Lonsdale Belt

The Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize introduced by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, to be awarded to British boxing champions. It is still awarded to British champions today.

National Sporting Club

Lord Lonsdale organised boxing matches and was the first president of the National Sporting Club. In 1909, he introduced the Lonsdale Belt as a new trophy for the British champion at each weight division. The belts were crafted from porcelain and twenty-two carat gold and were only to be held by a fighter as long as he was British champion. However, a British champion was allowed to keep his Lonsdale Belt if he defended his title successfully two times. Later belts were made from nine carat gold rather than twenty-two carats as the first ones were. A total of 22 Lonsdale belts were issued by the National Sporting Club, and of these 20 were won outright.

The holders of the first Lonsdale belts were:-
* Flyweight — Sid Smith, 1911
* Bantamweight — Digger Stanley, 1910 (retained)
* Featherweight — Jim Driscoll, 1910 (retained)
* Lightweight — Freddie Welsh, 1909 (retained)
* Welterweight — Young Joseph, 1910
* Middleweight — Tom Thomas, 1909
* Light-heavyweight — Dick Smith, 1914 (retained)
* Heavyweight — Bombardier Billy Wells, 1911 (retained)

The three above belts that were not retained by the holders were eventually held and retained by Jimmy Wilde (flyweight), Johnny Basham (welterweight) and Pat O’Keefe (middleweight).

British Boxing Board of Control

The National Sporting Club became virtually defunct in the early 1930s and lost control of the sport to the British Boxing Board of Control. The latter body began issuing Lonsdale belts from 1936 onwards.

The first holders of the B.B.B.C. belts were:-
* Flyweight — Benny Lynch, 1936
* Bantamweight — Johnny King, 1937
* Featherweight — Johnny McGrory, 1936
* Lightweight — Jimmy Walsh, 1936
* Welterweight — Jake Kilrain, 1938
* Middleweight — Jock McAvoy, 1937
* Light-heavyweight — Jock McAvoy, 1937
* Heavyweight — Tommy Farr, 1937

Henry Cooper (heavyweight) is the only man ever to win three Lonsdale belts outright. Besides Henry Cooper the following boxers have won two Lonsdale belts outright:-
* Nel Tarleton (featherweight)
* Ronnie Clayton (featherweight)
* Peter Keenan (bantamweight)
* Howard Winstone (featherweight)
* Brian Curvis (welterweight)
* Clinton McKenzie (light-welterweight).

In 1987 the B.B.B.C. decided no longer to award any fighter more than one belt in the same weight division. This still allows a fighter to win belts outright at two or more different weights.

The Lonsdale Belt won by Bombardier Billy Wells in 1911 is now kept at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, South East London, and is not on display to the general public.

Recently, the belt awarded to Randolph Turpin was auctioned for £23,000. Although several champions have won two belts outright, Henry Cooper is the only one to win three belts outright.

List of outright winners (partial)

* Freddie Welsh (1912)
* Jim Driscoll (1910)
* Digger Stanley (1910)
* Bombardier Billy Wells (heavyweight) (1913)
* Jimmy Wilde (flyweight) (1917)
* Jack Petersen (heavyweight) (1935)
* Nel Tarleton (outright winner of two belts in 1936 and 1945)
* Jackie Paterson (flyweight) (1943)
* Ronnie Clayton (outright winner of two belts in 1950 and 1953)
* Randolph Turpin (light-heavyweight) (1952, outright in 1956)
* Peter Keenan (outright winner of two belts in 1953 and 1957)
* Henry Cooper (outright winner of three belts)
* Brian Curvis (outright winner of two belts in 1961 and 1964)
* Howard Winstone (outright winner of two belts in 1962 and 1963)
* Maurice Cullen (lightweight) (1966)
* George Feeney (1984)
* Hugh Russell (1985)
* Billy Hardy (bantamweight) (1989)
* Carl Froch (2006)

ources

* Maurice Golesworthy, Encyclopaedia of Boxing (Eighth Edition) (1988), Robert Hale Limited, ISBN 0-7090-3323-0

* http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/Lonsdale_Belt

* http://britishboxing.wordpress.com/2007/05/23/the-history-of-the-lonsdale-belt/

* http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2007/11/14/boxing_lonsdale_belt_feature.shtml

* http://britishboxing.wordpress.com/2007/05/23/the-history-of-the-lonsdale-belt/

ee also

*Evolution of professional boxing
*Championship belt