Pat Thomas (boxer)

Pat Thomas (born 5 May 1950) was a Light-middleweight boxer, originally from Saint Kitts and Nevis, who took British citizenship and won two British boxing titles in the 1970s and 80s. After leaving Saint Kitts, Thomas settled in Cardiff in Wales, and is recognised as a Welsh fighter taking the Welsh light middleweight Championship in 1977.[1]

Pat Thomas
Statistics
Weight(s)Light-middleweight
Welterweight
Nationality Saint Kitts and Nevis
 United Kingdom
Born5 May 1950
Saint Kitts
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights57
Wins35
Wins by KO14
Losses18
Draws3
No contests1

Boxing career

Thomas' first professional bout was at welterweight, fought in Manchester against Ray Farell, himself a fairly novice boxer with only two professional matches to his name. Thomas won by knockout in the second round, and this started a nine match unbeaten run, though none of his seven wins after Farell coming through knockout. His first defeat was a points decision to Alan Reid at the end of 1971, a fighter who he had faced and beaten six months earlier.

Thomas' next bout was in 1972, against Jimmy Fairweather in Walworth, saw Thomas now fighting in eight-round matches. A win over Fairweather was followed by victories over Mickey Flynn and Phil Dykes, before being disqualified in an encounter with Charlie Cooper. At the start of 1973, he beat Des Rea, the Irish Welterweight Champion by a points decision; this was followed by two more wins before he faced Rea again, this time beating him by technical knockout in the fourth round. 1973 ended just like the previous two years, with a defeat, a narrow points loss to Trevor Francis at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The next year saw Thomas begin one of the most successful periods of his career, going on a twelve match unbeaten run. On 15 December 1975, Thomas faced Pat MacCormack for the vacant British Welterweight title. He knocked MacCormack down twice, before winning by knockout in the thirteenth and in the process became the first immigrant fighter to win the British Welterweight title.[2]

After a win over Jim Devanny in February 1976, Thomas fought Italian Marco Scano in Cagliari, for the vacant European Welterweight title. Thomas was outclassed losing by knockout in the second round. This was followed by Thomas' second overseas match, facing Jørgen Hansen in Denmark; Thomas lost by technical knockout in the third. Back in Britain, Thomas successfully defended his welterweight title against Trevor Francis, but then lost the belt when he was knocked out by Henry Rhiney in Luton.

After losing the welterweight title, Thomas went up a weight division, now fighting at light-middleweight. He began in the new division by taking the Welsh Light-middleweight title from Dave Davies, who had beaten Thomas three times in the amateurs,[3] in early 1977. Despite the encounter being for a Welsh title, the match took place at The Stadium in Liverpool, the fight being part of the undercard for John Conteh's WBC World Championship bout with Len Hutchins.[4] Thomas' light-middleweight career was far more chequered than his time as a welterweight, losing to Larry Paul, before beating Rhiney and then drawing with Tony Sibson. In 1978 Thomas spent much of his time fighting outside Britain, but with little success. He fought twice in Netherlands, a win and a loss, which were followed by three straight loses, against former Olympic Lightweight Champion Chris Clarke in Canada, then French Champion Claude Martin and finally Spanish fighter Andoni Amana in Bilbao.

His fortunes changed on British soil, with wins over Salvo Nucifero and Robbie Davies, before losing to Kenny Bristol in a fight for the vacant British Empire Light-middleweight title by a unanimous points decision.[5] The very next fight was another title decider, this time for the British Light-middleweight belt on 11 September 1979. In that encounter he beat Jimmy Batten in the ninth round to take his second British title; though Batten later stated that he felt he had given the title away as he wasn't in the correct frame of mind due to personal problems.[6] Thomas defended his title successfully twice, knocking out Dave Proud in the seventh and then stopping Steve Hopkin in the final round with a badly cut eye. His third defence ended in defeat, losing to Hensol Graham by points. This was the start of a six-round losing streak that only ended with his retirement from boxing in 1984.

Professional boxing record

35 Wins (14 knockouts, 21 decisions), 18 Losses (4 knockouts, 14 decisions), 3 Draws, 1 No Contest
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 7-0 Chris Pyatt PTS 10 15 Mar 1984 Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
Loss 11-0 Graeme Ahmed PTS 10 31 Aug 1982 Buddy's Night Club, South Shields, United Kingdom 98-98.5.
Loss 13-3-3 Brian Anderson PTS 10 21 May 1982 Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, United Kingdom 96.5-100.
Loss 7-2-1 Darwin Brewster PTS 10 26 Apr 1982 STAR Centre, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom 96.5-99.5.
Loss 33-0 Nino La Rocca TKO 4 13 Nov 1981 Rome, Italy
Loss 16-0 Herol Graham PTS 15 24 Mar 1981 Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield, United Kingdom BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title. 143-150.
Win 14-1-2 Steve Hopkin TKO 15 16 Sep 1980 Wembley Conference Centre, Wembley, London, United Kingdom BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:25 of the 15th round.
Win 9-6 "Fighting" Jim Richards PTS 8 3 Jun 1980 Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, United Kingdom 80-76.5.
Win 28-3-1 Dave Proud KO 7 11 Dec 1979 Bletchley Leisure Centre, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title.
Win 28-3 Jimmy Batten TKO 9 11 Sep 1979 Wembley Conference Centre, Wembley, London, United Kingdom BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:15 of the ninth round.
Loss 9-0 Kenny Bristol UD 15 29 Jul 1979 National Sports Hall, Georgetown, Guyana Commonwealth Light Middleweight Title.
Win 9-1 Robbie Davies PTS 12 5 Apr 1979 Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title Eliminator. 118-117.
Win 9-3 Salvo Nucifero TKO 1 27 Nov 1978 Civic Sports Centre, Kettering, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Loss 17-0 Andoni Amana PTS 10 5 Oct 1978 Bilbao, Spain
Loss 25-3-1 Claude "General" Martin PTS 10 23 Sep 1978 Saint-Malo, France BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:25 of the 15th round.
Loss 13-0 Chris Clarke UD 8 1 Aug 1978 Halifax Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Win 4-0 Agamil Yilderim PTS 8 29 May 1978 Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Loss 8-0 Marijan Benes PTS 8 16 Jan 1978 Rotterdam, Netherlands
Draw 17-0 Tony Sibson PTS 8 18 Oct 1977 Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Win 25-10-6 Henry Rhiney PTS 8 14 Jun 1977 Empire Pool, Wembley, London, United Kingdom
Loss 28-6-1 Larry Paul DQ 5 27 May 1977 Digbeth Institute, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title Eliminator.
Win 6-6-2 "Boxing" Dave Davies TKO 8 5 Mar 1977 Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom BBBofC Welsh Light Middleweight Title.
Loss 22-9-6 Henry Rhiney TKO 8 7 Dec 1976 Luton Caesar's Palace, Luton, United Kingdom BBBofC British Welterweight Title.
Win 20-8-6 "Boxing" Trevor Francis PTS 15 22 Sep 1976 Hilton Hotel, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom BBBofC British Welterweight Title. 147.5-147.
Loss 40-9 Jørgen Hansen TKO 3 3 Jun 1976 K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Loss 33-3-2 Marco Scano KO 2 9 Apr 1976 Palazzo Dello Sport, Cagliari, Italy EBU Welterweight Title.
Win 16-8-5 Jim Devanney TKO 8 16 Feb 1976 Arden Sporting Club, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Win 30-17-1 Pat McCormack KO 13 15 Dec 1975 Manor Place Baths, Walworth, London, United Kingdom BBBofC British Welterweight Title.
Win 7-3-1 Peter Scheibner PTS 8 8 Jul 1975 Double Diamond Club, Caerphilly, United Kingdom 79.5-76.5.
Win 7-1 Jeff Gale TKO 11 2 Jun 1975 National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom BBBofC British Welterweight Title Eliminator.
Win 9-9 Jim Montague KO 5 28 Apr 1975 Albany Hotel, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Win 13-4-2 Henry Rhiney PTS 8 4 Dec 1974 National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom
Draw 10-4-2 Kenny Webber PTS 10 25 Sep 1974 Midland Sporting Club, Solihull, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Win 11-3-1 Henry Rhiney PTS 8 25 Jun 1974 National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom
Win 21-15-1 Mickey Flynn PTS 8 22 Apr 1974 National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom
Win 15-14-1 "Scottish" John Smith PTS 8 18 Mar 1974 National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom
Win 29-33-5 Des Rea TKO 4 27 Feb 1974 Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Win 16-9-5 Les Pearson KO 1 21 Jan 1974 National Sporting Club, Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom
Loss 9-3-1 "Boxing" Trevor Francis PTS 8 21 Nov 1973 Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom 78-78.5.
Win 29-31-4 Des Rea TKO 4 5 Oct 1973 Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Win 16-8-3 Les Pearson PTS 8 26 Sep 1973 Midland Sporting Club, Solihull, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Win 19-15-1 Amos Talbot PTS 8 12 Mar 1973 Anglo-Welsh Sporting Club, Caerphilly, United Kingdom 39.75-38.5.
Win 27-25-2 Des Rea PTS 8 15 Jan 1973 Double Diamond Club, Caerphilly, United Kingdom
Loss 10-0 Charlie Cooper DQ 7 22 Nov 1972 Cliffs Pavilion, Southend, United Kingdom
Win 7-11-1 Phil Dykes TKO 3 19 Sep 1972 King's Hall, Manchester, United Kingdom
Win 13-8 Mickey Flynn PTS 8 15 May 1972 Mayfair Sporting Club, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom 39.5-39.
Win 5-7 Jimmy Fairweather PTS 8 20 Apr 1972 Manor Place Baths, Walworth, London, United Kingdom
Loss 4-6-1 "Boxing" Alan Reid PTS 6 11 Oct 1971 Manchester, United Kingdom
Win 4-2 Johnny Shields PTS 6 17 May 1971 Hotel Piccadilly, Manchester, United Kingdom
Win 7-8 Tony Bagshaw PTS 6 3 May 1971 Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
Draw 3-10 Mohammed Ellah PTS 6 20 Apr 1971 Newport, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom
Win 4-3-1 "Boxing" Alan Reid PTS 6 29 Mar 1971 Manchester, United Kingdom
Win 10-10-2 Tony Burnett DQ 4 23 Mar 1971 Newport, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom
No Contest 7-7 Tony Bagshaw NC 4 22 Feb 1971 Manchester, United Kingdom
Win 3-9 Mohammed Ellah PTS 6 9 Feb 1971 Newport, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom
Win 7-5 "Boxing" Keith White PTS 6 12 Jan 1971 Shoreditch Town Hall, Shoreditch, London, United Kingdom
Win 1-0-1 Ray "The Dart" Farrell KO 2 14 Dec 1970 Manchester, United Kingdom

See also

References

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