Terry Downes obituary

World middleweight boxing champion nicknamed the 'Paddington Express'

theguardian.com

Terry Downes, right, on the attack against Sugar Ray Robinson in 1962. Downes won the 10-round fight on a points decision.  Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images

Terry Downes, the 'Dashing, Crashing, Bashing Paddington Express' who has died aged 81, was a popular all-action fighter who became world middleweight champion for nine months in 1961-62, retiring aged only 28 in 1964, when he was beaten in a challenge for the world light heavyweight title. A headline writer’s dream with a sharp cockney wit that spawned numerous one-liners, he was beloved by boxing promoters. His aggressive style rarely produced a dull fight, and Downes also had the charisma to ensure he was a major box-office draw.

Born and brought up in London, where he boxed as a junior for the Fisher amateur boxing club, Downes completed his boxing education in the US, where he fought for the Marine corps, which he had joined after his family emigrated in 1952. Downes’s elder sister, Sylvia, had previously travelled to Baltimore to join the famed Ringling Bros circus, but her family moved to the US to be with her when she lost an arm in a road accident. She was thrown from a bus on the way to the circus, suffering injuries when she was trapped between the vehicle and a telegraph pole.

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Terry Downes dead: Britain's oldest surviving former world champion passes away, aged 81

He passed away peacefully in his sleep on Friday morning, and is survived by five children and eight grandchildren

By David Anderson / mirror.co.uk

Britain's oldest world champion Terry Downes has died at the age of 81.

Downes excited fans with his aggressive hard-hitting style and claimed the world middleweight title in 1961 before beating a fading Sugar Ray Robinson the following year.

The Londoner, who spent two years in the US Marines, made his professional debut in 1957 and overcame a couple of early defeats to claim the British and Commonwealth middleweight belts.

Downes was much under-rated and the high point of his career came in his trilogy with American Paul Pender in the early 1960s.

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PADDINGTON EXPRESSTerry Downes dead aged 81

Britain’s oldest living world champion who defeated Sugar Ray Robinson passes away

By Daniel Cutts / thesun.co.uk

He passed away peacefully in his sleep this morning after an incredible fighting career throughout the 1950s and 60s.

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Terry Downes, boxer – obituary

telegraph.co.uk

Terry Downes, the former world middleweight boxing champion who has died aged 81, was Britain’s most popular fighter in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and he built up a tremendous following with his whirlwind, non-stop punching style.

Downes – who had adopted the aggressive, two-fisted American style of boxing during a four-year stint in the US Marines – invariably performed a flamboyant, limbering-up “war dance” in the corner before his bouts which British fans loved.

“I’m in the ring to entertain,” he said. "If I wanted to do a slow fox-trot I’d go to a dance hall."

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A tribute to Terry Downes – 'I lived the life I wanted'

Looking back on the life and career of Terry Downes who has died aged 81

by Matt Christie  and Daniel Herbert

FORMER world middleweight champion Terry Downes BEM has passed away at the age of 81.

The Londoner’s nickname was “Dashing, Bashing, Crashing” – and no one would ever sue Downes under the Trades Descriptions Act. With his aggressive hard-hitting style, the Paddington battler thrilled crowds in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

His rough and ready, blunt-talking Cockney persona also earned him followers at a time when television was just taking off. Two years in the US Marines had toughened him up and early setbacks – he lost to future two-weight world champ Dick Tiger in a 1957 prelim – merely delayed Downes’ rise to the top, which culminated in a trilogy with Paul Pender.

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Terry Downes, former champion who defeated Sugar Ray Robinson, dies at 81

by Mike Coppinger / ringtv.com

Terry Downes, the former middleweight champion who defeated Sugar Ray Robinson, died “peacefully” Friday, according to his family. He was 81.

The Londoner had been the oldest surviving former world champion from the U.K.

Downes’ family confirmed his death in a statement: "Terry was a beloved husband, father and grandfather to his wife Barbara, his five children and eight grandchildren, and will be enormously missed."

Downes was born in England but moved with his family at 16 to the U.S., where he lived for five years. He fought in the service but began his boxing career in earnest after returning to England in 1957.

He faced then-unknown Dick Tiger, a future hall of famer, in just his third pro fight but retired on his stool. Afterward, he was asked who he wanted to fight next and responded: "The bastard who made this match."

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