Carmel Magri (born 20 July 1956), who boxed under the name Charlie Magri, is a British former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He is from a Tunisian family that settled in

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

, London, where he grew up. During his professional career he held the WBC and lineal flyweight titles.

Early life

Born Carmel Magri in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in 1956 to Andre and Rose Magri, both of whom were born in Tunisia and had some French-Maltese heritage via their grandparents,Magri (2007), p. 1Magri (2007), p. 3 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.History of London Boxing
, BBC, 28 October 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2017 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. Millwall Football Club () is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name d ...

youth team, which was captained by Jimmy Batten, who was already boxing regularly, Magri decided to take up boxing. 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. He gained the following ABA titles: * ABA Youth Champion (Class A) - 1972 *ABA Youth Champion (Class B) - 1973 * ABA Light-flyweight Champion (48 kg) - 1974 * ABA Flyweight Champion (51 kg) - 1975 *ABA Flyweight Champion (51 kg) - 1976 *ABA Flyweight Champion (51 kg) - 1977 He also won a bronze medal at the 1975 European championships, and boxed for Great Britain in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

losing in the third round to

Ian Clyde Ian Clyde (born May 15, 1956 in Verdun, Quebec) is a retired boxer from Canada, who represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics. After defeating Charlie Magri of Great Britain, he was defeated in the quarterfinals of the men's f ...

of Canada.

1976 Olympic results

Below are the results of Charlie Magri, a flyweight boxer, who competed for Great Britain at the 1976 Montreal Olympics: * Round of 64: bye * Round of 32: was awarded a victory by walkover versus Eric Quaotsey (Ghana) * Round of 16: lost to Ian Clyde (Canada) by third-round knockout

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, he had his first professional fight in October 1977, at the age of twenty-one; He knocked out

Neil Mclaughlin Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

in the second round at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. 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. In December 1977 he was voted Best Young Boxer by the Boxing Writers' Club. In his twelfth fight, in May 1979, having won the previous eleven, he won on points against

Franco Udella Franco Udella (born 25 February 1947 in Cagliari) is an Italian former world boxing champion. Amateur career Olympic games results 1968 (as a Light flyweight) *Lost to Alberto Morales (Mexico) 0-5 1972 (as a flyweight) *1st round bye *Defe ...

to take the European flyweight title. He won on points over twelve rounds at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500- ...

.Bunce, Steve (2017) ''Bunce's Big Fat Short History of British Boxing'' (Kindle edition), Transworld Digital, ASIN B01KUHG9R0 In December 1979, he defended his European title against Manuel Carrasco, of Spain, winning on points. In June 1980, he defended it again, this time against Giovanni Camputaro of Italy, winning on a technical knockout in the third. In February 1981, he defended his European title against Spaniard, Enrique Rodríguez, knocking him out in the second round. In September he fought a re-match with Rodríguez in

Avilés Avilés (; ) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged to the sea, s ...

, Spain, and again knocked him out in the second.

World title

In March 1983, he fought

Eleoncio Mercedes Eleoncio Mercedes (September 12, 1957 – December 22, 1985) was a Dominican boxer, who was world champion in the Flyweight division. He had a record of 14 wins, 12 losses and 2 draws, with 3 wins by knockout. Amateur career As an amateur ...

, of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, for the WBC and lineal flyweight titles. The fight was at

and Magri won the titles when the fight was stopped in the seventh on cuts.Fleischer, Nat & Andre, Sam (2002) ''An Illustrated History of Boxing'', Citadel Press, , p. 405 In September 1983, he defended his world titles against

Frank Cedeno Frank Cedeno (born March 16, 1958) is a British-Filipino former professional boxer in the Flyweight division. Professional boxing career Cedeno made his professional debut in 1976, losing to Ray De los Santos via eight round points decision. A ...

, of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The fight was at

, and Magri lost his titles when the referee stopped the fight in the sixth, after Magri had been knocked down three times.

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 Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when re ...

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, 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 Sot Chitalada ( th, สด จิตรลดา, ), born as Chaovalit Wongcharoean ( th, เชาวลิต วงศ์เจริญ; ; 5 May 1962, in Chonburi, Thailand) was formerly twice WBC and Lineal Flyweight Champion, having defen ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. The fight was held at the

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

, London and Chitalada won on a technical knockout at the start of the fifth, after Magri's corner retired him due to cuts. In October 1985, Magri fought a re-match against

, in

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandri ...

, Italy, winning by a knockout in the second round. In May 1986, Magri had his last fight, defending his European title against

Duke McKenzie Duke McKenzie (born 5 May 1963) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1998.. Retrieved 13 December 2016. He is a three-weight world champion, having held the IBF flyweight title from 1988 to 1989; the WBO bantamwei ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

. 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

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. In 2017 he became a coach at

Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College West London College, legally known as the Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College is a large further and higher education college in West London, England, formed in 2002 by the merger between Ealing Tertiary College and Hammersmith and West ...

's boxing academy.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

References

Sources

*Magri, Charlie (2007) ''Champagne Charlie'', Pennant Books,

External links

*
British Boxing website – Fight stats
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Magri, Charlie 1956 births Living people Tunisian male boxers Sportspeople from Tunis English male boxers Boxers from Greater London England Boxing champions Flyweight boxers Olympic boxers of Great Britain Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics British Boxing Board of Control champions European Boxing Union champions World flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions The Ring (magazine) champions