Clinton McKenzie (born 15 September, 1955 in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a former
professional boxerProfessional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...
. He fought in the
light welterweight-Professional boxing:The light Welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...
division and became the British light welterweight title holder and lost to European title fights.
McKenzie was the oldest of seven children born in
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The McKenzie family emigrated to England was Clinton was nine years of age.
He is the brother of former three-weight world champion boxer
Duke McKenzieDuke McKenzie is one of the best British former professional boxers, now a boxing commentator for UK broadcaster ITV.He previously commentated on boxing for BBC Radio Five Live and BBC television with John Rawling. He joined ITV with Rawling when boxing returned to the network in September 2005...
and former amateur boxer and politician
Winston McKenzieWinston McKenzie is a British politician and former amateur boxer. He ran as an independent in the 2008 election for the mayoralty of London, having failed to secure the Conservative nomination....
, father of Coventry City striker
Leon McKenzieLeon Mark McKenzie is an English professional footballer, currently playing for Charlton Athletic. He is the son of former British and European boxing champion Clinton McKenzie and nephew of flyweight boxing champion Duke McKenzie and politician and retired boxer Winston McKenzie...
and adoptive father to professional boxer and
Big Brother UK 2009Big Brother 2009, occasionally referred to as Big Brother 10, was the tenth series of the British reality television series Big Brother. It began on 4 June 2009 and aired on Channel 4 and E4 for 93 days, concluding on 4 September when Sophie "Dogface" Reade was crowned the winner with 74.4% of the...
housemate, Angel McKenzie.
McKenzie represented
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
throughout his amateur career which culminated in representing Great Britiain at the
1976 OlympicsThere were eleven boxing events at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Light Flyweight :-First Round:* Armando Guevara def. Eduardo Baltar , 5:0* Li Byong-Uk def. Sidney McKnight , KO-1...
in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Clinton McKenzie (born 15 September, 1955 in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a former
professional boxerProfessional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...
. He fought in the
light welterweight-Professional boxing:The light Welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...
division and became the British light welterweight title holder and lost to European title fights.
Background
McKenzie was the oldest of seven children born in
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The McKenzie family emigrated to England was Clinton was nine years of age.
He is the brother of former three-weight world champion boxer
Duke McKenzieDuke McKenzie is one of the best British former professional boxers, now a boxing commentator for UK broadcaster ITV.He previously commentated on boxing for BBC Radio Five Live and BBC television with John Rawling. He joined ITV with Rawling when boxing returned to the network in September 2005...
and former amateur boxer and politician
Winston McKenzieWinston McKenzie is a British politician and former amateur boxer. He ran as an independent in the 2008 election for the mayoralty of London, having failed to secure the Conservative nomination....
, father of Coventry City striker
Leon McKenzieLeon Mark McKenzie is an English professional footballer, currently playing for Charlton Athletic. He is the son of former British and European boxing champion Clinton McKenzie and nephew of flyweight boxing champion Duke McKenzie and politician and retired boxer Winston McKenzie...
and adoptive father to professional boxer and
Big Brother UK 2009Big Brother 2009, occasionally referred to as Big Brother 10, was the tenth series of the British reality television series Big Brother. It began on 4 June 2009 and aired on Channel 4 and E4 for 93 days, concluding on 4 September when Sophie "Dogface" Reade was crowned the winner with 74.4% of the...
housemate, Angel McKenzie.
Amateur career
McKenzie represented
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
throughout his amateur career which culminated in representing Great Britiain at the
1976 OlympicsThere were eleven boxing events at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Light Flyweight :-First Round:* Armando Guevara def. Eduardo Baltar , 5:0* Li Byong-Uk def. Sidney McKnight , KO-1...
in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. McKenzie won his first two fights before losing to eventual gold medal winner
Sugar Ray LeonardSugar Ray Leonard is a retired American professional boxer . Named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s, he is widely considered to be one of the best boxers of all time, winning world titles at multiple weights and engaging in contests with such celebrated opponents as Wilfred Benitez, Thomas...
.
Olympic results
1976 (as a light welterweight)
- Defeated Daniele Zappaterra (ITA), 5:0
- Defeated Ismael MartÃnez (PUR), 3:2
- Lost to Ray Leonard (USA), 5:0
Professional career
Following the publicity of the Olympic Games, McKenzie left
amateur boxingAmateur boxing is practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration and fighters wear head protection, so this type of competition prizes point-scoring rather...
to turn professional in October 1976, winning his first fight at the
York HallThe York Hall is a health and leisure centre and one of Britain's best known boxing venues.The venue is situated on Old Ford Road in Bethnal Green, London, England. The hall, opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200, stages boxing as well as providing a gymnasium and swimming pool.The hall is owned...
, Bethnal Green, London, in which McKenzie beat Jimmy King on points over eight rounds.
McKenzie fought for his first title belt, the vacant British light welterweight title, in October 1978 which he won with ten round knockout win over Jim Montague in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The following year McKenzie lost the title at the
Wembley Conference CentreWembley Conference Centre was a conference centre near Wembley Stadium, Wembley, in London, England.Opened in 1977, it was the first purpose built Conference Centre in the UK. Events included conferences, corporate hospitality, annual general meetings, banquets and sports events including snooker...
to Colin Powers on points but later that year defeated Powers at the same venue to regain the title.