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.
See also
*
List of world light-welterweight boxing champions
This is a chronological List of World Super Lightweight/Light Welterweight/Junior Welterweight Boxing Champions, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations:
* The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the Nati ...
References
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haley, Leroy
1952 births
2018 deaths
American male boxers
Boxers from Arkansas
People from Garland County, Arkansas
Light-welterweight boxers
World light-welterweight boxing champions
African-American boxers
American people of Irish descent
World Boxing Council champions
20th-century American sportsmen