Mick Leahy (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Mick Leahy was an Irish
born professional boxer
who became a British
citizen in 1961. In a career which spanned from 1956 to 1965, Leahy won the British Middleweight
title and fought such names as Laszlo Papp
and Nino Benvenuti. However, he is perhaps most notable for beating Sugar Ray Robinson
, who is frequently cited as being the greatest boxer of all time.
Leahy began boxing as an amateur in Cork
during the 1950s, where he became the Amateur Irish Lightweight
Champion. After moving to Coventry
to work in the building trade he was spotted by the manager George Middleton and he turned professional in 1956.
. It did not take long for Leahy to record his first victory as his opponent, Steve Gee, was knocked out
during the first round. After remaining undefeated throughout the first year of his career (16 wins and 1 draw), Leahy suffered his first loss on 28 October 1957 in Birmingham
, where he was knocked out in one round by Tommy Tagoe.
Leahy fought 13 more times in the UK (8 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws) before travelling overseas to fight in Australia
and New Zealand
from April to October 1959. Leahy fought 11 times in Australia, compiling a record of 8 wins and 3 losses which included bouts in Melbourne
, Sydney
and Brisbane
. In his last bout before returning to the UK Leahy lost a 12 round decision to Tuna Scanlan in Wellington
.
Belfast
, Northern Ireland
was the location for Leahy's first fight in the UK since returning from Australia. The fight took place on 23 April 1960, Leahy made a winning return as he beat Al Sharpe by a decision over 8 rounds. On 23 February 1961 Leahy unsuccessfully challenged the Welshman
Brian Curvis
for the British and Commonwealth Welterweight
titles, he was knocked out in the eighth round. On 10 November 1962 Leahy travelled to the United States
to fight Joey Archer
. Although Leahy was knocked down twice, the fight, which took place at Madison Square Garden
, went the 10 round distance, all three judges scored the fight to Archer.
Leahy's second shot at the British title came on 28 May 1963 when he challenged the Middleweight
champion George Aldridge
in Nottingham
. Leahy, cheered on by 3,000 Irish fans, took just 1 minute and 45 seconds to knock Aldridge out and thus become the British champion. After the fight Sugar Ray Robinson
, Muhammad Ali
and Randy Turpin
jumped into the ring to embrace the new champion.
Leahy then went on to beat Gil Diaz in Birmingham
and launched an unsuccessful challenge for the Commonwealth Middleweight title against Gomeo Brennan in London
. There were two further losses to Tuna Scanlan and Dante Pelaez (controversially stopped due to a cut over Leahy's right eye); plus a unanimous decision victory in Boston
over Larry Carney
. This brought Leahy up against the renowned Sugar Ray Robinson
in Paisley
, Scotland
. Although the 43 year old Robinson was considered past his best, with the support of the Scottish crowd behind him he was able to trouble the much younger Leahy with his handspeed and volume of punches. However, the ageing Robinson was not able to fight the entire contest in this manner and Leahy was announced as the winner after 10 close-fought rounds.
After the Robinson fight Leahy travelled to Vienna
, Austria
to challenge the undefeated Hungarian Laszlo Papp
for the EBU title. Papp was announced as the winner after fifteen rounds, it was to be Papp's last fight as he retired shortly afterwards. In his next fight Leahy attempted to defend his British middleweight crown for the first time, however, he once again lost a 15 round decision, enabling Wally Swift to become the new champion. After losing to future world champion Nino Benvenuti in Milan, Leahy fought for a final time on 19 March 1965, losing to Jupp Elze in Cologne
, Germany
.
, he crashed into the back of a car transporter which was parked up; it's driver asleep and it's lights off. As a result of the crash Leahy lost the sight of his left eye and his hearing was damaged. In 2003 Leahy was on a family trip to New York
with his wife Teresa; sister-in-law Eileen and eldest son, Noel; when it became apparent that his memory was failng rapidly. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
in 2004 and was cared for by Teresa — who he had been married to for 52 years — at home until it was clear that he needed professional care. He attended a local care home and then the Caludon Centre at Coventry's Walsgrave Hospital. He then moved into and spent the last eighteen months of his life at Evedale care home in Coventry. In December 2009 he developed Colitis
and was again admitted to Walsgrave Hospital. This in turn developed into Bronchopneumonia
complicated by Alzheimer's and he died on 5 January 2010 at the age of 74. Approximately 400 people attended his funeral, which was held in his hometown of Coventry and filmed by the BBC
.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
born professional boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who became a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
citizen in 1961. In a career which spanned from 1956 to 1965, Leahy won the British Middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
title and fought such names as Laszlo Papp
László Papp
László Papp was a Hungarian boxer, born in Budapest. A southpaw, he won gold medals in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia...
and Nino Benvenuti. However, he is perhaps most notable for beating Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
, who is frequently cited as being the greatest boxer of all time.
Leahy began boxing as an amateur in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
during the 1950s, where he became the Amateur Irish Lightweight
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
Champion. After moving to Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
to work in the building trade he was spotted by the manager George Middleton and he turned professional in 1956.
Professional career
Leahy made his professional debut on 22 October 1956 in LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. It did not take long for Leahy to record his first victory as his opponent, Steve Gee, was knocked out
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
during the first round. After remaining undefeated throughout the first year of his career (16 wins and 1 draw), Leahy suffered his first loss on 28 October 1957 in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, where he was knocked out in one round by Tommy Tagoe.
Leahy fought 13 more times in the UK (8 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws) before travelling overseas to fight in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
from April to October 1959. Leahy fought 11 times in Australia, compiling a record of 8 wins and 3 losses which included bouts in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. In his last bout before returning to the UK Leahy lost a 12 round decision to Tuna Scanlan in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
was the location for Leahy's first fight in the UK since returning from Australia. The fight took place on 23 April 1960, Leahy made a winning return as he beat Al Sharpe by a decision over 8 rounds. On 23 February 1961 Leahy unsuccessfully challenged the Welshman
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
Brian Curvis
Brian Curvis
Brian Nancurvis , who fought under the name Brian Curvis as a professional, was a boxer from Swansea, Wales who was active from 1959 to 1966. He fought as a Welterweight, becoming British welterweight champion in 1960. He retired as undefeated champion and is the only welterweight to have won two...
for the British and Commonwealth Welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
titles, he was knocked out in the eighth round. On 10 November 1962 Leahy travelled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to fight Joey Archer
Joey Archer
Joey Archer, , is a retired boxer. Archer defeated Sugar Ray Robinson in Robinson's final fight in 1965 , and fought Hall of Fame boxers such as Emile Griffith and Dick Tiger....
. Although Leahy was knocked down twice, the fight, which took place at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, went the 10 round distance, all three judges scored the fight to Archer.
Leahy's second shot at the British title came on 28 May 1963 when he challenged the Middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
champion George Aldridge
George Aldridge
George Washington Aldridge, Sr was a New York politician. He was the Mayor of Rochester, New York from 1873-1874. He is buried in Rochester's Mount Hope Cemetery.-References:...
in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. Leahy, cheered on by 3,000 Irish fans, took just 1 minute and 45 seconds to knock Aldridge out and thus become the British champion. After the fight Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
, Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
and Randy Turpin
Randy Turpin
Randolph Adolphus Turpin known as the Leamington Larruper, was an English boxer who was considered by some to be Europe's best middleweight boxer of the 1940s and 1950s.-Biography:...
jumped into the ring to embrace the new champion.
Leahy then went on to beat Gil Diaz in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and launched an unsuccessful challenge for the Commonwealth Middleweight title against Gomeo Brennan in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There were two further losses to Tuna Scanlan and Dante Pelaez (controversially stopped due to a cut over Leahy's right eye); plus a unanimous decision victory in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
over Larry Carney
Larry Carney
Larry Carney is a US children’s book author and song lyricist. Most frequently writing in verse, he has created several book series which have been published by PC Treasures, Inc. Among these are the Night Before Christmas… books, which feature the Christmas Eve adventures of traditional fairy...
. This brought Leahy up against the renowned Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
in Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Although the 43 year old Robinson was considered past his best, with the support of the Scottish crowd behind him he was able to trouble the much younger Leahy with his handspeed and volume of punches. However, the ageing Robinson was not able to fight the entire contest in this manner and Leahy was announced as the winner after 10 close-fought rounds.
After the Robinson fight Leahy travelled to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to challenge the undefeated Hungarian Laszlo Papp
László Papp
László Papp was a Hungarian boxer, born in Budapest. A southpaw, he won gold medals in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia...
for the EBU title. Papp was announced as the winner after fifteen rounds, it was to be Papp's last fight as he retired shortly afterwards. In his next fight Leahy attempted to defend his British middleweight crown for the first time, however, he once again lost a 15 round decision, enabling Wally Swift to become the new champion. After losing to future world champion Nino Benvenuti in Milan, Leahy fought for a final time on 19 March 1965, losing to Jupp Elze in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Later years and death
Leahy's boxing career came to an abrupt end in September 1965. As he was driving to see his manager in Leamington SpaLeamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
, he crashed into the back of a car transporter which was parked up; it's driver asleep and it's lights off. As a result of the crash Leahy lost the sight of his left eye and his hearing was damaged. In 2003 Leahy was on a family trip to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with his wife Teresa; sister-in-law Eileen and eldest son, Noel; when it became apparent that his memory was failng rapidly. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in 2004 and was cared for by Teresa — who he had been married to for 52 years — at home until it was clear that he needed professional care. He attended a local care home and then the Caludon Centre at Coventry's Walsgrave Hospital. He then moved into and spent the last eighteen months of his life at Evedale care home in Coventry. In December 2009 he developed Colitis
Colitis
In medicine, colitis refers to an inflammation of the colon and is often used to describe an inflammation of the large intestine .Colitides may be acute and self-limited or chronic, i.e...
and was again admitted to Walsgrave Hospital. This in turn developed into Bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia or bronchial pneumonia or "Bronchogenic pneumonia" is the acute inflammation of the walls of the bronchioles...
complicated by Alzheimer's and he died on 5 January 2010 at the age of 74. Approximately 400 people attended his funeral, which was held in his hometown of Coventry and filmed by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.