real name | Thomas John Thomas |
Nickname(s) | Tom Farmer |
Weight(s) | middleweight |
Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
Nationality | Welsh |
Born | Glynarthen, Wales | 8 April 1880
Died | 13 August 1911 31) Cardiff, Wales | (aged
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 36 |
Wins | 32 |
Wins by KO | 28 |
Losses | 3 |
Draws | 0 |
Thomas Thomas (8 April 1880 – 13 August 1911) was a Welsh boxer and the first British middleweight boxing champion.
He was born at Glynarthen, Cardiganshire but moved to Carncelyn Farm, Penygraig, in the Rhondda Valley of South Wales at an early age.
Born at Glynarthen, Cardiganshire (the home of his mother) and then moving to Carnelyn Farm, [1] he began boxing in a sideshow, touring with Freddie Welsh and Jim Driscoll. After winning the local Rhondda valley heavyweight "championship", he won a National Sporting Club middleweight competition in London. Eventually, in May 1906, he fought the English champion Pat O'Keeffe to become the first national British middleweight champion. In 1909, he fought Charlie Wilson to become the first holder of a Lonsdale Belt at his weight. He won over thirty fights before losing the British middleweight title to Jim Sullivan in November 1910. [1]
He began to suffer from rheumatism. He died from heart failure in August 1911 in Cardiff. [1]
Although his boxing record is not very well documented he is believed to have won 41 of his 44 fights.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler was an American professional boxer and film actor. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 to 1987, making twelve successful title defenses, all but one by knockout. Hagler also holds the highest knockout percentage of all undisputed middleweight champions at 78 percent. His undisputed middleweight championship reign of six years and seven months is the second-longest active reign of the last century. He holds the record for the sixth longest reign as champion in middleweight history. Nicknamed "Marvelous" and annoyed that network announcers often did not refer to him as such, Hagler legally changed his name to "Marvelous Marvin Hagler" in 1982.
Thomas Hearns is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowed him to move up over fifty pounds in his career and become the first boxer in history to win world titles in five weight divisions: welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight.
Robert James Fitzsimmons was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, and he is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the lightest heavyweight champion, weighing just 165 pounds when he won the title. Nicknamed Ruby Robert and The Freckled Wonder, he took pride in his lack of scars and appeared in the ring wearing heavy woollen underwear to conceal the disparity between his trunk and leg-development.
Billy Papke was an American boxer who held the World Middleweight Championship from September 7 to November 26, 1908. In 1910-12, he also took the Australian and British versions of the World Middleweight Championship, though American boxing historians generally take less note of these titles. With a solid and efficient punch, 70 percent of his better publicized career wins by decision were from knockouts, and roughly 40% of his reported fights were as well. Papke was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. Sportswriter Nat Fleischer, original owner of "Ring" Magazine, ranked Papke as the seventh best middleweight of all time. Announcer Charley Rose ranked him as the tenth greatest middleweight in boxing history. He was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972.
Freddie Welsh was a Welsh World boxing champion. The lightweight boxer was born in Pontypridd, Wales, nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard". Brought up in a tough mining community, Welsh left a working-class background to make a name for himself in America. He turned professional as a boxer in Philadelphia in 1905, and spent the best part of his career fighting in the United States.
Albert Finch was a British boxer from Croydon in South London, who was active from 1945 to 1958. He fought as both a middleweight and light-heavyweight, becoming British middleweight champion in 1950.
John Charles Peterson OBE TD was a Welsh boxer who held the British heavyweight boxing title on two occasions. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration (TD) in 1950 and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1978 Birthday Honours "for services to Sport particularly in Wales."
Joseph William Calzaghe is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified and lineal titles at super-middleweight, and the Ring magazine light-heavyweight title.
Dick Turpin was an English middleweight boxer. He was British and Commonwealth middleweight champion, reputedly being the first black fighter to win a British boxing title. He was elder brother and trainer of the more famous Randolph Turpin, who became world middleweight champion after beating Sugar Ray Robinson in 1951.
John Michael Basham was a Welsh boxer who became British and European champion at both welter and middleweight. His professional career spanned over 20 years, from 1909 to 1929, and after being stationed in Wrexham through military service, he fought most of his bouts in nearby Liverpool.
Llewellyn "Llew" Edwards was a Welsh boxer who fought professionally between 1913 and 1922. He is most noted for winning both the British and the British Empire featherweight boxing titles in 1915 and for an outstanding winning record with a nearly 50% knockout ratio. He took the Australian lightweight title against Herb McCoy in 1916.
Frank Moody was a Welsh boxer who fought between 1914 and 1936. He is most notable for winning the British and Empire middleweight boxing championship in 1927 and 1928 and the light-heavyweight title from 1927 to 1929.
Boxing is a popular sport in Wales, and since the early 20th century Wales has produced a notable number of professional boxers including several World Champions. The most notable boxers include Wales' first World Champion Percy Jones; Jimmy Wilde, who is seen as pound-for-pound one of the World's finest boxers and Joe Calzaghe, who ended his career an undefeated World Champion.
Pat Thomas was a Light-middleweight boxer, originally from Saint Kitts and Nevis, who took British citizenship and won two British boxing titles in the 1970s and 80s. After leaving Saint Kitts, Thomas settled in Cardiff in Wales, and is recognised as a Welsh fighter taking the Welsh light middleweight Championship in 1977.
Pat O'Keeffe, was a professional English boxer who became the British champion in both the welterweight and middleweight weight classes. His professional career spanned the years between 1902 and 1918. In 1914 he made an unsuccessful bid for the European heavyweight belt, losing to Georges Carpentier. Between 1907 and 1910 he left Britain and continued his boxing career in the United States, and then Australia. On the outbreak of World War I he joined the British Army to work as a Physical Training Instructor (PTI) and Recruiting Sergeant for the 1st Surrey Rifles. He won the Lonsdale Belt outright when he defeated Bandsman Blake at the National Sporting Club (N.S.C) on 28 January 1918, becoming British Middleweight Champion.
William Jonathan "Jonty" Alsop was a professional boxer from Wales who fought under the name Young Allsopp. Based in his home village of Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, Allsopp was notable for becoming the Welsh bantamweight champion in 1921.
Jim Sullivan was a British boxer who was British middleweight champion between 1910 and 1912. He went on to challenge for the European title.
John Harrison was a British boxer who was British middleweight champion in 1912.
Wally Swift was a British boxer who won the British welterweight title in 1960 and twice fought for the Commonwealth title before moving up to middleweight, becoming British champion between 1964 and 1965. He went on to fight for the European super welterweight and middleweight titles and the British and Commonwealth middleweight titles.
Liam Williams is a Welsh professional boxer who challenged for the WBO interim light-middleweight title in 2017 and the WBO middleweight title in 2021. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth light-middleweight titles between 2014 and 2016 and the British middleweight title from 2018 to October 2020.