Alex Laurell Buxton (10 May 1926 – May 2004) was an English boxer who was British light-heavyweight champion between 1954 and 1955.

Career

Born in

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

, Alex Buxton's father Claude was from

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

and his mother Edith from

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow re ...

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

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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, New South Wales, 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 ...

. His first defeat in Australia came against

Dave Sands Dave Sands (born David Ritchie; 4 February 1926 – 11 August 1952) was an Indigenous Australian 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 o ...

in January 1946, losing a 12-round points decision. Two months later he knocked out

Ritchie Sands Ritchie may refer to: People Surname *Adele Ritchie (1874–1930), singer – comic opera, musical comedy and vaudeville *Albert Ritchie (1876–1936), governor of Maryland 1920 to 1935 *Alistair Ferguson Ritchie (1890–1954), crossword compiler ...

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 (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

(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 boxer who became British champion in 1946. Career A reserve firefighter on the railways fr ...

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

George Angelo George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

, led to a challenge for the vacant Southern Area middleweight title in February 1951, which he lost to

Ron Pudney Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

. Another winning streak was only interrupted by a loss to former world champion Randolph Turpin in February 1952. In September 1952 he beat Bruce Crawford 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 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 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 People from Watford Royal Marines personnel of World War II English male boxers

Career

See also

References

External links