Jock McAvoy (November 20, 1908 – November 20, 1971) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
boxerBoxing 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...
who fought from 1927 to 1945. He was born
Joseph Patrick Bamford in
RochdaleRochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
,
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
.Jo Bamford adopted the name Jock McAvoy so that his mother did not relaise he was boxing. Initially discovered trained and managed by Joseph Tolley at Tolley's famous Rochdale Boxing Club, reference the Rochdale thunder bolt. During his career he held the British and commonwealth
middleweightMiddleweight 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 1867...
titles.
Jock McAvoy (November 20, 1908 – November 20, 1971) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
boxerBoxing 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...
who fought from 1927 to 1945. He was born
Joseph Patrick Bamford in
RochdaleRochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
,
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
.Jo Bamford adopted the name Jock McAvoy so that his mother did not relaise he was boxing. Initially discovered trained and managed by Joseph Tolley at Tolley's famous Rochdale Boxing Club, reference the Rochdale thunder bolt. During his career he held the British and commonwealth
middleweightMiddleweight 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 1867...
titles. McAvoy's bid to capture the European middleweight crown was derailed when he lost a unanimous decision to future world middleweight champion
Marcel ThilMarcel Thil was a French boxer and world champion.Born in Saint-Dizier, Haute-Marne in the Champagne-Ardenne Region of France, Marcel Thil started boxing at a very young age and turned professional at the age of sixteen...
of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on January 15, 1935.
He was unlucky never to have been World Middleweight Champion, considering his performance against
Ed 'Babe' RiskoHenry Pylkowski was Middleweight boxing champion of the world.-Personal:...
. 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 heavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight division is the weight division between cruiserweight and super middleweight...
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 famed
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
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...
. On March 13, 1936 he was outpointed over 15 rounds by world champion
John Henry LewisJohn Henry Lewis was an African American boxer who was the world Light Heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1939.One interesting fact of his is that Lewis was managed by a gambler and racketeer of the 1930s: Gus Greenlee, a man who became very important to baseball's Negro Leagues as a commissioner...
.
After his unsuccessful bid to capture the light heavyweight crown, McAvoy returned to
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 his next fight was for the British and British Empire heavyweight titles held by
WelshmanWales 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...
,
Jack Petersen'Jack Petersen was a Welsh boxer, who held the British heavyweight boxing title on two separate occasions.-Early life and career:...
. Petersen won the fifteen round fight on points. His most important bouts thereafter were against
Len HarveyLen Harvey was a boxer born in Stoke Climsland, Cornwall. A great tactician and defensive boxer who boxed at every weight division's of his day. He began boxing at the very young age of 12 and boxed to he was 36...
, who outpointed him twice over 15 rounds at
Harringay ArenaHarringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958.-Construction:...
, and future light heavyweight world champion
Freddie MillsFreddie Mills, was an English boxer, who was the world light heavyweight boxing champion from 1948 to 1950. He was born in Poole, England.- Early life :...
, 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.
In 1951 he was stricken with polio and was wheelchair bound the rest of his life.
See also