Jack Bloomfield (20 November 1899 – 1961) was an

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light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

, whose birth name was Sol Blumenfeld, and who was also known as "Basking" Jack Bloomfield during his career. He took part in the first ever

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

event to be held at

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.Bloomfield v. Gibbons
first ever boxing match held at

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website. Retrieved on 18 January 2008. He lived in

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Career

At middleweight

Bloomfield's first professional fight was at

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

, against fellow Londoner Joe Gannon in

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the southeastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manorialism, Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man c ...

, London, on 12 March 1918, and he won this by a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

in the first round. He entered his first competition on 9 September 1918, when he fought 3 three-round

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s in one day, beating a Sergeant Braddock in the final of the Inter-Allied Middleweight Competition. In his next tournament, the SBA King's Trophy Middleweight Competition, held on 11 December 1918 at the

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, he lost on points in the final, again over 3 rounds, to Billy Fullerton. Staying at middleweight, Bloomfield won his next three fights, which took place between March and June 1919, before suffering a "

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

" decision in the 8th round against Eddie Feathers on 28 July 1919. He was back to winning ways in his last three fights of 1919, and all by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. On 23 April 1920, he fought his first bout in the

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, defeating Walter McGirr in a 6-round contest in

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. During the rest of the year, Bloomfield fought six more US and

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fighters, winning four, losing one and drawing one. Returning to London in 1921, he won two more fights during February, before challenging the vastly experienced

Ted "Kid" Lewis Ted "Kid" Lewis (born Gershon Mendeloff; 28 October 1894 – 20 October 1970) was an English-Jewish professional Boxing, boxer who twice won the World Welterweight Championship (147 pound (mass), lb). Lewis is often ranked among the all-tim ...

for the vacant British Middleweight Championship at Holland Park Rink in London on 27 June. This was fought over a mammoth 20 rounds, and Bloomfield lost on points. In December, he eased his way back with a 3rd-round knockout win against a

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boxer in

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, London.

At light-heavyweight and heavyweight

From the beginning of 1922, Bloomfield moved up to the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division for one fight (which he won), before switching to his eventual weight of choice, light heavyweight, to fight one winning bout prior to his next attempt at a

championship belt A championship belt is a large, extravagantly designed belt used primarily in combat sports as an award, similarly to trophies in other sports. There are several companies in the business of constructing championship belts. The first belt given ...

. This was the

BBBofC 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. ...

title vacated by Noel "Boy" McCormick, and Bloomfield was matched with Harry Drake in a 20-round contest in London on 1 May 1922. Drake lost this on a technical decision in the 9th round, to give Bloomfield his first ever universally recognised championship. Twice defending the title successfully that year, against Albert "Kid" Lloyd and "Bombardier" Billy Wells (both by 6th-round knockouts), he then challenged John "Soldier Jones" Beaudin of Canada for the British Empire Light Heavyweight Championship at the National Sporting Club in London on 26 March 1923, winning by a technical knockout in the 5th round, to add another belt to his collection. He successfully defended the British Empire title in May of that year, when Northern Irishman Dave Magill quit in the thirteenth round of twenty at Olympia in London. However, for his next title attempt in November of that year, moving up a weight, he was to suffer an embarrassing defeat. Challenging

Frank Goddard Percy Frank Goddard (27 November 1891- 8 December 1957) was a British boxer who became the heavyweight boxing champion in 1923. Goddard's career begin in 1914 and it soon became apparent that he was one of the best boxers in the UK. He became t ...

for the vacant British Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Albert Hall, Bloomfield was disqualified in the second round for hitting Goddard while he was down.

First ever boxing match at Wembley

After winning one more light heavyweight bout in May 1924, Bloomfield was chosen to take part in the first ever boxing match to be held at the recently built

, against Tommy Gibbons of the

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in a non-title fight which took place during the

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government decide ...

on 9 August 1924. This contest was also notable for causing the bankruptcy of Major Arnold Wilson from Preston, who had promoted the fight, but was met with severe financial demands from Gibbons.Bloomfield v. Gibbons
- bankruptcy for Major Wilson:

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, 25 August 1924. Retrieved on 18 January 2008. Bloomfield was knocked out in the 3rd round, and never fought again. He died in 1961.

References

External links

* * , Bloomfield v. Gibbons, 1924: cached HTML version of a

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file at ''SwanseaBattalion.net'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloomfield, Jack 1899 births 1961 deaths English male boxers Light-heavyweight boxers People from Islington (district) Boxers from the London Borough of Islington 20th-century English sportsmen