Maurice Hope (born 6 December 1951) is a British former boxer, who was world junior middleweight champion. Born in

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

, 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 Que ...

. He represented

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at the

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

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

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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 ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger t ...

; he began to

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often k ...

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 ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. 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, a ...

win, a victory in three rounds over Len Gibbs in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

. 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 Larry Paul (19 April 1952 – 9 October 2017) was a British boxer who was the first to hold the British light middleweight title, holding it between September 1973 and November 1974. Career Born in Liverpool in 1952 to a White Irish Mother and Tr ...

, 5 November 1974, by a knockout in round eight of a fifteen-round bout, at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 United ...

, 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. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

) 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 instr ...

, 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, and ...

. On 10 June, Hope was defeated by knockout for the first time, losing to

Bunny Sterling Basil Sylvester Sterling (4 April 1948 ), known as Bunny Sterling, was a Jamaican-born British boxer, who in 1970 became the first Caribbean immigrant to win a British title when he won the middleweight belt. He went on to become European middl ...

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, on 10 October, at

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 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 most-prestigious continental title in Europe, th ...

'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 and film actor. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight divi ...

), 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 WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...

, and so, he obtained his first world title try, on 15 March 1977, against the WBC's world champion, Eckhard Dagge, in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

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. 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 in Sanremo, Italy. 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

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

n contender Carlos Herrera in London, winning by a fifteen-round decision. Hope went to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

, 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. He planned to

marry Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

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 divisio ...

, suffering a twelfth-round knockout that later made

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

sports show highlights. While Benitez became the first

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...

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 hospitalised, but he recuperated and was able to marry his girlfriend before returning to England. After one more defeat, to

Luigi Minchillo Luigi Minchillo (17 March 1955 – 25 September 2023) was an Italian professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He twice challenged for a light middleweight world title in 1984, losing to Thomas Hearns by 12-rounds unanimous decision f ...

, 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, Jim Watt, Charlie Magri and

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...

. 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 publ ...

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, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and boxing-related conditions, he has become a frequent visitor to

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where he and Benitez sometimes spend days talking about their old days as boxers. Hope now lives 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. 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 Greater London Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of 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