Terry Downes, BEM (9 May 1936 – 6 October 2017) was a British middleweight boxer, occasional film actor, and businessman. He was nicknamed the "Paddington Express" for his aggressive fighting style.
At the time of his death, Downes was Britain's oldest surviving former world champion. He held the world middleweight title (the version recognised by Europe, New York, and Massachusetts) for ten months from 1961-62.
Early life
Terry Downes was born in
Paddington
Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 13 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017 Downes boxed as a junior for the Fisher ABC.Rawling, John (2017) Terry Downed Obituary , ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 8 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017
He moved with his parents to the United States in 1952, while still a teenager, to live with his trapeze artist sister Sylvia, who had lost an arm in a traffic accident, going on to serve in the
US Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
from 1954–56, being recruited after boxing against them for the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
. In the Marines he won several amateur trophies, including the all-services championship and the Amateur Golden Gloves.
He missed out on selection for the US Olympic team, being ruled ineligible on residence grounds, and after his term of service, he returned to London and turned professional.
Professional boxing career
Managed by Sam Burns, Downes won his first two pro fights before a defeat to future world champion
Dick Tiger
Richard Ihetu (August 14, 1929 – December 14, 1971), professionally known as Dick Tiger was a Nigerian professional boxer who held the undisputed middleweight and light-heavyweight championships.
Tiger emigrated to Liverpool, England ...
. After building up a record of 16 wins and 3 defeats, Downes won the British middleweight title, vacated by Pat McAteer's retirement, by beating Phil Edwards on 30 September 1958 at the
Harringay Arena
Harringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes (London), Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958.
Construction
Harringay Arena was built and owned by Brigadier-General Al ...
, London. In 1959, Downes lost and won back the title from John "Cowboy" McCormack. On 5 July 1960, Downes successfully defended the title against Edwards again.
Downes lost his first World Title shot to Paul Pender in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in January 1961. The following July, however, Downes fought Pender again, this time in London, and defeated the American in front of a raucous
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
crowd, with Pender retiring at the end of the ninth round with cuts over both eyes. Downes was recognised as world champion by ''
The Ring The Ring may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise
Literature
* ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping
* ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran
* ''The R ...
'' magazine in August 1961, and was named Sports Writers' Association Sportsman of the Year later that year. Pender won the title back the following year, defeating Downes in Boston once more, this time on points.
Downes responded to the loss of his title by winning his next seven bouts, including a win over
Sugar Ray Robinson
Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarde ...
in September 1962. Robinson was, however, 41 at the time, and when asked after the fight how it felt to beat a boxer of such esteem, Downes famously replied, "I didn't beat Sugar Ray, I beat his ghost." Downes moved up to
light heavyweight
Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight.
The light heavyweight class has ...
in 1963, winning his first three fights at the weight before facing Willie Pastrano for the world title in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
on 30 November 1964. Downes was knocked down twice in the 11th round, while reportedly well ahead on points, and Pastrano retained his title when referee Andrew Smyth controversially waved it off – it was to be Downes' last fight.
Downes was famous for a number of quips. After a particularly brutal fight early in his career against
Dick Tiger
Richard Ihetu (August 14, 1929 – December 14, 1971), professionally known as Dick Tiger was a Nigerian professional boxer who held the undisputed middleweight and light-heavyweight championships.
Tiger emigrated to Liverpool, England ...
, Downes was asked who he wanted to fight next. He replied, "The bastard who made this match", in reference to Mickey Duff.
Downes fought six world champions and beat three: Robinson, Pender and
Joey Giardello
Carmine Orlando Tilelli (July 16, 1930 – September 4, 2008) was an American boxer who was the world middleweight champion from 1963 to 1965. He adopted the name Joey Giardello (the name of a cousin's friend) in order to join the U.S. Army whi ...
. His record was: 44 fights, 35 wins (28 KOs), 9 losses.
Acting career
Post-boxing, Downes acted occasionally between 1965 and 1990, usually appearing as a thug, villain or bodyguard. One of his more prominent roles was in
Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...
's 1967 film '' The Fearless Vampire Killers'', in which he played "Koukol", a hunchbacked servant. His other film credits included appearances in ''
A Study in Terror
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''.
It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist.
Biography
Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...
film ''
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...
'' (1986).
Films
*''
A Study in Terror
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''.
It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...
'' (1986) - Bodyguard
Other business interests
After his retirement, Downes owned a nightclub. and worked as a boxing manager, working with British title challenger Colin Lake in the late 1960s.
Personal life
Downes and his wife Barbara (nee Clarke) were married from 1958 until his death in 2017. They had four children and eight grandchildren, one of whom includes prominent football writer and comedian James McNicholas. They lived for many years in a large detached house in Milespit Hill,
Mill Hill
Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it b ...
, London NW7.
Downes was awarded the
British Empire Medal
The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 13 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of middleweight boxing champions Championship recognition
1884–1910
Champions were recognized by public acclamation. A champion in that era was a fighter who had a notable win over another fighter and kept winning afterward. Retirements or disputed results could lead to a cha ...
*
List of British middleweight boxing champions
List of British middleweight boxing champions is a table showing the Boxing, boxers who have won the British middleweight title. The title was first contested in 1891, came under the auspices of the National Sporting Club in 1909, and under the ju ...
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...