Charles Francis Purdy (24 November 1905 – 25 January 1982) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

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 eel, ...

who competed in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

.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 The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the nat ...

Jean 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 tit ...

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

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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

References

External links

* * *''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