Robert Marriott was a British

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 ...

. Twice an amateur champion of England, in his professional career he was British and European

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

champion between 1919 and 1920.

Career

From

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

, London, Marriott served as Private in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was an amateur champion of England at lightweight in 1912 and 1914 (and runner-up to F. Grace in 1913) before turning professional.Some sources state he was amateur champion at featherweight. He made his professional début on 12 November 1917 against Ben Callicott 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 ...

, taking a 15-round points decision. In February 1919 he beat Ted Moore, with Moore disqualified in the sixth round for holding. In April 1919 he fought Raymond Vittet for the vacant European lightweight title, winning after Vittet was disqualified in the third round. Two months later he beat Johnny Summers to take the British lightweight title vacated by

Freddie Welsh Freddie Welsh (born Frederick Hall Thomas; 5 March 1886 – 29 July 1927) was a Welsh World boxing champion. The lightweight boxer was born in Pontypridd, Wales, nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard". Brought up in a tough mining community, Welsh left a ...

, again via the disqualification of his opponent, Summers adjudged to have been holding.Johnny Summers's Bad Break
, '' NZ Truth'', 13 September 1919, p. 8. Retrieved 28 March 2015 Marriott was due to defend his British title against

Llew Edwards Llewellyn "Llew" Edwards (22 October 1894 – 1965) was a Welsh boxer who fought professionally between 1913 and 1922. He is most noted for winning both the British and the British Empire featherweight boxing titles in 1915 and for an ou ...

in May 1920 but declined the fight and reportedly returned his

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, The 5th Earl of Lonsdale introduced the prize on behalf of the National S ...

to the National Sporting Club. He defended his European title in May 1920, losing to Georges Papin on points in Paris, the fight having been postponed from January due to a leg injury to Marriott. In February 1921 Marriott retired from boxing, relinquishing his British title, with business interests meaning that he could no longer commit to his boxing career.

Known professional fights

*12 November 1917 v. Ben Callicott at the

- W (15) - PTS *13 May 1918 v. Ted Leister at the

- L 8 (15) *20 January 1919 v. Fred Blakeborough at the

- W 11 (15) - RETD *17 February 1919 v. Ted Moore at Hoxton Baths - W 6 (?) - DQ (holding) *10 March 1919 v. Joe Starmer at the

- W - PTS *10 April 1919 v. Raymond Vittet at Holborn Stadium - W 3 (15) - DQ - won vacant European Lightweight title *23 June 1919 v. Johnny Summers at the

- W 10 (20) - DQ (holding) - won vacant British lightweight title *17 May 1920 v. Georges Papin in Paris - L (20) - PTS - lost European lightweight title

References

External links

Career record
at boxrec.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Marriott, Bob Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown English male boxers Lightweight boxers People from Bermondsey Boxers from the London Borough of Southwark