Freddie Welsh (March 5, 1886 - July 29, 1927) was a
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
boxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
champion.
Born in
PontypriddPontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff....
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
, and christened
Frederick Hall Thomas, he was nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard" (an epithet shared by his contemporary, but in the political ring,
David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British statesman and the only Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only one to have spoken English as a second language, Welsh having been his first.During a long tenure of office, mainly as Chancellor of the...
).
The son of a successful businessman, Freddie took up
boxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
in Wales as his grandfather had been a renowned carnival fighter.
Freddie Welsh (March 5, 1886 - July 29, 1927) was a
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
boxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
champion.
Birth and early career
Born in
PontypriddPontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff....
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
, and christened
Frederick Hall Thomas, he was nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard" (an epithet shared by his contemporary, but in the political ring,
David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British statesman and the only Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only one to have spoken English as a second language, Welsh having been his first.During a long tenure of office, mainly as Chancellor of the...
).
The son of a successful businessman, Freddie took up
boxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
in Wales as his grandfather had been a renowned carnival fighter. He made several trip across the Atlantic to
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...
and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, starting at the age of sixteen, and became so good at the sport that he decided to make a living out of it and he turned professional in 1905 in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the centre of professional boxing. He took the name Freddie Welsh to prevent his mother from learning of his new career, in honour of his nationality.
Championship years and WWI
After several wins on the east coast of the United States, he returned to the British Isles on hearing that his mother was ill. He resumed his career in
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 in 1909, Welsh was awarded the first
Lonsdale BeltThe 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:...
, in recognition of his winning the European
lightweightLightweight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight. It is also a slang term, indicating insignificance or ineptitude, for example having a low tolerance for alcohol. It can be used as a synonym for "kind of." It may also be used to describe something as being small or...
boxing title. In 1914, he won the World Lightweight title on a points decision against
RitchieWillie Ritchie , was the world lightweight boxing champion from 1912 to 1914. -Biography:Ritchie was born in San Francisco, California...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. He retained the title until May 1917, when he was knocked out at the Manhattan Athletic Club by
Benny LeonardBenny Leonard , born Benjamin Leiner, was an American boxer. He was named as number 8 on Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.-Biography:...
.
By this time Welsh had returned to America, where he continued his boxing career, generating large sums in no-decision bouts, becoming an American citizen and joining the US Army. During the First World War he served as a
lieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
and helped disabled veterans at the Walter Reed Hospital. He was discharged a Captain and returned to the ring in December, 1920.
Retirement
He retired from boxing after a defeat by Archie Walker in 1922, but retired as a wealthy man. He bought a health farm and a gymnasium but fell on hard times and died penniless in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Freddie Welsh was inducted into the 'Ring Boxing Hall of Fame' in 1960 and the '
International Boxing Hall of FameThe modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
' in 1997.
Record
During the time Welsh boxed, scoring resulted in a large number of no-decision fights. However, newspapers commonly reported a winner in the case of no-decision bouts. With that adjustment, Welsh's final record would be 110-25-15 with 32 KO's and 16 no-decisions.
External links
Retrieved on 2008-01-24 about the life and career of Freddie Welsh