John H. Stracey

John H. Stracey (born 22 September 1950) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1969 to 1978. He is a former welterweight world champion, having held the WBC and lineal welterweight titles between 1975 and 1976.[2] At regional level, he held the British and European welterweight titles between 1973 and 1975, and is ranked by BoxRec as the 8th best British welterweight of all time.

John H. Stracey
Statistics
Weight(s)Welterweight
Height5 ft 7 1⁄2 in (171 cm)[1]
Reach70 in (178 cm)[1]
NationalityBritish
Born (1950-09-22) 22 September 1950
Bethnal Green, London, England
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights51
Wins45
Wins by KO37
Losses5
Draws1
No contests0

Amateur career

Stracey competed for Great Britain as a lightweight at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He was defeated in the Round of 16 by eventual gold medallist Ronnie Harris.[3] Stracey won the 1969 ABA light-welterweight championship.[4]

Professional career

Early career

Stracey began his professional career on 17 September 1969, knocking out Santos Martins in two rounds. Stracey won his first twelve fights, eleven by knockout, but against obscure opposition. Fight number thirteen was against Teddy Cooper, on 19 January 1971. Cooper was not a big name in boxing either, but this fight ended in controversy when Stracey won by a fifth round disqualification. On 5 October 1971 Stracey drew (tied) in ten rounds against Frankie Lewis.

Stracey produced five more wins before being matched with Marshall Butler, on 25 May 1972, at the Royal Albert Hall, suffering his first defeat after being outpointed by Butler over eight rounds.[5] He then put a string of four more wins together, before facing Bobby Arthur for the British welterweight title, on 31 October, at the Royal Albert Hall. He lost the fight with another controversial ending: This time, Stracey found himself disqualified in round seven.[6] Stracey then won five more bouts in a row. In February 1973, Stracey traveled to the United States, were he fought Danny McAloon on the undercard of the first Ali vs. Bugner fight, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, on 14 February. Stracey won the bout via unanimous decision.[7] He then met Bobby Arthur in a rematch on 5 June, this time winning the British title with a fourth-round knockout.[8]

Stracey vs. Menetrey

On 27 May 1974, Stracey got his chance at the European welterweight title, fighting Roger Menetrey at the Stade de Roland Garros, in Paris, France. Stracey won via eighth-round knockout.[8] On 29 April 1975, he defended his European title against Max Hebeisen, at the Royal Albert Hall, winning via RTD in the sixth round.[9]

Stracey vs. Nápoles

During the 1970s, it was a common practice to give world title shots to boxers that held continental titles. For example, the OPBF (Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation) champion would be given priority over other challengers for world title fights. Stracey was not the exception, and, after winning five more fights in a row (including a win over Ernie Lopez), he received his first world title shot: challenging WBC welterweight champion José Nápoles, in Nápoles' home-town of Mexico City, Mexico, on 6 December 1975. Stracey was sent down in round one, but he recuperated to close Nápoles' eye and have referee Octavio Meyran stop the fight in the sixth round, Stracey winning the world championship by a technical knockout.[8] The new champion declared, "He [Nápoles] could have knocked me down in every round but I'd have won it anyway". It was Nápoles' last fight.

1976

On 20 March 1976 he retained the title against perennial world title challenger Hedgemon Lewis by a knockout in round ten,[10] but on 22 June, at Wembley, he lost the world title, being knocked out in twelve rounds by California-based Mexican Carlos Palomino.[8] In his next fight, he lost to future world title challenger Dave Boy Green, with a badly damaged eye in round ten.[11] Stracey retired as a winner when he knocked out George Warusfel in nine rounds in Islington on 23 May 1978.[12]

Outside the ring

Stracey bought the Three Horseshoes pub in Briston, Norfolk, and renamed it the John H Stracey. In 2011 the pub reverted to its original name.[13] He also had, at one point, a boxing school in London.[14]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
51 fights 45 wins 5 losses
By knockout 37 3
By decision 8 2
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
51 Win 45–5–1 Georges Warusfel TKO 9 (10) 23 May 1978 Michael Sobell Sports Centre, London, England
50 Loss 44–5–1 Dave Boy Green TKO 10 (10) 29 Mar, 1977 Empire Pool, London, England
49 Loss 44–4–1 Carlos Palomino TKO 12 (15), 1:35 22 Jun, 1976 Empire Pool, London, England Lost WBC, The Ring, and lineal welterweight titles
48 Win 44–3–1 Hedgemon Lewis TKO 10 (15), 1:25 20 Mar, 1976 Empire Pool, London, England Retained WBC, The Ring, and lineal welterweight titles
47 Win 43–3–1 Jose Napoles TKO 6 (15), 2:30 6 Dec, 1975 Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, Mexico Won WBC, The Ring, and lineal welterweight titles
46 Win 42–3–1 Keith Averette DQ 8 (10) 30 Sep, 1975 Empire Pool, London, England
45 Win 41–3–1 Ruben Vazquez Zamora TKO 8 (10) 30 Jun, 1975 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
44 Win 40–3–1 Max Hebeisen RTD 6 (15) 29 Apr, 1975 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Retained European welterweight title
43 Win 39–3–1 Ernie Lopez TKO 7 (10) 29 Oct, 1974 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
42 Win 38–3–1 Tony Garcia TKO 3 (10) 1 Oct, 1974 Empire Pool, London, England
41 Win 37–3–1 Roger Menetrey TKO 8 (15) 27 May 1974 Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France Won European welterweight title
40 Win 36–3–1 Vernon Mason KO 4 (10) 23 Apr, 1974 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
39 Win 35–3–1 Jack Tillman TKO 4 (10) 26 Mar, 1974 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
38 Loss 34–3–1 Cuby Jackson TKO 3 (10) 11 Dec, 1973 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
37 Win 34–2–1 Marc Gervais TKO 4 (10) 13 Nov, 1973 Empire Pool, London, England
36 Win 33–2–1 Urban Baptiste TKO 4 (10) 30 Oct, 1973 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
35 Win 32–2–1 Jose Papo Melendez TKO 3 (10) 10 Sep, 1973 Empire Pool, London, England
34 Win 31–2–1 Bobby Arthur KO 4 (15) 5 Jun, 1973 Royal Albert Hall, London, England Won British welterweight title
33 Win 30–2–1 Pat Murphy TKO 5 (10) 9 May 1973 York Hall, London, England
32 Win 29–2–1 Jose Peterson PTS 8 13 Mar, 1973 Empire Pool, London, England
31 Win 28–2–1 Danny McAloon UD 10 14 Feb, 1973 Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.
30 Win 27–2–1 Otha Tyson KO 3 (10) 15 Jan, 1973 Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, England
29 Win 26–2–1 David Melendez TKO 7 (10) 5 Dec, 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
28 Loss 25–2–1 Bobby Arthur DQ 7 (15) 31 Oct, 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England For vacant British welterweight title
27 Win 25–1–1 Les Pearson TKO 2 (12) 10 Oct, 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
26 Win 24–1–1 Joe Yekinni TKO 2 (10) 6 Jun, 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
25 Win 23–1–1 Antonio Torres TKO 6 (8) 22 May 1972 Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester, England
24 Loss 22–1–1 Marshall Butler PTS 8 25 Apr, 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
23 Win 22–0–1 Ricky Porter PTS 8 4 Apr, 1972 York Hall, London, England
22 Win 21–0–1 Des Rea TKO 2 (8) 7 Mar, 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
21 Win 20–0–1 Bernie Terrell TKO 2 (8) 15 Feb, 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
20 Win 19–0–1 Yvon Mariolle KO 4 (8) 25 Jan, 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
19 Win 18–0–1 Guy Vercoutter TKO 7 (10) 17 Nov, 1971 Empire Pool, London, England
18 Win 17–0–1 Dave Wyatt TKO 3 (8) 27 Oct, 1971 York Hall, London, England
17 Draw 16–0–1 Frankie Lewis PTS 8 5 Oct, 1971 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
16 Win 16–0 Bouzid Ait Elmenceur PTS 8 4 May 1971 York Hall, London, England
15 Win 15–0 Dante Pelaez PTS 8 16 Mar, 1971 Empire Pool, London, England
14 Win 14–0 Yvon Mariolle KO 6 (8) 23 Feb, 1971 Shoreditch Town Hall, London, England
13 Win 13–0 Teddy Cooper DQ 5 (8) 19 Jan, 1971 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
12 Win 12–0 Ferdinand Ahumibe TKO 4 (8) 8 Dec, 1970 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
11 Win 11–0 Willie Rea TKO 3 (8) 6 Oct, 1970 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
10 Win 10–0 Billy Seasman RTD 5 (8) 29 Sep, 1970 York Hall, London, England
9 Win 8–0 David Pesenti PTS 9 12 May 1970 Empire Pool, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Harri Piitulainen RTD 6 (8) 27 Apr, 1970 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Bernard Martin RTD 3 (8) 17 Mar, 1970 Shoreditch Town Hall, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Tei Dovi TKO 3 (8) 10 Feb, 1970 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Tommy Carson TKO 7 (8) 20 Jan, 1970 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Bryn Lewis TKO 6 (8) 9 Dec, 1969 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Ray Opuku TKO 3 (6) 18 Nov, 1969 York Hall, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Ronnie Clifford TKO 2 (8) 2 Oct, 1969 York Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Santos Martins KO 2 (6) 17 Sep, 1969 York Hall, London, England
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See also

References
  1. Boxing record for John H. Stracey from BoxRec. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. "The Lineal Welterweight Champs". Cyber Boxing Zone.
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "John H. Stracey Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  4. "Best I Faced: John H. Stracey - The Ring". The Ring. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  5. Allen, Neil (31 October 1972). "Stracey to win inside distance". The Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  6. Allen, Neil (1 November 1972). "One indiscretion gives Stracey's rival title". The Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  7. "How it was in Las Vegas for Joe Bugner". Daily Mirror. 16 February 1973. Retrieved 29 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. Golesworthy, Maurice (1988) Encyclopaedia of Boxing, 8th edition, Robert Hale Limited, ISBN 0-7090-3323-0, p. 229
  9. Allen, Neil (30 April 1975). "Stracey calls a halt to the hit and run man". The Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  10. "Good Old British Gobblers". Daily Mirror. 22 March 1976. Retrieved 29 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Oh, Boy! What a Man". Daily Mirror. 30 March 1977. Retrieved 29 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "Stracey Back in Business". Daily Mirror. 24 May 1978. Retrieved 29 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. Wyllie, Sophie (2 October 2011). "Briston pub is back in business". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  14. Phillips, Neil (2007). Doctor to the world champions : my autobiography. Victoria, BC: Trafford. pp. 579-. ISBN 978-1-4251-1261-5.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by
Roger Menetrey		 European welterweight champion
27 May 1974 – 9 April 1976
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Marco Scano
Preceded by
Bobby Arthur		 British welterweight champion
5 June 1973 – 15 December 1975
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Pat Thomas
World boxing titles
Preceded by
José Nápoles		 WBC welterweight champion
6 December 1975 – 22 June 1976		 Succeeded by
Carlos Palomino
The Ring welterweight champion
6 December 1975 – 22 June 1976
Lineal welterweight champion
6 December 1975 – 22 June 1976
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