Johnny Curley (9 November 1897 – 31 December 1982) was an English

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who was British

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

champion between 1925 and 1927.

Career

From

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, London, Curley made his professional debut in November 1913. By March 1925 he had fought over 100 times, winning more than 80 contests, including victories over

Al Foreman Al Foreman (3 November 1904 in London – 23 December 1954), was a British-born boxer of the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s who in the last four years of his career won the Canadian lightweight title, British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) Briti ...

, Ernie Izzard,

Battling van Dijk Battling may refer to: * Battle, a combat in warfare * Battling Billson, a 1923 short stories character by P. G. Wodehouse * Battling Levinsky, an American world champion light heavyweight boxer * Battling Nelson, a Danish world champion lightweig ...

, Billy Hindley, and

Bugler Harry Lake Bugler Harry Lake (17 October 1902 – 1970) born in Devonport was an English professional bantam/feather/lightweight boxer of the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s who won the National Sporting Club (NSC) (subsequently known as the British Boxing ...

. In March 1925 he beat George McKenzie on points over 20 rounds at the

National Sporting Club The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation. Origins The club was founded on 5 March 1891 as a private club. Its premises were at ...

to take the British featherweight title. He failed to win any of his next five fights, losing twice to

Johnny Cuthbert Johnny Cuthbert (9 July 1904 – 29 August 1987) was a British boxer who was British featherweight champion between 1927 and 1928, and again from 1929 to 1931, winning the Lonsdale Belt outright, and British lightweight champion between 1932 and ...

, and a no contest decision against Phil Bond after both continued fighting after the end of the twelfth round. In October 1925 he was beaten on points by

Jack Kid Berg Judah Bergman, known as Jack Kid Berg or Jackie Kid Berg (28 June 1909 – 22 April 1991), was an English boxer born in the East End of London, who became the World Light Welterweight Champion in 1930. Biography Judah Bergman was born in Rom ...

. In January 1926 he stopped Lake in the fourteenth round, and in March made the first defence of his British title against

Harry Corbett Harry Corbett OBE (28 January 1918 – 17 August 1989) was an English magician, puppeteer and television presenter. He was best known as the creator of the glove puppet character Sooty in 1952. Biography Corbett was born in Bradford, W ...

(the first fight to be reported on live by BBC radio), taking a points decision. In June he stopped van Dijk in the fifth round, but lost by disqualification (for hitting low) a week later against French champion Edouard Mascart. In July he stopped

Tommy Noble Tommy Noble (4 March 1897 – 1 April 1966) was a British boxer who was British bantamweight champion between 1918 and 1919, and European champion in 1919. He won the World featherweight title in 1920. Career Noble enlisted into the British Army ...

in the fifth round, and after losing to Cuthbert in September made a second successful title defence in November, with a points win over Hindley to win the

Lonsdale Belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), inten ...

outright. He finished the year with wins over

Jack "Kid Froggy" Hyams Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and

Young Johnny Brown Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

. Curley made a third defence of the title in January 1927, losing a points decision to Cuthbert. He won seven of nine fights in the remainder of the year, and travelled to Australia in 1928, where he won all four of his fights, including a points win over Australian champion

Tommy Barber Thomas Barber (20 February 1888 – 18 September 1925) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Merthyr Town and Walsall as a half back or inside left. He scored the winning go ...

. Back in England, he beat

Auguste Gyde Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold and ...

on points in July, but by the end of the year his fortunes dipped. From 1929 until his retirement on medical advice in 1931 he won only six of 34 fights. During this period he also refereed bouts. He returned in 1937 for one fight, a defeat at the hands of Al Church.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curley, Johnny 1897 births 1982 deaths Boxers from Greater London Featherweight boxers Lightweight boxers English male boxers