Maurice Hope GCH

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 6 December 1951) is a British former

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 world junior middleweight champion. Born in

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

, he grew up in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen ...

. He represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. He is a Recipient of the Order of Princely Heritage

Boxing career

Amateur career

Maurice Hope was born in St. John's,

, and moved at a very young age to the UK. Hope's aptitude towards boxing was evident early in

childhood A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

; he began to

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

as a very young boy. Hope went on to box at the

, where he would lose to German boxer

János Kajdi János Kajdi (30 December 1939 – 10 April 1992) was a boxer from Hungary. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics in the lightweight, light-welterweight and welterweight (– 67 kg) division, respectively, and won a silver medal ...

in the quarter finals.

Professional career

Hope made his professional debut on 18 June 1973, defeating John Smith by decision in eight rounds at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. On Hope's second fight, held on 25 September of that year, he scored his first

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, ...

win, a victory in three rounds over Len Gibbs in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

. Hope won his first four professional fights. On 21 November, he suffered his first defeat, being beaten by Mickey Flynn over eight rounds by decision. After that loss, Hope went on to win five fights in a row, four by knockout, before winning his first regional belt, when he beat Larry Paul, 5 November 1974, by a knockout in round eight of a fifteen-round bout, at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

, to win the British Jr. Middleweight title. Hope then won three more fights, including one (a fourth-round knockout of Don Cobbs on 11 February 1975 at

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

) which was refereed by legendary referee

Harry Gibbs Sir Harry Talbot Gibbs (7 February 191725 June 2005) was Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1981 to 1987 after serving as a member of the High Court between 1970 and 1981. He was known as one of Australia's leading federalist ...

, who also oversaw the refereeing of the

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraCarlos Zarate

bout Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrume ...

, among many other famous fights. After these three wins, Hope went up in weight to fight for the vacant British Middleweight title, vacated by Kevin Finnegan, who, in turn, lost four times to

Alan Minter Alan Sydney Minter (17 August 19519 September 2020) was a British professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1981. He held the undisputed middleweight title in 1980, having previously held the British middleweight title from 1975 to 1976, an ...

. On 10 June, Hope was defeated by knockout for the first time, losing to Bunny Sterling in the eighth round for that regional title. Hope's career took on an upwards movement after the loss to Sterling. He followed that loss with a knockout in a rematch against Larry Paul on 30 September at London's Empire Pool. This was the beginning of a four knockout win streak that took him to fight Tony Poole, 12 April 1976, for the vacant British Commonwealth Jr. Middleweight title. He won the regional belt by knocking out Poole in the twelfth round, and, after one more win, he met future world Middleweight champion

Vito Antuofermo Vito Antuofermo (; born February 9, 1953) is an Italian American actor and retired professional boxer. He is a former undisputed World Middleweight Champion. Background Antuofermo was born in Italy, in the town of Palo del Colle, about inlan ...

, on 10 October, at

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, for the

European Boxing Union The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the EBU European Championship, in addition to their ...

's Jr. Middleweight title. Hope conquered his third regional title by knocking out Antuofermo (who would later last the full fifteen rounds in a fight with

Marvin Hagler Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) was an American professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 t ...

), in the fifteenth and last round. This bout was Hope's first fight abroad. Having won three regional titles, Hope was ranked among the top Jr. Middleweight challengers by the WBC, and so, he obtained his first world title try, on 15 March 1977, against the WBC's world champion,

Eckhard Dagge Eckhard Dagge (27 February 1948 – 4 April 2006) was a German professional boxer who competed in the super welterweight division. Eckhard Dagge was Germany's second world champion, after Max Schmeling, holding the World Boxing Council Light Mid ...

, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. After fifteen rounds, the fight was declared a draw (tie). Hope regrouped with six wins in a row, before getting his second world title try. On 4 March 1979, he faced the then WBC world champion

Rocky Mattioli Rocky Mattioli (born Rocco Mattioli, 20 September 1953) is an Italian-born Australian former boxer at junior middleweight, and former world champion. Rocky was the 2004 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns catego ...

Sanremo, Italy Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

. Hope became a world champion by knocking Mattioli out in the ninth round. On 25 September, he defended the WBC's world title for the first time, knocking out Mike Baker in the seventh round, at London. His second defence, on 12 June 1980, was a rematch with Mattioli. This time, they fought in London, and Hope repeated his previous win, but with an eleventh round

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 ...

instead. On 26 November, he defended his crown against well known

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

contender Carlos Herrera (not to be confused with the Argentine boxer of the same name who was born in 1983) in London, winning by a fifteen-round decision. Hope went 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 ...

, for his next defence, which also turned out to be his first, and, ultimately, last fight in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He planned to

marry Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

his girlfriend while in Las Vegas. On 23 May 1981, at the

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

, Hope lost the world Jr. Middleweight title to

Wilfred Benítez Wilfred "Wilfredo" Benítez (born September 12, 1958) is an American-born Puerto Rican former professional boxer and the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Earning his first of three career world titles in separate weight division ...

, suffering a twelfth-round knockout that later made

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

sports show highlights. While Benitez became the first

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

to win world titles in three different divisions, the youngest boxer in history to do so, and the first in 40 years to achieve the accomplishment, Hope had to be

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

ised, but he recuperated and was able to marry his girlfriend before returning to England. After one more defeat, to Luigi Minchillo, Hope permanently retired from boxing. Throughout his career Hope was managed by his mentor Terry Lawless, whose stable of top-quality boxers also included

John H Stracey John Henry Stracey MBE (born 22 September 1950) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1969 to 1978. He is a former welterweight world champion, having held the WBC and lineal welterweight titles between 1975 and 1976. At reg ...

, Jim Watt,

Charlie Magri Carmel Magri (born 20 July 1956), who boxed under the name Charlie Magri, is a British former professional boxer. He is from a Tunisian family that settled in Limehouse, London, where he grew up. During his professional career he held the WBC ...

and

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996. At regional level, he held the European heavyweight ...

. Their PR was handled by

Norman Giller Norman Giller (born 18 April 1940, Stepney, East End, London) is an English author, a sports historian and television scriptwriter, who in October 2015 had his 100th book published. His 101st book, ''July 30, 1966 Football's Longest Day'', was pu ...

who, like all the boxers apart from Scottish hero Watt, was based in East London. They all trained in the famous East End fight academy run by Lawless at the Royal Oak in Canning Town. Most of their major fights were under the umbrella of leading London promotion team of Harry Levene, Mike Barrett and Mickey Duff.

Professional boxing record

Later life

Hope continued in the public eye in England, doing various jobs, and he has enjoyed his earnings as a boxer. Furthermore, with Benitez suffering from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and boxing-related conditions, he later became a frequent visitor to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, where he and Benitez sometimes spent days talking about their old days as boxers. Hope now lives in Hackney; he was involved with boxing training for the local residents and youths in upper Clapton. Hope also has property in Antigua after being given land by the government to mark his achievements in the ring. Hope has been an outstanding ambassador for Antigua and is happily involved in the island's tourist industry. On 11 December 2024, the High Commission of Antigua and Barbuda in London hosted the launch of “Land of Hope and Glory“, a book-interview by Maurice Hope with sports analyst Jaydee Dyer in which Hope talks about how he overcame the hardships of the Windrush generation to become a world-champion boxer from Antigua.

Antigua.news Antigua.news (a.k.a. Antigua News or Antigua and Barbuda News) is a digital news and opinion portal founded in 2022 by Ambassador Dario Item as the official news channel of the Embassy of Antigua and Barbuda in Madrid, focused on delivering cove ...

In recognition of Hope's achievements while a resident, the London Borough of Hackney named a major cycle route after him.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Maurice 1951 births Living people Antigua and Barbuda male boxers People from St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda emigrants to England English male boxers People from Hackney Central Boxers from the London Borough of Hackney Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Great Britain Middleweight boxers British Boxing Board of Control champions Commonwealth Boxing Council champions European Boxing Union champions World light-middleweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire