Billy "Spider" Kelly (21 April 1932 – 7 May 2010) was a
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 ...
from
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
whose career highlight was winning the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
(
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
)
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, ...
title in 1954. He went on to win the
British featherweight title in 1955.
History
Billy Kelly was born 21 April 1932 in Derry, Northern Ireland. He was the eldest of ten children of Jimmy Kelly, boxer and taxi driver, and his wife Kathleen. Billy Kelly was educated at Long Tower primary school.
Billy started his professional career in 1950, at the age of 18. On 2 October 1954, Kelly won the Commonwealth featherweight title, by out-pointing Roy Ankrah over 15 rounds. On 22 January 1955, Kelly received the British Featherweight title, by out-pointing Sammy McCarthy.
Kelly continued to box until 1962 and finished with a career record of 56 wins, 24 defeats and four draws from 84 professional bouts.
Billy 'Spider' Kelly died on 7 May 2010, at the age of 78.
On 15 August 2014, the city of Derry honoured Billy Kelly and his father by unveiling a plaque, which was dedicated to the memory of the boxers.
References
External links
Billy "Spider" Kellyat
BoxRec
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopedia of boxing.
The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
1932 births
2010 deaths
Male boxers from Northern Ireland
Featherweight boxers
Boxers from Derry (city)
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