Percy Jones (boxer)

Percy Jones (26 December 1892 – 25 December 1922) was a Welsh professional boxer who competed from 1911 to 1916. He became the first Welshman to win a World championship when he took the IBU flyweight title from Bill Ladbury in 1914. The IBU later became the EBU and that is why the achievement was taken into context when comparing fighters of the same era. Jones also took the British and European flyweight titles from Ladbury in the same match. He has been voted number 6 in a BBC poll of Welsh boxing greats.[2]

Percy Jones
Statistics
Weight(s)
NationalityBritish
Born(1892-12-26)26 December 1892
Porth, Wales
Died25 December 1922(1922-12-25) (aged 29)
Boxing record
Total fights56[1]
Wins50
Wins by KO31
Losses3
Draws3

History

Born in Porth and raised in a coal mining family, Jones made his name at a local level, fighting in boxing booths.[3][4]

His first significant professional fight was a win (via disqualification) over Joe Symonds in March 1913. He beat Symonds twice more later that year, and in November stopped Sam Kellar in the fifteenth round in a final eliminator for the vacant British flyweight title. This led to a challenge in January 1914 for Bill Ladbury's title, Jones winning on points to be recognised as champion of Britain, Europe, and the World.[3][5]

He lost to Eugene Criqui in his next (non-title) fight, but beat the Frenchman on points in April in a defence of his European title.[3][6] In his next non-title bout, he was knocked out Symonds in the eighteenth round of twenty.[7]

He was forced to relinquish the British and World titles after failing to make the weight in two title fights.[4] He lost to Tancy Lee in October 1914 in what should have been a British title fight, prompting a move up to bantamweight.[8][9]

His last professional contest was a fifth-round KO of Ladbury in October 1915, although he competed in an army contest the following year.

World War I interrupted his boxing career with Jones enlisting in the Glamorgan Bantam Battalion of the Welsh Army Service Corps on 2 January 1915.[9] He was serving as a sergeant at the Somme in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers when he was badly wounded in the leg in 1916.[3] After almost 30 operations to save the leg it was eventually amputated in 1918.[3][4] Jones was also badly affected by poison gas.[3]

His weight dropped to a little over 4 stone, and he died of trench fever in 1922 on Christmas Day, one day short of his 30th birthday.[3][4]

Fight record

Jones is recorded on Boxrec.com as having 56 professional fights, with 50 wins, 3 losses and 3 draws.


Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
56 fights 50 wins 3 losses
By knockout 31 2
By decision 18 1
By disqualification 1 0
Draws 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
56 Win 50–3–3 Private Cole PTS 6 Feb 10, 1916 Barracks HQ Gym, Aldershot, Hampshire, England, U.K.
55 Win 49–3–3 Private Townsend RTD 6 (6) Feb 10, 1916 Barracks HQ Gym, Aldershot, Hampshire, England, U.K.
54 Win 48–3–3 Bill Ladbury KO 5 (15) Oct 11, 1915 New Cross Baths, New Cross, London, England, U.K.
53 Draw 47–3–3 Young Swift PTS 15 Oct 1, 1915 Cosmopolitan Gymnasium, Plymouth, Devon, England, U.K.
52 Win 47–3–2 Private Rees TKO 3 (15) Sep 29, 1915 Riding School, Aldershot, Hampshire, England, U.K.
51 Win 46–3–2 Gomer Perkins KO 3 (10) Jul 29, 1915 Pictorium Cinema, Porth, Wales, U.K.
50 Loss 45–3–2 Tancy Lee RTD 14 (15) Oct 19, 1914 National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London, England, U.K.
49 Win 45–2–2 Billy Fanner RTD 9 (15) Sep 19, 1914 Palladium, Abertillery, Wales, U.K.
48 Win 44–2–2 Jim Young Kendall RTD 4 (15) Jun 3, 1914 Pavilion, Tonyrefail, Wales, U.K.
47 Win 43–2–2 George Reeves RTD 7 (15) Jun 2, 1914 Pavilion Skating Rink, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
46 Loss 42–2–2 Joe Symonds RTD 18 (20) May 15, 1914 Cosmopolitan Gymnasium, Plymouth, Devon, England, U.K. Lost IBU, Lonsdale, and world flyweight titles
45 Win 42–1–2 Eugène Criqui PTS 20 Mar 26, 1914 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K. Retained IBU, Lonsdale, and world flyweight titles
44 Loss 41–1–2 Eugène Criqui PTS 15 Feb 12, 1914 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
43 Win 41–0–2 Bill Ladbury PTS 20 Jan 26, 1914 National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London, England, U.K. Won IBU, Lonsdale, and world flyweight titles
42 Win 40–0–2 Marcel Million RTD 3 (15) Jan 8, 1914 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
41 Win 39–0–2 Driver Knox KO 1 (15) Dec 6, 1913 Pavilion Skating Rink, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
40 Win 38–0–2 Alf Mansfield RTD 8 (15) Nov 27, 1913 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
39 Win 37–0–2 Sam Kellar TKO 15 (15) Nov 24, 1913 National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London, England, U.K. Eliminator British flyweight title
38 Win 36–0–2 Joe Wilson RTD 12 (15) Nov 8, 1913 Pavilion Skating Rink, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
37 Win 35–0–2 Joe Wilson KO 13 (15) Oct 18, 1913 Pavilion Skating Rink, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
36 Win 34–0–2 Tom Cherry PTS 15 Oct 11, 1913 Pavilion Skating Rink, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
35 Win 33–0–2 Young Beynon PTS 15 Sep 20, 1913 Pavilion Skating Rink, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
34 Win 32–0–2 Joe Symonds RTD 8 (15) Sep 18, 1913 Olympia Skating Rink, Hanley, Staffordshire, England, U.K.
33 Win 31–0–2 Bill Kyne PTS 10 Jul 21, 1913 Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
32 Win 30–0–2 Tom Cherry RTD 6 (15) Jul 10, 1913 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
31 Win 29–0–2 Young Baker RTD 8 (12) Jul 5, 1913 Marquee, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
30 Win 28–0–2 Bill Kyne PTS 10 Jun 23, 1913 National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London, England, U.K.
29 Win 27–0–2 Alf Mansfield RTD 6 (12) Jun 7, 1913 Pavilion Skating Rink, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
28 Win 26–0–2 Dido Gains PTS 15 Jun 5, 1913 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
27 Win 25–0–2 Joe Symonds PTS 10 Jun 2, 1913 National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London, England, U.K.
26 Win 24–0–2 Young George Dando RTD 4 (15) May 22, 1913 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
25 Win 23–0–2 Tommy Harrison RTD 8 (15) May 8, 1913 Liverpool Stadium, Pudsey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
24 Win 22–0–2 Gustaaf Govaerts PTS 6 Apr 28, 1913 National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London, England, U.K.
23 Win 21–0–2 Tommy Lewis PTS 12 Apr 5, 1913 Marquee, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
22 Win 20–0–2 Stoker Bill Hoskyne KO 3 (12) Mar 29, 1913 Marquee, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
21 Win 19–0–2 Joe Symonds DQ 4 (12) Mar 22, 1913 Marquee, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
20 Win 18–0–2 WB Jones TKO 2 (10) Feb 8, 1913 Scarrott's Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
19 Win 17–0–2 Jim Young Kendall RTD 4 (15) Feb 1, 1913 Scarrott's Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
18 Win 16–0–2 Young Rule TKO 9 (20) Jan 25, 1913 Hippodrome, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
17 Win 15–0–2 George Williams TKO 11 (15) Jan 11, 1913 Scarrott's Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
16 Win 14–0–2 Curly Pullman RTD 7 (10) Dec 26, 1912 Scarrott's Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
15 Win 13–0–2 Dai Matthews PTS 6 Dec 14, 1912 American Skating Rink, Cardiff, Wales, U.K.
14 Win 12–0–2 Young Jimmy England TKO 7 (10) Dec 7, 1912 Hippodrome, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
13 Win 11–0–2 Sam Morgan PTS 6 Nov 30, 1912 Scarrott's Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
12 Win 10–0–2 Harry Stuckey PTS 6 Nov 23, 1912 Scarrott's Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
11 Win 9–0–2 Will Gould TKO 5 (10) Nov 16, 1912 Scarrott's Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K.
10 Draw 8–0–2 Charlie Yeomans PTS 10 Oct 5, 1912 Drill Hall, Pentre, Wales, U.K.
9 Win 8–0–1 Shon Price PTS 10 Sep 20, 1912 Drill Hall, Pentre, Wales, U.K.
8 Win 7–0–1 Billy Farmer TKO 5 (?) Jul 1, 1912 Pentre, Wales, U.K. Date unknown
7 Win 6–0–1 Gordon Francis TKO 3 (?) Jun 1, 1912 Drill Hall, Pentre, Wales, U.K. Date unknown
6 Win 5–0–1 Lewis Williams PTS 6 Apr 1, 1912 Pavilion, Tonypandy, Wales, U.K. Date unknown
5 Win 4–0–1 Con Rowlands KO 5 (?) Feb 1, 1912 Drill Hall, Pentre, Wales, U.K. Date unknown
4 Win 3–0–1 Dai Davies KO 9 (?) Jan 1, 1912 Drill Hall, Pentre, Wales, U.K. Date unknown
3 Win 2–0–1 Manny Chamberlain PTS 6 Nov 11, 1911 Drill Hall, Pentre, Wales, U.K.
2 Win 1–0–1 Young Roberts PTS 6 Nov 10, 1911 Drill Hall, Pentre, Wales, U.K. Date unknown
1 Draw 0–0–1 Young Roberts PTS 6 Nov 9, 1911 Drill Hall, Pentre, Wales, U.K. Date unknown



See also

References
  1. per Boxrec.com
  2. "Wales' pugilist princes". BBC News. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  3. Haines, Chris (2008) "Boxing: Percy Jones was a real knockout", Wales Online, 10 July 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2017
  4. Prior, Neil (2014) "Percy Jones' 1914 title began century of Wales' boxing wins", BBC, 25 January 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2017
  5. "Boxing: Fly-Weight Championship: Percy Jones Defeats Bill Ladbury on Points". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 27 January 1914. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Fly-Weight Boxing: Percy Jones Defeats Criqui". Pall Mall Gazette. 27 March 1914. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Percy Jones Surprised". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 18 May 1914. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "N.S.C. Opening: Percy Jones and Tancy Lee for Fly-Weight Belt". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 17 October 1914. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Percy Jones Joins: Another Famous Boxer Leads the Way". Western Mail. 4 January 1915. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources
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