Alex Laurell Buxton (10 May 1926 – May 2004) was an English boxer who was British

light-heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

champion between 1954 and 1955.

Career

Born in

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, Alex Buxton's father Claude was from

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

and his mother Edith from

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

.An Interview with Allan Buxton
, Watford Junction. Retrieved 25 October 2014 His three brothers were also boxers. Buxton served in the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and made his professional debut in December 1941 at the Watford Town Hall. He had mixed results in 1942 and 1943, ending with three straight defeats. In 1945 he travelled to Australia, where he won six straight fights at the

Sydney Stadium The Sydney Stadium was a sporting and entertainment venue in Sydney, which formerly stood on the corner of New South Head Road and Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay. Built in 1908, it was demolished in 1970 to make way for the construction of ...

. His first defeat in Australia came against

Dave Sands Dave Sands (born David Ritchie; 4 February 1926 – 11 August 1952) was an Australian professional boxer. The man the Americans called the "boxer with the educated left hand" received his due when he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall ...

in January 1946, losing a 12-round points decision. Two months later he knocked out Ritchie Sands in the first round and in May 1946 lost to Jack Johnson. Back in England he was undefeated in six fights between August and November 1946. He had a second stint in Australia in 1947 and 1948 which included victories over Ritchie Sands, Johnson, and the

Alabama Kid Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

(twice). Back in the UK he won eleven straight fights before losing to former British middleweight champion

Vince Hawkins ''For the Doctor Who character, see Horror of Fang Rock'' Vincent Gregory "Vince" Hawkins (15 April 1923 – 27 November 2008) was a British middleweight Boxing, boxer who became British champion in 1946. Career A reserve firefighter on the rail ...

in May 1949. Another run of sixteen straight wins, including victory over South African middleweight champion

George Angelo George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

, led to a challenge for the vacant Southern Area middleweight title in February 1951, which he lost to Ron Pudney. Another winning streak was only interrupted by a loss to former world champion

Randolph Turpin Randolph Adolphus Turpin (7 June 1928 – 17 May 1966), better known as Randy Turpin, was a British boxer active in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1951 he became world middleweight champion when he defeated Sugar Ray Robinson. He was inducted into the ...

in February 1952. In September 1952 he beat

Bruce Crawford Robert Hardie Bruce Crawford (born 16 February 1955) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy from 2011 to 2012, having held the junior ministerial positio ...

in a final eliminator for the right to challenge for Turpin's British middleweight title, but he moved up to light-heavyweight and in October 1953 beat

Dennis Powell Dennis Clay Powell (born August 13, 1963) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Powell was undrafted and unrecruited out of Colquitt County High School and, after graduating, got a job on an ice truck to help support his mother ...

to take the title. He beat Italian middleweight champion

Bruno Tripodi Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

in September 1954, and successfully defended his British title against

Albert Finch Albert Finch (16 May 1926 – 23 January 2003) 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. He was ...

in November 1954, before losing the title to Turpin in April 1955, a fight in which the Commonwealth title was also at stake.Myler, Patrick (1997) ''A Century of Boxing Greats'', Robson Books Ltd., , p. 351 In November 1956 he fought Turpin again for the British light-heavyweight title; Turpin won by a fifth round knockout, having had Buxton down five times. Buxton's career declined after 1956. Although he fought (and lost) an eliminator for the British middleweight title in 1958, he won only two fights from his last 22 between 1957 and 1963.

References

External links

Career record
at boxrec.com
Sports News - Buxton KO's Finch
British Pathé (video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Alex 1926 births 2004 deaths Light-heavyweight boxers Middleweight boxers Sportspeople from Watford Royal Marines personnel of World War II English male boxers 20th-century English sportsmen

Career

See also

References

External links