George 'Digger' Stanley (28 February 1876 – 7 March 1919) was an English boxer who was British and European
bantamweight boxing champion.
Early life
Stanley was a
gypsy, and was born in a caravan at
Kingston-upon-Thames. He could not read or write, but developed into a clever boxer. His early boxing career was spent fighting in fairground booths.
Professional career
He began boxing professionally in 1899. In November 1903 he won the vacant British bantamweight title and in December of the same year he won the British flyweight title, but the titles were not recognised by the
British Boxing Board of Control
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom.
History
The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...
until 1909.
In October 1910 he fought Joe Bowker for the British and European bantamweight titles. He scored an eighth-round knockout to secure the titles. Stanley was also recognised by the
National Sporting Club as the holder of the World bantamweight title, although he was not recognised as such in America.
In December 1910 he defended his British title against Johnny Condon, winning on points. In September 1911 he defended it again, against Ike Bradley, again winning on points.
In April and June 1912, he defended his European title twice against the Frenchman,
Charles Ledoux
Charles Ledoux (27 October 1892 – 21 May 1967) was a French bantamweight boxer who was active from 1909 to 1926. While never capturing a world title, he squared off against the best opposition available to him both nationally and internation ...
. He won the first fight in
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
on points, but lost the second fight in
Dieppe, being knocked out in the seventh round.
In October 1912, he successfully defended his British title against Alex Lafferty, winning on points.
In June 1913, he lost his British title to
Bill Beynon
Bill Beynon (8 April 1891 – 20 July 1932) was a Welsh boxer who fought professionally between 1909 and 1931. He is most notable for winning the British and Empire bantamweight boxing championship in 1913.
Boxing career
Beynon was a collier f ...
, on points, but four months later he beat Benyon on points to regain it. However, in his next defence, in April 1914, he lost the British title to
Curley Walker on a disqualification in the thirteenth.
He continued to box but had only ten more fights, losing eight of them and winning two.
He had his last fight in February 1919, losing to Mike Blake, and died a month later, in poverty.
Lonsdale belt
In 1909, the
National Sporting Club began awarding a
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, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), inten ...
to the British champion at each weight. The belts were made from 22 carat gold and enamel. Digger Stanley was awarded the first bantamweight belt and was allowed to retain it after successfully defending his British title.
Professional boxing record
All
newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.
See also
*
List of British bantamweight boxing champions
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Digger
1876 births
1919 deaths
English male boxers
Bantamweight boxers
European Boxing Union champions