Bruce Albert Wells (7 July 1933 – 14 November 2009) was an English

amateur boxer Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

, holder of the ABA Light Middleweight and European Amateur Boxing Championship titles. The magazine ''Boxing News'' described him as an "ex-amateur star".Boxing News online
Editorial 20 November 2009. Accessed 4 July 2010 His career win count is 385 – 3.

Career

Wells was born in

Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west towar ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

, and after moving to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

as a boy, he joined the local Reading Aero Boxing Club and readily took to the game. He went on to win Junior ABA

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

titles in 1949 and 1950, and also claimed the Gold Star beating Joe Erskine. In 1951 he made his international début at Belle Vue against the USA, completely out-boxing New Yorker, Randy Sandy and dominating the proceedings with his long left lead. Wells started 1953 in fine style, chalking up a victory against Ireland at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, following two successes in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

, before he attempted to win the ABA Championships. On 24 April he outscored Scotland's Len Mullen in a semi-final at Wembley, and later that evening was crowned ABA Light Middleweight champion, outpointing Brixton eel-dresser Roy Francis, who was to become one of Britain's best known referees. Fortified by ABA success, Wells, along with six other ABA champions, which included a young

Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. C ...

, headed for the

European Amateur Boxing Championships The European Amateur Boxing Championships is the highest competition for boxing amateurs in Europe, organised by the continent's governing body EUBC, which stands for the '' European Boxing Confederation''. The first edition of the tournament t ...

in Warsaw, and eventually clinched Gold, beating Polish National Hero Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, who was himself to go on and win a total of four European titles. 1953 was also a great year outside the ring, as on 10 December, Wells was honoured as one of the Sport Writers Association, Sportsman of the Year, along with

Don Cockell Donald John Cockell (22 September 1928 – 18 July 1983) was an English boxer. He fought for most of his career as a light-heavyweight and became the British and European champion at that weight. Later in his career he moved up to heavyweigh ...

, Sir

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while st ...

Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser (4 July 1918 – 4 April 2010) was a professional English cricketer, primarily a medium-fast bowler. He is widely regarded as one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century. Bedser played first-class cricket fo ...

, Jim Peters and

Mike Hawthorn John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver. He became the United Kingdom's first Formula One World Champion driver in 1958, whereupon he announced his retirement, having been profoundly affected by the ...

. In 1954 Wells went on to retain his ABA Crown outpointing Irishman Andy Keogh in the final at Wembley, before captaining the European team in the prestigious International

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...

matches in the USA, outclassing Art Glass and Leslie Temple in Chicago and St Louis respectively. At the end of July, Wells flew to Vancouver for

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: T ...

, reaching the semi-final. A horrendous head-on clash after only two minutes and ten seconds of the bout ruled both men out of the championships, although Wells gained the verdict and the bronze medal, by reason of majority point decision. Wells eye injury later required eight stitches and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. Plagued by weight problems and difficulties outside the ring, Wells suffered his third and final reverse to West Germany's Hans Rienhardt in an International match at Wembley. After stepping up to middleweight, his last major bout was to be against the Olympic and European champion,

Gennadiy Shatkov Gennadi Ivanovich Shatkov (russian: Геннадий Иванович Шатков, May 27, 1932 – January 14, 2009) was a boxer from the USSR, who competed in the Middleweight division (– 75 kg) during the major part of ...

. Although the Great Britain team was drubbed 8–2 in the International competition, Wells won his bout, outpointing Shatkov over three rounds. After retiring from competitive boxing, Wells became a stunt artist, working on various films and TV productions, although in 1977 he participated in a charity boxing exhibition bout with

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

, during a visit to South Shields, UK. In 1968/9 he was employed at Henry Compton school, Fulham as a P.E. teacher. He brought in photos of himself as a stuntman for "You only live twice" scaling down the volcano

TV/Film credits

* '' The Servant'' (1963) - Sidewalk Painter (uncredited) * '' Dr. Who and the Daleks'' (1965) - Thal * '' Doctor Who'' (1966–1973) - Ogron / Cyberman / Alien Guard / Union Recruit (uncredited) * '' Romany Jones'' (1972) - Farmhand * ''

Get Some In! ''Get Some In!'' is a British television sitcom about National Service life in the Royal Air Force, broadcast between 1975 and 1978 by Thames Television. Scripts were by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, the team behind sitcoms such as ''The Good L ...

'' (1976) - RAF regiment * ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' (1984) - Boxing Referee (final television appearance)

Exhibition boxing record

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Berenyi, Ivan, "Bruce Wells Story", ''Amateur Boxing'', April 1982, Vol.2 * Herbert, Daniel, ''Boxing News'' Obituary, 20 November 2009 * Kempson, Chris, "Bruce Wells still walking tall" ''

Boxing Monthly ''Boxing Monthly'' was a London-based, worldwide monthly boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wra ...

'', March 1991 (Volume 2, issue 11) * Kempson, Chris, "Golden Greats" ''Amateur Boxing Scene'', May 1992 * Smith, Wilfred, ''

Chicago Daily Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', 20 & 22 May 1954 * * Routledge, Russell, " Muhammad Ali Tyneside 1977" ()

External links

*
European Amateur Boxing RecordsNational ABA Boxing Records
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Bruce 1933 births 2009 deaths People from Harlesden Sportspeople from the London Borough of Brent Welterweight boxers English male boxers Boxers at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Boxers from Greater London Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games