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Paul Sykes (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Paul Sykes was an English heavyweight
boxer
.
, West Yorkshire
to Walter Sykes and Betty Barlow. He grew up in the Lupset council estate
and boxed at the Robin Hood and Thorpe Amateur Boxing Club.
He is also known to have boxed at White Rose Boxing Club, Thornes Wharfe, Wakefield where, amongst others, he flattened John Taylor.
He was classed as one of the most difficult prisoners in the UK throughout the 1980s and spent over 20 years in prison for many violent acts against prison officers and police officers. He committed violent offences all over the North of England and was very well known to locals and the police in Leeds
, Liverpool
, Blackpool
, Hull
, and Rotherham
, and also known and respected by the hard cases in London. Some apparently classed Paul Sykes as one of the hardest men in Great Britain
during the 1980s, although his boxing career obviously had proved otherwise. One of his habits was to spit in a pint and steal it from its owner. One time in the late 1980s in a Wakefield pub near the prison he did this and was savagely beaten outside the pub when he left.
While in prison, he earned a BA in Physical Sciences from Open University
and wrote a memoir, Sweet Agony. Following his release from HM Prison Hull
in 1990, producer Roger Greenwood followed him in the course of filming the documentary Paul Sykes: At Large.
In 2000, Wakefield Council secured an ASBO
banning him from the city centre. He was arrested in August 2003 for violating the ban by making an appointment with an optician in Wakefield, but was released on his own recognizance.
. His cause of death was noted as pneumonia and liver cirrhosis.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
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...
.
Early life
Sykes was born 23 May 1946 in WakefieldWakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
to Walter Sykes and Betty Barlow. He grew up in the Lupset council estate
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
and boxed at the Robin Hood and Thorpe Amateur Boxing Club.
He is also known to have boxed at White Rose Boxing Club, Thornes Wharfe, Wakefield where, amongst others, he flattened John Taylor.
Career
Sykes's adult life was peppered with alcohol abuse, petty robberies, violent crime and prison. Nonetheless, he fought ten bouts as a professional boxer between 1978 and 1980, peaking in June 1979 when he lost a British and Commonwealth title fight to John L. Gardner, actually turning his back and walking away in the 6th round to end the beating Gardner was issuing him with. It was a grudge match with Sykes being hyped up. The so called Sykes big right hand never materialized. [ His career ended in March 1980 when African journeyman Ngozika Ekwelum knocked him out in the first round.He was classed as one of the most difficult prisoners in the UK throughout the 1980s and spent over 20 years in prison for many violent acts against prison officers and police officers. He committed violent offences all over the North of England and was very well known to locals and the police in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, and Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
, and also known and respected by the hard cases in London. Some apparently classed Paul Sykes as one of the hardest men in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
during the 1980s, although his boxing career obviously had proved otherwise. One of his habits was to spit in a pint and steal it from its owner. One time in the late 1980s in a Wakefield pub near the prison he did this and was savagely beaten outside the pub when he left.
While in prison, he earned a BA in Physical Sciences from Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
and wrote a memoir, Sweet Agony. Following his release from HM Prison Hull
Hull (HM Prison)
HM Prison Hull is a Category B men's local prison. The term 'local' means that this prison holds people on remand to the local courts. Hull Prison located in Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
in 1990, producer Roger Greenwood followed him in the course of filming the documentary Paul Sykes: At Large.
In 2000, Wakefield Council secured an ASBO
Anti-Social Behaviour Order
An Anti-Social Behaviour Order or ASBO is a civil order made against a person who has been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. The orders, introduced in the United Kingdom by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998, were designed to correct minor incidents that...
banning him from the city centre. He was arrested in August 2003 for violating the ban by making an appointment with an optician in Wakefield, but was released on his own recognizance.
Death
Sykes died on 7 March 2007 at Pinderfields Hospital, WakefieldWakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
. His cause of death was noted as pneumonia and liver cirrhosis.
External links
- Boxer: Paul Sykes, BoxRec.