David Downey (born February 18, 1942) is a former two-time Canadian Middleweight Champion and a member of the Boxing Downeys dynasty. He was the son of George Downey and is the father of Olympian

Ray Downey Raymond Tyler Downey (born September 23, 1968 in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian boxing, boxer, who won a Olympic medalists in boxing, light middleweight bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1990 he gained silver at the Boxing at the ...

. He is in the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame and the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame.

Early History

Dave Downey, the youngest of nine brothers, was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he also attended Joseph Howe School. Growing up, he excelled at many sports including baseball, basketball, swimming, and track and field.

Professional boxing career

He began sparring at the age of fifteen after being observed on the street by Murray Langford, nephew of

Sam Langford Samuel Edgar Langford (March 4, 1886 – January 12, 1956) was a Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows", by ESPN, Langford is considered by many boxing historians to be one of ...

. Downey had no amateur boxing background. At fifteen years old, Downey's first pro-fight occurred in 1957 at the

Forum Forum or The Forum may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example * Internet forum, discussion board ...

. In 1967, Downey won the vacant Canadian Middleweight Boxing title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Jimmy Meilleur in front of over 1600 hometown fans. He remained champion until facing Gary Broughton in August 1970 before regaining the title months later in a December rematch against Broughton. He retained his middleweight championship nine more fights before losing to Lawrence Hafey in 1975. Downey retired from boxing in 1977.

Professional boxing record

Honors and awards

*Canadian Middleweight Boxing Champion. (1967) *Two-Time Canadian Middleweight Boxing Champion. (1970) *Inductee of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame. (1976) *Inductee of

Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame The Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame was established on November 3, 1964, by John E. Ahern to honour outstanding athletes, teams and sport builders in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, ...

. (1999) *Inductee of Maritime Black Sports and Hockey Hall of Fame. (2006) *Inductee of Maritime Sport and Hockey Hall of Fame. (2018)

References

External links

*
Video - Downey Inducted into NS Sport Hall of Fame (1999)

Image of Downey, 1972
1942 births Living people Sportspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia Black Nova Scotians Black Canadian boxers Black Canadian sportsmen Canadian male boxers Middleweight boxers 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Boxing people from Nova Scotia {{Canada-boxing-bio-stub