- Jock McAvoy
Jock McAvoy (
November 20 ,1908 –November 20 ,1971 ) was a British boxer who fought from 1927 to 1945. He was born Joseph Patrick Bamford inRochdale ,Lancashire ,and initially discovered trained and managed by Harry Fleming. During his career held the British and commonwealthmiddleweight titles. McAvoy's bid to capture the European middleweight crown was derailed when he lost a unanimous decision to future world middleweight championMarcel Thil ofFrance inParis onJanuary 15 ,1935 .He was unlucky never to have been World Middleweight Champion, considering his performance against Ed 'Babe' Risko. The American was champion when they fought, but as McAvoy was considered such a dangerous opponent, Risko's handlers would only allow the two to meet in a non-title affair. Their apprehension was fully justified when McAvoy utterly destroyed the champion, sending him to the canvas 6 times for a first round knockout. However, McAvoy had performed too well for his own good, and boxing politics being what they were, he was never allowed a rematch with the title at stake.
McAvoy then decided to campaign as a
light heavyweight in the United States. In November 1935 he made his debut in America, and put together a win streak that culminated in his obtaining a title shot in famedMadison Square Garden inNew York . OnMarch 13 ,1936 he was outpointed over 15 rounds by world championJohn Henry Lewis .After his unsuccessful bid to capture the light heavyweight crown, McAvoy returned to
England , and his next fight was for the British and British Empire heavyweight titles held by Welshman,Jack Petersen . Petersen won the fifteen round fight on points. His most important bouts thereafter were againstLen Harvey , who outpointed him twice over 15 rounds atHarringay Arena , and future light heavyweight world championFreddie Mills , who beat him on points and forced him to retire in the re-match with an injured back.McAvoy was a hard puncher who scored 89 KOs in his 132 wins. He lost 14 times and was held to a draw once. McAvoy was named to the
Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time .External links
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ee also
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List of British light-heavyweight boxing champions *
List of British middleweight boxing champions
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