Leroy "Irish" Haley Jr. (December 27, 1952 – November 1, 2018) was an American

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

boxer.

Early life

Born in

Garland County, Arkansas Garland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,180. The county seat is Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hot Springs. Garland County comp ...

, he was the fourth child of Leroy Haley Sr. and Bobbie Wallace-Haley. Haley moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, where in 1971 he graduated from Rancho High School.

Professional career

Haley turned professional in 1973 and captured the WBC light welterweight title with a split decision win over Saoul Mamby in 1982. He defended the belt twice before losing it to

Bruce Curry Bruce Curry (born March 29, 1956, in Marlin, Texas), is an American former professional boxer. He was the WBC Super Lightweight Champion from 1983 to 1984. Family He is a member of a very traditional family in the boxing scene: he is the olde ...

by decision the following year. He lost a split decision in a rematch later that year. He retired in 1985 after two consecutive losses, including a loss to champion Billy Costello.

Professional boxing record

Death

Haley passed away in November 2018.

References

External links