Noel "Prince" Rodney (born 31 October 1958) is a British former
boxer who was British
light middleweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA ...
champion between 1983 and 1986.
Career
Born in London, Rodney spent nine years living in
Grenada before settling in
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...
in the late 1960s.
[Boxing: Prince Rodney to open academy]
, '' Huddersfield Examiner'', 7 November 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2015 He attended
Deighton High School and as a teenager was a promising athlete and a member of Longwood Harriers before taking up boxing.
He made his professional debut in October 1977, fighting under the name Prince Rodney. With twelve wins from his first thirteen fights during his first year as a pro, in October 1978 he beat Joe Lally at the
Tower Circus,
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...
to win the BBBofC Central Area light middleweight title. He lost his next fight, against Carl Bailey, but won eight of his next nine fights, leading to a British title eliminator against Charlie Malarkey at the
Kelvin Hall in March 1980; Malarkey took a points decision. In June 1981 he fought British champion
Herol Graham
Herol Graham (born 13 September 1959) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. A three-time world title challenger, he is generally acknowledged as one of the best British boxers of the post-war era to have never ...
at the City Hall,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, Graham stopping him in the first round.
[Lillis, Steve (2013)]
Steve Lillis' top ten under-rated British champions
, boxnation.com, 13 November 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2015 In September 1982 he fought another British title eliminator against Graeme Ahmed, this time winning via a third round stoppage.
In October 1983 he faced
Jimmy Batten
Jimmy Batten (born 7 November 1955) is a British former boxer who was British light middleweight champion for over two and a half years between 1977 and 1979.
Career
Born in Millwall, London in 1955, Batten started boxing at the age of 6, takin ...
at the
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 ...
for the British title vacated by Graham. Rodney stopped Batten in the sixth round to become British champion.
He was forced to relinquish the title after sustaining an eye injury whilst sparring with
Mark Kaylor
Mark Kaylor (born 11 May 1961) is a former professional British boxer.
Kaylor was born in Canning Town but from the age of nine was brought up in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. Kaylor won the British schoolboy title the first year he was eligible ...
, but after regaining his fitness he won back the title in 1985, knocking out defending champion
Jimmy Cable in the first round, and successfully defended it against
Mick Courtney
Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broaden ...
to win the
Lonsdale Belt outright. He lost a non-title fight in November against Adam George and his second defence of the British title also ended in defeat, when he was knocked out in the ninth round by
Chris Pyatt at the Royal Albert Hall in February 1986.
, ''Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'', 20 February 1986, p. 20. Retrieved 25 May 2015 via Google Newspapers
Rodney beat Carlton Warren in November 1986 but was then out of the ring until May 1989, when he lost to Sean Heron on points over six rounds. He had his final fight in April 1990, Terry Dixon stopping him in a cruiserweight Cruiserweight is a term associated with:
*Cruiserweight (boxing), a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight
* Cruiserweight (MMA), a weight class in mixed martial arts with an upper weight limit at .
*Cruiserweight (profess ...
contest in the seventh round.
References
External links
Career record
at boxrec.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodney, Prince
1958 births
Living people
English male boxers
Light-middleweight boxers
Sportspeople from Huddersfield