Alan Minter
Encyclopedia
Alan Minter is a former middleweight
world champion boxer
.
Olympic Games
. Soon after, Minter began his career in London
on Halloween
night of the same year by knocking out Maurice Thomas in six rounds.
became the first boxer to go the distance with him, over eight rounds in London. Minter won his next five fights, three by knockout, before tasting defeat for the first time after the referee stopped the fight in the eighth round to King George Aido due to bad cuts suffered by Minter. Two more wins followed before facing Jan Magziarz, who beat him twice in a row (once in the eighth and once in the sixth) again due to cuts.
1974 was a mixed year for Minter, beating Tony Byrne by a decision in eight, losing in two to Ricky Torres (again on cuts), having a third fight with Magziarz result in a no contest in four rounds, and closing the year with a win in eight rounds by decision in his first international fight, against Shako Mamba in Hamburg
, Germany.
In 1975, he won four fights in a row, including another bout in Hamburg, and by the end of the year, he challenged Kevin Finnegan
for the British Middleweight title, winning it by a 15 round decision. In 1976 he won six fights, to extend his streak to ten consecutive wins. Among the boxers he beat were Billy Knight by a knockout in two and Finnegan once again, by decision in 15, both in defense of his British title, along with former world title challenger Tony Licata, knocked out in six, and American Olympic Games Gold medal winner Sugar Ray Seales
, beaten in five. These wins gave Minter a ranking among the top ten Middleweight challengers.
In 1977, he won the Europe
an Middleweight title by beating Germano Valsecchi by a knockout in five in Italy
. But in his next fight his winning streak ended when he lost to former world title challenger Ronnie Harris
by a knockout in eight. Minter returned to top ten challenger status by upsetting the former Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight world champion Emile Griffith
with a ten round decision win in Monte Carlo
, but then, he lost his European title to Gratien Tonna by a knockout in eight at Milan
. He closed '77 with a third 15 round decision win over Finnegan to retain his British title.
1978 was a sad year for Minter, although he won all three of his bouts. On 15 February, at the Muhammad Ali
-Leon Spinks
I undercard in Las Vegas
, he won his first bout in the United States by knocking out Sandy Torres in five. Then, he went to Italy once again, to regain his European Middleweight title by knocking out Angelo Jacopucci in twelve rounds. Jacopucci died a few days after the bout, of injuries sustained in the bout. Minter finished his year by avenging his loss to Tonna with a six round knockout.
In 1979, Minter won all four of his fights, two of them by knockout. On 16 March 1980, in Las Vegas
, Nevada
, he was given a shot at champion Vito Antuofermo
's world Middleweight title at the Caesars Palace
. He won the title by a 15 round decision, and in a rematch, he retained the world title by a TKO in eight rounds. Minter's run as world champion came to an end on 27 September of that year, when he was stopped on cuts in three rounds to Marvin Hagler
at Wembley Arena
in London
. After the fight was stopped, Minter's supporters caused a riot, throwing beer cans and glass into the ring and both boxers had to be ushered away by the police. Prior to the fight, Minter made the blatantly racist statement on the BBC that "that black man is not going to take my title away". He later retracted this statement and said he meant "no man" is going to take my title away.
Minter beat fringe contender Ernie Singletary in London, in 1981, but after losses to future Hagler challengers Mustafa Hamsho
in Las Vegas and Tony Sibson
, in London, he retired for good.
He left boxing with a record of 39 wins, 9 losses and 1 no contest, with 23 wins by knockout. In 1983 he also delivered a knockout blow to the British version of This Is Your Life
when he could not stop swearing (in delight). As a result the show ceased to be shown live and ratings plummeted.
and lecture
shows, alongside Jim Watt, another world boxing champion.
His son Ross "The Boss" Minter
also competes in the welterweight division and is the current English and British (Southern Area) Welterweight champion his record stands at 17 wins (8 KO), 2 loss, 1 draw.
During the Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno
fight in October 1993, a beer can was thrown from the crowd, striking Alan Minter, much to the astonishment of the watching BBC
commentators.
In a humorous moment on BBC's long-running quiz show A Question of Sport
, Emlyn Hughes
incorrectly identified Alan Minter as the sportsman disguised in the 'Mystery Guest' round. In fact, it was Sue Barker
.
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...
world champion 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...
.
Amateur career
Minter was the 1971 ABA Middleweight Champion. He won the bronze medal at the 1972 MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. Soon after, Minter began his career 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...
on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
night of the same year by knocking out Maurice Thomas in six rounds.
Olympic results
- 1st round bye
- Defeated Reggie Ford (Guyana) KO 2
- Defeated Valeri Tregubov (Soviet Union) 5-0
- Defeated Loucif Hamani (Algeria) 4-1
- Lost to Dieter KottyschDieter KottyschDieter Kottysch is a former boxer and Olympic gold medalist.-Amateur career:Kottysch is a former German amateur boxer, who won the light middleweight Olympic gold medal for West Germany at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.- Olympic results :*1st round bye*Defeated Bonifacio Avila TKO 2*Defeated...
(West Germany) 2-3
Pro career
Minter won five fights in a row by knockout, and in 1973, Pat DwyerPat Dwyer
Pat Dwyer may refer to:*Patrick Dwyer , Australian athlete*Patrick Dwyer , American ice hockey player*James Dwyer , known as Pat Dwyer, American football coach...
became the first boxer to go the distance with him, over eight rounds in London. Minter won his next five fights, three by knockout, before tasting defeat for the first time after the referee stopped the fight in the eighth round to King George Aido due to bad cuts suffered by Minter. Two more wins followed before facing Jan Magziarz, who beat him twice in a row (once in the eighth and once in the sixth) again due to cuts.
1974 was a mixed year for Minter, beating Tony Byrne by a decision in eight, losing in two to Ricky Torres (again on cuts), having a third fight with Magziarz result in a no contest in four rounds, and closing the year with a win in eight rounds by decision in his first international fight, against Shako Mamba in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany.
In 1975, he won four fights in a row, including another bout in Hamburg, and by the end of the year, he challenged Kevin Finnegan
Kevin Finnegan
Kevin Finnegan was an English boxer.In his early career when Kevin was still an amateur he was banned for 18 months for climbing into the ring to dispute a loss by his brother...
for the British Middleweight title, winning it by a 15 round decision. In 1976 he won six fights, to extend his streak to ten consecutive wins. Among the boxers he beat were Billy Knight by a knockout in two and Finnegan once again, by decision in 15, both in defense of his British title, along with former world title challenger Tony Licata, knocked out in six, and American Olympic Games Gold medal winner Sugar Ray Seales
Sugar Ray Seales
"Sugar" Ray Seales, was the only American boxer to win a gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics.-Personal:...
, beaten in five. These wins gave Minter a ranking among the top ten Middleweight challengers.
In 1977, he won the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Middleweight title by beating Germano Valsecchi by a knockout in five in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. But in his next fight his winning streak ended when he lost to former world title challenger Ronnie Harris
Ronnie Harris
Ronnie W. "Mazel" Harris is a former American boxer, who won a gold medal in the lightweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics.-Personal:...
by a knockout in eight. Minter returned to top ten challenger status by upsetting the former Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight world champion Emile Griffith
Emile Griffith
Emile Alphonse Griffith is a former boxer who was the first fighter from the U.S. Virgin Islands ever to become a world champion. He is perhaps best known for his controversial third fight with Benny Paret in 1962 for the welterweight world championship...
with a ten round decision win in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, but then, he lost his European title to Gratien Tonna by a knockout in eight at Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. He closed '77 with a third 15 round decision win over Finnegan to retain his British title.
1978 was a sad year for Minter, although he won all three of his bouts. On 15 February, at the Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
-Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...
I undercard in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, he won his first bout in the United States by knocking out Sandy Torres in five. Then, he went to Italy once again, to regain his European Middleweight title by knocking out Angelo Jacopucci in twelve rounds. Jacopucci died a few days after the bout, of injuries sustained in the bout. Minter finished his year by avenging his loss to Tonna with a six round knockout.
In 1979, Minter won all four of his fights, two of them by knockout. On 16 March 1980, in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, he was given a shot at champion Vito Antuofermo
Vito Antuofermo
Vito Antuofermo is an Italian-American actor who is also a former world Middleweight boxing champion.-Background:Antuofermo was born in Italy, in the town of Palo del Colle, which is located about 15 km inland from the city of Bari. but his family moved to the United States when he was 17...
's world Middleweight title at the Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
. He won the title by a 15 round decision, and in a rematch, he retained the world title by a TKO in eight rounds. Minter's run as world champion came to an end on 27 September of that year, when he was stopped on cuts in three rounds to Marvin Hagler
Marvin Hagler
Marvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former professional boxer who was undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987. Hagler holds the distinction of having the highest KO% of all middleweight champions at 78%...
at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
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...
. After the fight was stopped, Minter's supporters caused a riot, throwing beer cans and glass into the ring and both boxers had to be ushered away by the police. Prior to the fight, Minter made the blatantly racist statement on the BBC that "that black man is not going to take my title away". He later retracted this statement and said he meant "no man" is going to take my title away.
Minter beat fringe contender Ernie Singletary in London, in 1981, but after losses to future Hagler challengers Mustafa Hamsho
Mustafa Hamsho
Mustafa Hamsho , born in 10 October 1953 in Latakia, Syria, was a Assyrian/Syriac boxer who never won a world title, but fought some big names in his career. Though he was not a winner in all of those fights, he did some things to make every one of his fights interesting and controversial in some...
in Las Vegas and Tony Sibson
Tony Sibson
Tony Sibson is a former professional boxer.Tony Sibson was well known as Britain's best as he was Commonwealth and European champion and world title challenger...
, in London, he retired for good.
He left boxing with a record of 39 wins, 9 losses and 1 no contest, with 23 wins by knockout. In 1983 he also delivered a knockout blow to the British version of This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life (UK TV series)
This Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
when he could not stop swearing (in delight). As a result the show ceased to be shown live and ratings plummeted.
Life After Boxing
Currently he resides in Littlehampton, England and tours all over the UK in autographAutograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
and lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
shows, alongside Jim Watt, another world boxing champion.
His son Ross "The Boss" Minter
Ross Minter
Ross Minter is a professional boxer.Ross Minter is the son of Alan Minter, the former World Middleweight Champion....
also competes in the welterweight division and is the current English and British (Southern Area) Welterweight champion his record stands at 17 wins (8 KO), 2 loss, 1 draw.
During the Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno, also known as the Battle of Britain, was a boxing match that took place on 1 October 1993, at the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales...
fight in October 1993, a beer can was thrown from the crowd, striking Alan Minter, much to the astonishment of the watching 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...
commentators.
In a humorous moment on BBC's long-running quiz show A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 2 December 1968 and continues to this day. It is currently recorded at The Studios, MediaCityUK...
, Emlyn Hughes
Emlyn Hughes
Emlyn Walter Hughes, OBE was an English footballer who captained both the England national team and the much-decorated Liverpool F.C. team of the 1970s.- From Blackpool to Liverpool :...
incorrectly identified Alan Minter as the sportsman disguised in the 'Mystery Guest' round. In fact, it was Sue Barker
Sue Barker
Susan Barker, MBE is an English television presenter and former professional tennis player. During her tennis career, she won the women's singles title at the French Open and reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3...
.