Joe Lucy (2 February 1930 – 21 July 1991) was a British

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 ee ...

who was British

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

champion between 1953 and 1955 and again between 1956 and 1957.

Career

Born in

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

, London, Lucy made his professional debut in May 1950. He won 15 of his first 16 fights, his only defeat to South African Gerald Dreyer on points in April 1951. In February 1952 he suffered his second loss while challenging Tommy Barnham for the vacant

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. ...

Southern Area lightweight title. He also lost his next fight, against

Hocine Khalfi Hocine Khalfi (January 7, 1928August 27, 2011) (commonly misspelled, "Hoacine") was an Algerian-French boxer from Oran, Algeria. He was orphaned at the age of seven and raised by his aunt. Khalfi, who started boxing at the age of 17, quickly ...

the following month. He returned to winning ways and in January 1953 beat Tommy McGovern to win the Southern Area title, the fight also a final eliminator for the British title. He was due to meet Frank Johnson in June 1953 for the latter's British title, but Johnson failed to make the weight; The fight went ahead with Lucy winning on points and Johnson was stripped of the title. In September Lucy faced McGovern again for the now vacant British title. Lucy won on points to become British champion. He had three fights in 1954, beating Belgian champion Joseph Janssens but losing twice to Johnny Butterworth, the first due to a cut while comfortably ahead. He started 1955 with an unsuccessful challenge for the vacant British Empire lightweight title against Johnny van Rensburg in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

in February, losing on a split decision, and two months later lost his British title to Johnson in one of the earliest British title fights to be shown live on television, being admitted to hospital after the fight with abdominal pains. He finished the year with another loss, to European champion Duilio Loi. In 1956 Lucy's focus returned to the domestic title, and after knocking out Gordon Goodman in a final eliminator in February, challenged for Johnson's British title in April. Lucy avenged his earlier defeat, stopping Johnson in the eighth round to regain the title.''Daily Mail Yearbook, 1957'', Associated Newspapers Groups, Limited, p. 273 He made a successful defence two months later, stopping

Sammy McCarthy Sammy McCarthy (5 November 193110 February 2020) was a British professional boxer who was the featherweight champion between 1954 and 1955. He also fought for the British lightweight title and the European and British Empire featherweight titles. ...

in the thirteenth round. He lost the title in April 1957 to

Dave Charnley David Fraser Charnley (10 October 1935 – 3 March 2012) was an English lightweight boxer considered to be one of the greatest British fighters in his weight class. Known as "The Dartford Destroyer", the left-handed Charnley had a 10-year caree ...

on points, and subsequently retired from boxing. He went on to run the Ruskin Arms Hotel in Manor Park, where he promoted rock concerts.Collen, Phil & Epting, Chris (2015) ''Adrenalized: Life, Def Leppard and Beyond'', Bantam Press,

References

External links

Career record
at boxinghistory.org.uk *
Lucy v McCarthy
British lightweight title fight, British Movietone {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucy, Joe 1930 births 1991 deaths English male boxers Lightweight boxers People from Mile End Boxers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets 20th-century English sportsmen