Charles Francis Purdy (12 December 1905 – 25 January 1982) was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

boxer who competed in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

.New Zealand Olympic Committee: Charlie Purdy
/ref> In 1924 he was eliminated in the first round of the lightweight class after losing his fight to Frenchman Arnold Tholey. The result of the fight was controversial, Purdy, the crowd and one of the judges believing Purdy had clearly won the fight; the other judge and the French

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

giving the fight to Tholey.Ron Palenski & Terry Maddaford: ''The Games'' Auckland: Moa Publications Ltd. After the Games he travelled to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

where he won the Irish welterweight title. He later moved to Australia; in 1929 losing the welterweight championship of Australia to Wally Hancock in Sydney by being knocked out for the first time; he was 10 st 2 lb (58.3 kg). On 7 January 1930, Purdy married Vera Garnett. Her drunkenness and infidelities led him to divorce his wife on 18 April 1935. During his time with Vera, he partnered with past athlete Anthony William Winter in a billiard saloon in Sydney. He is remembered by the Charlie Purdy Cup of the Auckland Boxing Association, and for his weaving: *Ralph Aitken "weaved and ducked like a Charlie Purdy." *Billy Parris "used Charlie Purdy’s famous weave."''Auckland Star'', 14 October 1944 p. 3

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* * *''Kiwis With Gloves On'' by Brian F O'Brien, published 1960, Reed. {{DEFAULTSORT:Purdy, Charlie 1905 births 1982 deaths New Zealand male boxers Lightweight boxers Olympic boxers for New Zealand Boxers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Australian male boxers New Zealand professional boxing champions Boxers from Auckland 20th-century Australian sportsmen 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen