Wally Carr

Wally "Wait-awhile-Wal"[1] Carr (11 August 1954 – 13 April 2019)[2] was an Aboriginal Australian professional boxer. A Wiradjuri man who was born and raised in Wellington, New South Wales, Carr held twelve titles across six different divisions across his 15 year career as a boxer[1].

Wally Carr
Born	Wally Carr (1954-08-11)11 August 1954 Wellington, New South Wales, Australia
Died	13 April 2019(2019-04-13) (aged 64) Newtown, New South Wales, Australia
Residence	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Height	184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Style	Boxing
Stance	Orthodox
Years active	1971–1981, 1983–1986
Professional boxing record
Total	100
Wins	53
By knockout	27
Losses	38
By knockout	8
Draws	9
Other information
Notable relatives	Josh Addo-Carr
Boxing record from BoxRec
last updated on: 30 January 2017

Described by Boxing 1970–1980 as having "boxing ability to burn" and "outstanding skills", Wally Carr had 100 professional fights.[3] His first fight was in South Sydney Leagues Club in 1971 at the age of 17 and his last fight was in 1986 at the age of 32 when he announced his retirement after fighting Doug Sam at the Bruce Stadium in Canberra.

With over twelve fights overseas in countries including, Zambia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, Wally Carr got his first crack at a world title, his 96th fight, when he fought Korean Super-Middleweight, Chong-Pal Park in Seoul in 1984. Wally lost on points.

Wally's fighting career spanned Super-Bantamweight to Heavyweight. He fought in 13 divisions, starting out at 8 stone 10 lbs and finishing up at 14 stone 10 lbs. His titles include NSW Welterweight Champion, Australasian Light Middleweight Champion, Australian Junior Middleweight Champion, Australian Middleweight Champion, Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight Champion, Australian Super-Middleweight Champion, Australian Light-Heavyweight Champion and Oriental Middleweight Champion.

In 2010 Gaele Sobott published the biography of Wally Carr titled My Longest Round, which details his life from his earliest memories in Wellington, his boxing career, his battle with alcoholism, drug abuse, homelessness, and his final transition to sobriety and happiness.[4] The book was written in close collaboration with Wally Carr over the course of six years.

Carr was selected as the inductee into the 2010 Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns category in recognition of his achievements[1].

Professional Boxing Record

Professional record summary

100 fights	53 wins	38 losses
By knockout	27	8
By decision	26	27
By disqualification	0	3
Draws	9

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Date	Location	Notes
100	Loss	53–38–9	Doug Sam	KO	18 Apr 1986	Bruce Stadium, Canberra
99	Loss	53–37–9	Gary Hubble	DQ	22 Mar 1986	Campbelltown Rugby League Club, Leumeah	Lost Australian Light Heavyweight Title
98	Loss	53–36–9	Dave Russell	PTS	26 Apr 1985	Festival Hall, Melbourne
97	Win	53–35–9	Alan Black	KO	11 Dec 1984	Entertainment Centre, Perth	Won Australian Light Heavyweight Title
96	Loss	52–35–9	Chong Pal Park	PTS	7 Oct 1984	Seoul
95	Loss	52–34–9	Pat Hailwood	PTS	31 Aug 1984	Marrickville RSL Club, Marrickville, Sydney
94	Loss	52–33–9	Kevin Wagstaff	UD	1 Jun 1984	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney	Lost vacant Australian Cruiserweight Title
93	Win	52–32–9	Tommy West	PTS	27 Apr 1984	Sydney	Won vacant Australian Light Heavyweight Title
92	Draw	51–32–9	Tommy West	PTS	24 Feb 1984	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
91	Win	51–32–8	Gary Hubble	TKO	2 Dec 1983	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
90	Win	50–32–8	Peter Hewitt	KO	14 Oct 1983	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
89	Loss	49–32–8	Terry Archer	DQ	16 Sep 1983	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney	Lost Australia – New South Wales State Heavyweight Title
88	Draw	49–31–8	Young Stone	PTS	5 Aug 1983	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
87	Loss	49–31–7	Young Haumona	PTS	28 Apr 1983	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
86	Loss	49–30–7	Stephane Ferrara	PTS	10 Oct 1981	Noumea
85	Loss	49–29–7	Alex Sua	KO	27 May 1981	Auckland
84	Win	49–28–7	Ken Eldridge	KO	20 Nov 1980	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
83	Loss	48–28–7	Phil Kating	PTS	2 Aug 1980	Laucala Bay Hanger, Suva
82	Win	48–27–7	Terry Fox	TKO	29 Jun 1980	Balmain Rugby League Club, Sydney
81	Win	47–27–7	Fossie Schmidt	TKO	12 Apr 1980	Laucala Bay Hanger, Suva
80	Win	46–27–7	Terry Fox	PTS	16 Jun 1979	Victoria Park, Dubbo
79	Win	45–27–7	John Krishna	KO	18 Feb 1979	Hordern Pavilion, Sydney	Won Australian Middleweight Title
78	Loss	44–27–7	Monty Betham	PTS	11 Feb 1979	Auckland	Lost Australian National Boxing Federation Australasian Middleweight Title
77	Win	44–26–7	Torkano Marcos	KO	16 Dec 1978	Laucala Bay Hanger, Suva
76	Win	43–26–7	Benny Holt	TKO	7 Dec 1978	Revesby Workers Club, Sydney	Won Australian Middleweight Title
75	Win	42–26–7	Al Korovou	TKO	26 Jul 1978	Bankstown RSL Club, Sydney	Won Australian Middleweight Title
74	Loss	41–26–7	Neil Pattell	PTS	30 Jun 1978	Festival Hall, Brisbane
73	Loss	41–25–7	Al Korovou	PTS	14 Dec 1977	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney	Lost Australian Middleweight Title
72	Win	41–24–7	Johnny Layton	PTS	12 Oct 1977	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney	Won Australian Super Welterweight Title
71	Win	40–24–7	Rudy Siregar	PTS	11 Sep 1977	Surabaya
70	Draw	39–24–7	Johnny Layton	PTS	27 Oct 1976	Bankstown Sports Club, Sydney
69	Loss	39–24–6	Monty Betham	KO	23 Sep 1976	Town Hall, Wellington	Lost Commonwealth (British Empire) Middleweight Title
68	Loss	39–23–6	Neil Pattell	PTS	8 Sep 1976	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney	Lost Australian Super Welterweight Title
67	Win	39–22–6	Eric King	KO	4 Aug 1976	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
66	Win	38–22–6	Monty Betham	KO	12 Jul 1976	Town Hall, Wellington	Won vacant Australian National Boxing Federation Australasian Super Welterweight Title
65	Loss	37–22–6	Julius Luipa	TKO	1 Jul 1976	Chingola	Lost Australia – New South Wales State Welterweight Title
64	Win	37–21–6	Eric King	PTS	9 Jun 1976	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
63	Win	36–21–6	Joe Keresi	KO	2 Oct 1975	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
62	Win	35–21–6	Benny Holt	TKO	10 Jul 1975	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
61	Win	34–21–6	Bernie Alexander	TKO	5 Jun 1975	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
60	Loss	33–21–6	Benny Holt	PTS	22 May 1975	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
59	Loss	33–20–6	Martin Beni	TKO	19 Apr 1975	Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne
58	Win	33–19–6	Billy O'Donnell	KO	3 Apr 1975	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
57	Draw	32–19–6	Martin Beni	PTS	13 Mar 1975	Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby
56	Win	32–19–5	Alan Aldenhoven	TKO	27 Feb 1975	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
55	Loss	31–19–5	Dennis Enright	PTS	18 Aug 1974	RSA Hall, Invercargill
54	Loss	31–18–5	Colin Cassidy	PTS	14 Aug 1974	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
53	Loss	31–17–5	Andy Broome	TKO	13 Jun 1974	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
52	Win	31–16–5	Billy O'Connor	KO	17 May 1974	Festival Hall, Melbourne
51	Win	30–16–5	Wayne Cullen	KO	8 May 1974	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
50	Win	29–16–5	Matt Ropis	PTS	4 Apr 1974	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
49	Win	28–16–5	Barry Facer	TKO	28 Mar 1974	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
48	Win	27–16–5	Fred Rolando Pastor	PTS	15 Mar 1974	Festival Hall, Melbourne
47	Win	26–16–5	Martin Ross	KO	14 Feb 1974	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
46	Win	25–16–5	Elley Dennis	PTS	1 Dec 1973	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
45	Loss	24–16–5	Antonio Oke	PTS	10 Nov 1973	Noumea
44	Loss	24–15–5	Bobby Cotterill	PTS	13 Sep 1973	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
43	Loss	24–14–5	Colin Cassidy	TKO	15 Aug 1973	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
42	Win	24–13–5	Les Knox	PTS	19 Jun 1973	Cronulla Workingmen's Club, Sydney
41	Loss	23–13–5	David Hill	PTS	14 Jun 1973	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
40	Draw	23–12–5	Jim Metcalfe	PTS	17 May 1973	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
39	Win	23–12–4	Mick Maher	PTS	8 May 1973	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
38	Win	22–12–4	Binky Rominski	PTS	2 May 1973	Manly Warringah Leagues Club, Sydney
37	Win	21–12–4	Eric King	PTS	19 Apr 1973	Blacktown RSL Club, Sydney
36	Loss	20–12–4	Rod Connors	PTS	28 Feb 1973	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
35	Loss	20–11–4	Alan Mander	DQ	7 Feb 1973	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
34	Win	20–10–4	Ceddy McGrady	PTS	18 Jan 1973	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
33	Win	19–10–4	Ceddy McGrady	PTS	30 Nov 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
32	Win	18–10–4	Binky Rominski	KO	15 Nov 1972	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
31	Win	17–10–4	Matt Davis	PTS	31 Oct 1972	Cronulla Workingmen's Club, Sydney
30	Win	16–10–4	Cousin Bob West	PTS	18 Oct 1972	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
29	Loss	15–10–4	Jim Metcalfe	PTS	10 Oct 1972	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
28	Loss	15–9–4	Rod Connors	PTS	26 Sep 1972	Cronulla Workingmen's Club, Sydney
27	Draw	15–8–4	Jeff Malcolm	PTS	20 Sep 1972	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
26	Loss	15–8–3	Ross Armstrong	PTS	17 Aug 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
25	Win	15–7–3	Ross Armstrong	PTS	10 Aug 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
24	Win	14–7–3	Binky Rominski	PTS	11 Jul 1972	Corrimal Rugby League Club, Wollongong
23	Loss	13–7–3	Jim Metcalfe	PTS	22 Jun 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
22	Win	13–6–3	Eric Larche	PTS	15 Jun 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
21	Loss	12–6–3	Neville Williams	KO	7 Jun 1972	Riverwood Legion Club, Sydney
20	Win	12–5–3	Les Knox	PTS	1 Jun 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
19	Win	11–5–3	Les Knox	PTS	25 May 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
18	Loss	10–5–3	Lance McConnell	PTS	2 Mar 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
17	Loss	10–4–3	Lance McConnell	PTS	8 Feb 1972	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
16	Draw	10–3–3	Frank Geebung	PTS	3 Feb 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
15	Loss	10–3–2	Jim Metcalfe	PTS	27 Jan 1972	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
14	Win	10–2–2	Alan Scott	KO	11 Jan 1972	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
13	Win	9–2–2	Ern McNeill	KO	16 Dec 1971	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
12	Win	8–2–2	Frank Geebung	PTS	9 Dec 1971	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
11	Win	7–2–2	Wayne Oldham	KO	7 Dec 1971	Penrith Rugby League Club, Sydney
10	Win	6–2–2	Elley Dennis	PTS	1 Dec 1971	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
9	Win	5–2–2	Cousin Bob West	KO	15 Nov 1971	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
8	Win	4–2–2	Laurie Johnson	TKO	4 Nov 1971	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
7	Win	3–2–2	Graham Murray	PTS	18 Oct 1971	Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney
6	Draw	2–2–2	Dennis Cutmore	PTS	13 Oct 1971	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
5	Loss	2–2–1	Frank Geebung	PTS	30 Sep 1971	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
4	Win	2–1–1	Graham Murray	PTS	15 Sep 1971	North Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
3	Loss	1–1–1	Laurie Johnson	PTS	9 Sep 1971	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
2	Win	1–0–1	Graham Murray	PTS	2 Sep 1971	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney
1	Draw	0–0–1	Graham Murray	PTS	26 Aug 1971	South Sydney Rugby League Club, Sydney

Personal life

Wally Carr was born two months after his father committed suicide by gunshot to the head.[5]

Carr had four children (three daughters and one son) and two grandchildren. He was the grandfather of NRL player Josh Addo-Carr.[6]

Death

Wally Carr died on 13 April 2019 due to stomach cancer.[2][6][7]

Legacy

During the indigenous round of the 2020 NRL Season, Carr's name was included on the inside of the collar on the player jersey for the Melbourne Storm, for whom Carr's grandson, Josh Addo-Carr plays.[8]

Professional Boxing Titles

• Australia – New South Wales State welterweight title (146¼ Ibs)
• Australasian Super Welterweight Title (154 Ibs)
• Australian super welterweight title (154¼ Ibs)
• Australian middleweight title (160 Ibs)
• Australian light heavyweight title (172 Ibs)

References

1. Shirkie, Daniel (16 April 2019). "'One of the best': Wellington boxing royalty Wally Carr passes away". Wellington Times. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
2. "Boxing legend fights to the very end". NITV. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
3. Clarke, Michael J. (1990). Boxing. Marrickville, N.S.W.: Topmill. ISBN 9781876270926.
4. Sobott, Gaele (2010). My longest round : the life story of Wally Carr. [Sunnybank South, Qld.]: BookPal. ISBN 1921791217.
5. Wally Carr & Gaele Sobott, My Longest Round
6. Ward, Roy (4 April 2019). "Josh Addo-Carr pays try tribute to his ailing grandpa". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
7. "THE DAILY TELEGRAPH TRIBUTES". tributes.dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
8. "'Pop would be proud as punch': Wally Carr's fighting spirit inspires Storm". National Rugby League. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.