Dick Turpin (boxer)
Lionel "Dick" Turpin[1] (26 November 1920 – 7 July 1990) was an English middleweight boxer. He was British and Commonwealth middleweight champion, reputedly being the first black fighter to win a British boxing title.[2][3] He was elder brother and trainer of the more famous Randolph Turpin, who became world middleweight champion after beating Sugar Ray Robinson in 1951.[4]
| Dick Turpin | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Lionel Turpin |
| Weight(s) | Middleweight |
| Born | 26 November 1920 Leamington Spa, England |
| Died | 7 July 1990 (aged 69) Leamington Spa, England |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 104 |
| Wins | 77 |
| Wins by KO | 33 |
| Losses | 20 |
| Draws | 6 |
| No contests | 1 |
Dick was the son of Lionel Turpin who had been born in British Guyana and his wife, Beatrice Elizabeth Whitehouse. He had two brothers Jack, who was a featherweight and Randolph, a middleweight.
Professional career
Turpin fought his first professional bout in March 1939 against Jimmy Griffiths, in Coventry. He lost on points over ten rounds.
He went on to build up a domestic record of 86 fights with 68 wins, 12 losses, 5 draws and one no-contest, before his first title fight. This was for the Commonwealth middleweight title, in May 1948, and was against Richard Bos Murphy of New Zealand. Turpin won the fight, at Coventry, by a knockout in the first round to become Commonwealth champion.
In his next bout, on 28 June 1948, Turpin fought Vince Hawkins for his British middleweight title. The fight was held at Villa Park, Birmingham and Turpin won on points over fifteen rounds. He now held both the British and Commonwealth middleweight titles.
During late 1948 and early 1949, Turpin fought European boxers, drawing and then losing on points against Tiberio Mitri, of Italy, then being knocked out in seven rounds in a non-title fight against the then world middleweight champion, Marcel Cerdan, of France.[5] He then won by a disqualification against another Frenchman, Robert Charron.
In June 1949, he defended his British and Commonwealth titles against Albert Finch, winning on points after fifteen rounds.
In September 1949, he defended his Commonwealth title against Australian, Dave Sands. The fight was at Harringay Arena, and Turpin was knocked out in the first round, and so only retained his British title.[6][7]
Turpin then won his next four fights, losing the fifth, on points to the American, Baby Day, before defending his British title against Albert Finch, whom he had beaten in his previous defence. The fight was held in April 1950, in Nottingham and Finch won on points after fifteen rounds.
Having lost both his titles, Turpin had only two more fights, against the Belgian, Cyrille Delannoit, in Brussels, losing on a technical knockout in the sixth, and finally against his old rival Albert Finch, losing on a technical knockout in the eighth. This last fight was in July 1950.[8]
Trainer
Turpin was the trainer of his more successful and famous brother Randolph, who beat Sugar Ray Robinson to take the world middleweight title in 1951.
Professional boxing record
| 108 fights | 81 wins | 21 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 35 | 8 |
| By decision | 45 | 13 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Draws | 5 | |
| No contests | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 108 | Loss | 81–21–5 (1) | Albert Finch | RTD | 8 (10) | Jul 3, 1950 | Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | |
| 107 | Loss | 81–20–5 (1) | Cyrille Delannoit | RTD | 7 (10) | May 13, 1950 | Palais des Sports, Schaerbeek, Bruxelles-Capitale, Belgium | |
| 106 | Loss | 81–19–5 (1) | Albert Finch | PTS | 15 | Apr 24, 1950 | Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | For BBBofC British middleweight title |
| 105 | Loss | 81–18–5 (1) | Baby Day | PTS | 10 | Mar 14, 1950 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England | |
| 104 | Win | 81–17–5 (1) | Ron Pudney | PTS | 8 | Mar 6, 1950 | Davis Theatre, Croydon, London, England | |
| 103 | Win | 80–17–5 (1) | Vince Hawkins | PTS | 8 | Jan 16, 1950 | Drill Hall, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 102 | Win | 79–17–5 (1) | Ron Cooper | PTS | 8 | Dec 12, 1949 | Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | |
| 101 | Win | 78–17–5 (1) | George Ross | TKO | 7 (10) | Nov 1, 1949 | Bingley Hall, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 100 | Loss | 77–17–5 (1) | Dave Sands | KO | 1 (15) | Sep 6, 1949 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London, England | Lost vacant BBBofC British and Commonwealth British middleweight title |
| 99 | Win | 77–16–5 (1) | Albert Finch | PTS | 15 | Jun 20, 1949 | St Andrews (Birmingham City FC), Birmingham, West Midlands, England | Won vacant BBBofC British and Commonwealth British middleweight title |
| 98 | Win | 76–16–5 (1) | Robert Charron | DQ | 5 (10) | May 30, 1949 | Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London, England | |
| 97 | Loss | 75–16–5 (1) | Marcel Cerdan | KO | 7 (10) | Mar 29, 1949 | Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London, England | |
| 96 | Loss | 75–15–5 (1) | Tiberio Mitri | PTS | 12 | Mar 12, 1949 | Idroscalo, Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy | |
| 95 | Draw | 75–14–5 (1) | Tiberio Mitri | PTS | 12 | Nov 29, 1948 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England | |
| 94 | Win | 75–14–4 (1) | Doug Miller | RTD | 7 (8) | Oct 18, 1948 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England | |
| 93 | Win | 74–14–4 (1) | Bert Sanders | PTS | 8 | Sep 27, 1948 | Embassy Rink, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 92 | Win | 73–14–4 (1) | Vince Hawkins | PTS | 15 | Jun 28, 1948 | Villa Park, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | Retained Commonwealth British Empire middleweight title Won BBBofC British middleweight title |
| 91 | Win | 72–14–4 (1) | Bos Murphy | KO | 1 (15) | May 18, 1948 | Highfield Road (Coventry FC), Coventry, West Midlands, England | Won Commonwealth British Empire middleweight title |
| 90 | Win | 71–14–4 (1) | Mark Hart | PTS | 12 | Feb 2, 1948 | Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | |
| 89 | Win | 70–14–4 (1) | Bert Sanders | PTS | 8 | Dec 1, 1947 | Town Hall, Leeds, Yorkshire, England | |
| 88 | Win | 69–14–4 (1) | Ron Cooper | PTS | 8 | Nov 20, 1947 | Skating Rink, Smethwick, West Midlands, England | |
| 87 | Win | 68–14–4 (1) | Freddie Price | PTS | 10 | Nov 7, 1947 | King's Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester, Lancashire, England | |
| 86 | Win | 67–14–4 (1) | Billy Stevens | PTS | 10 | Oct 23, 1947 | New St James Hall, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England | |
| 85 | Win | 66–14–4 (1) | Johnny Boyd | PTS | 8 | Sep 22, 1947 | Drill Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England | |
| 84 | Win | 65–14–4 (1) | Art Owen | RTD | 2 (8) | Sep 18, 1947 | Assembly Rooms, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England | |
| 83 | Win | 64–14–4 (1) | Vince Hawkins | TKO | 6 (8) | Sep 9, 1947 | Butts Stadium, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 82 | Win | 63–14–4 (1) | Tommy Davies | TKO | 5 (10) | Jul 24, 1947 | The Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| 81 | Win | 62–14–4 (1) | Bert Sanders | PTS | 8 | Jul 12, 1947 | Picture House, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England | |
| 80 | Win | 61–14–4 (1) | Des Jones | PTS | 8 | Jul 5, 1947 | Skating Rink, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England | |
| 79 | Win | 60–14–4 (1) | Jim Hockley | PTS | 8 | Jun 23, 1947 | Drill Hall, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 78 | Win | 59–14–4 (1) | Billy Stevens | TKO | 3 (10) | May 29, 1947 | The Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| 77 | Win | 58–14–4 (1) | Norman Rees | RTD | 2 (10) | May 23, 1947 | Judge's Hall, Trealaw, Wales | |
| 76 | Win | 57–14–4 (1) | Jim Wellard | PTS | 8 | May 6, 1947 | Wembley Town Hall, Wembley, London, England | |
| 75 | Win | 56–14–4 (1) | Gordon Griffiths | TKO | 4 (8) | Apr 14, 1947 | Town Hall, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England | |
| 74 | Win | 55–14–4 (1) | Tommy Braddock | RTD | 4 (8) | Apr 3, 1947 | Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England | |
| 73 | Win | 54–14–4 (1) | Frank Hayes | KO | 4 (8) | Mar 24, 1947 | Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 72 | Win | 53–14–4 (1) | Ron Cooper | PTS | 8 | Mar 17, 1947 | Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire, England | |
| 71 | Draw | 52–14–4 (1) | Bert Sanders | PTS | 8 | Feb 10, 1947 | Town Hall, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England | |
| 70 | Loss | 52–14–3 (1) | George Howard | KO | 7 (8) | Jan 14, 1947 | Seymour Hall, Marylebone, London, England | |
| 69 | Win | 52–13–3 (1) | Billy Mayne | TKO | 7 (10) | Dec 16, 1946 | Embassy Rink, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 68 | Win | 51–13–3 (1) | Johnny Boyd | KO | 4 (8) | Dec 9, 1946 | Town Hall, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England | |
| 67 | Loss | 50–13–3 (1) | Johnny Best | TKO | 4 (10) | Nov 19, 1946 | Seymour Hall Baths, Marylebone, London, England | |
| 66 | Win | 50–12–3 (1) | Trevor Burt | KO | 3 (10) | Nov 11, 1946 | Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire, England | |
| 65 | Win | 49–12–3 (1) | Art Owen | TKO | 6 (10) | Oct 28, 1946 | Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire, England | |
| 64 | Win | 48–12–3 (1) | Jack Lord | KO | 3 (10) | Oct 16, 1946 | Embassy Rink, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 63 | Win | 47–12–3 (1) | Johnny Blake | TKO | 4 (10) | Oct 14, 1946 | Town Hall, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England | |
| 62 | Win | 46–12–3 (1) | Paddy Roche | PTS | 10 | Sep 30, 1946 | Corn Exchange, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England | |
| 61 | Loss | 45–12–3 (1) | Johnny Boyd | PTS | 8 | Sep 24, 1946 | Embassy Rink, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 60 | Win | 45–11–3 (1) | Jack McKnight | KO | 1 (10) | Feb 26, 1946 | Co-op Hall, Rugby, Warwickshire, England | |
| 59 | Loss | 44–11–3 (1) | Dave McCleave | PTS | 8 | Mar 18, 1944 | Drill Hall, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 58 | Loss | 44–10–3 (1) | Arthur 'Ginger' Sadd | TKO | 7 (10) | Dec 16, 1940 | Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | |
| 57 | Win | 44–9–3 (1) | Pat O'Connor | PTS | 10 | Aug 24, 1940 | Highfield Road (Coventry FC), Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 56 | Win | 43–9–3 (1) | Albert O'Brien | KO | 2 (10) | Jul 13, 1940 | Rugby Football Ground, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England | |
| 55 | Win | 42–9–3 (1) | Paddy Roche | PTS | 10 | Jun 10, 1940 | Skating Rink, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England | |
| 54 | Win | 41–9–3 (1) | Tommy Davies | PTS | 10 | Jun 3, 1940 | Plasmarl, Swansea, Wales | |
| 53 | Win | 40–9–3 (1) | Jim Berry | PTS | 10 | May 27, 1940 | King's Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester, Lancashire, England | |
| 52 | Loss | 39–9–3 (1) | Eddie Maguire | PTS | 10 | May 20, 1940 | Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 51 | Win | 39–8–3 (1) | Tommy Smith | TKO | 10 (10) | Apr 14, 1940 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 50 | Draw | 38–8–3 (1) | Eddie Maguire | PTS | 10 | Apr 1, 1940 | Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 49 | Win | 38–8–2 (1) | Sid Williams | PTS | 10 | Mar 15, 1940 | Town Hall, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England | |
| 48 | Win | 37–8–2 (1) | Dave McCleave | KO | 5 (10) | Mar 4, 1940 | Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 47 | Win | 36–8–2 (1) | Arthur 'Ginger' Sadd | PTS | 10 | Feb 25, 1940 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 46 | Win | 35–8–2 (1) | Maurice Dennis | TKO | 7 (10) | Jan 24, 1940 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 45 | Win | 34–8–2 (1) | Ben Valentine | PTS | 10 | Dec 24, 1939 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 44 | Win | 33–8–2 (1) | Ben Valentine | PTS | 10 | Dec 10, 1939 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 43 | Loss | 32–8–2 (1) | George Howard | PTS | 10 | Nov 26, 1939 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 42 | Win | 32–7–2 (1) | Charlie Parkin | PTS | 10 | Oct 30, 1939 | Skating Rink, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England | |
| 41 | Win | 31–7–2 (1) | Harry Ainsworth | PTS | 12 | Aug 18, 1939 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 40 | Win | 30–7–2 (1) | George Robey | TKO | 11 (12) | Aug 7, 1939 | Shipston-on-Stour, Worcestershire, England | |
| 39 | Win | 29–7–2 (1) | Nat Franks | PTS | 10 | Jun 4, 1939 | The Arena, Mile End, London, England | |
| 38 | Win | 28–7–2 (1) | Jack Milburn | PTS | 15 | May 22, 1939 | Northampton County Ground, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England | Won vacant BBBofC Midlands Area middleweight title |
| 37 | Win | 27–7–2 (1) | Wally Pack | PTS | 8 | May 7, 1939 | Devonshire Club, Hackney, London, England | |
| 36 | Win | 26–7–2 (1) | Alf Bishop | KO | ? | Apr 29, 1939 | Colston Hall, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England | |
| 35 | Loss | 25–7–2 (1) | George Robey | PTS | 10 | Apr 21, 1939 | Banbury, Oxfordshire, England | |
| 34 | Win | 25–6–2 (1) | Jimmy Griffiths | PTS | 10 | Apr 17, 1939 | Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England | |
| 33 | Loss | 24–6–2 (1) | Jimmy Griffiths | PTS | 10 | Mar 30, 1939 | Drill Hall, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 32 | Win | 24–5–2 (1) | Ted Carroll | PTS | 10 | Mar 25, 1939 | Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 31 | Win | 23–5–2 (1) | George Robey | PTS | 10 | Mar 17, 1939 | Spencer Stadium, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England | |
| 30 | Win | 22–5–2 (1) | Jack Hammer | PTS | 12 | Mar 13, 1939 | Town Hall, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England | |
| 29 | Win | 21–5–2 (1) | Johnny Thornton | TKO | 5 (10) | Mar 6, 1939 | Bingham Hall, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England | |
| 28 | Win | 20–5–2 (1) | Jack Beech | KO | 2 (10) | Feb 27, 1939 | Colonnade Skating Rink, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England | |
| 27 | Win | 19–5–2 (1) | Mick Miller | PTS | 10 | Feb 24, 1939 | Banbury, Oxfordshire, England | |
| 26 | Loss | 18–5–2 (1) | Ernie Butcher Gascoigne | PTS | 10 | Jan 28, 1939 | Public Hall, Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 25 | Win | 18–4–2 (1) | Walter Rankin | PTS | 10 | Jan 19, 1939 | Town Hall, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England | |
| 24 | Win | 17–4–2 (1) | Alf Bishop | PTS | 10 | Dec 26, 1938 | Colonnade Skating Rink, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England | |
| 23 | Loss | 16–4–2 (1) | Charlie Parkin | PTS | 10 | Dec 10, 1938 | Public Hall, Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 22 | Win | 16–3–2 (1) | Jack McKnight | PTS | 10 | Nov 21, 1938 | Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England | |
| 21 | Loss | 15–3–2 (1) | Charlie Parkin | PTS | 10 | Nov 14, 1938 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 20 | Win | 15–2–2 (1) | Trevor Burt | KO | 5 (10) | Nov 7, 1938 | Colston Hall, Bristol, Avon, England | |
| 19 | Win | 14–2–2 (1) | Mick Miller | KO | 2 (10) | Oct 10, 1938 | Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England | |
| 18 | Draw | 13–2–2 (1) | Alf Bishop | PTS | 10 | Oct 3, 1938 | Kingsholm Rugby Ground, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England | |
| 17 | Win | 13–2–1 (1) | Johnny Clark | PTS | 10 | Aug 11, 1938 | Kingsholm Rugby Ground, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England | |
| 16 | Loss | 12–2–1 (1) | Rex Whitney | PTS | 10 | Jun 11, 1938 | Graziers Arms, West Haddon, Northamptonshire, England | |
| 15 | Win | 12–1–1 (1) | Sid Fitzhugh | PTS | 8 | May 23, 1938 | Semilong Working Men's Club, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England | |
| 14 | Win | 11–1–1 (1) | Trevor Burt | PTS | 8 | Mar 28, 1938 | Public Hall, Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 13 | Win | 10–1–1 (1) | Frankie Smith | TKO | 4 (8) | Mar 19, 1938 | Drill Hall, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 12 | Draw | 9–1–1 (1) | Bob Hartley | PTS | 8 | Mar 7, 1938 | Co-op Hall, Rugby, Warwickshire, England | |
| 11 | Win | 9–1 (1) | Walter Rankin | PTS | 8 | Feb 28, 1938 | Skating Rink, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England | |
| 10 | Win | 8–1 (1) | Bill Blythling | TKO | 4 (8) | Feb 19, 1938 | Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 9 | Win | 7–1 (1) | Ray Chadwick | KO | 4 (8) | Dec 18, 1937 | Public Hall, Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 8 | Win | 6–1 (1) | Frank Guest | KO | 6 (6) | Dec 13, 1937 | Embassy Rink, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 7 | NC | 5–1 (1) | Eddie Harris | ND | 4 (6) | Nov 21, 1937 | Public Hall, Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Phil Proctor | KO | 2 (6) | Nov 20, 1937 | Public Hall, Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | Trevor Burt | PTS | 4 | Nov 15, 1937 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 4 | Win | 3–1 | Frank Guest | PTS | 4 | Nov 1, 1937 | Sparkbrook Stadium, Birmingham, West Midlands, England | |
| 3 | Win | 2–1 | Eddie Harris | TKO | 6 (6) | Oct 16, 1937 | Public Hall, Evesham, Worcestershire, England | |
| 2 | Loss | 1–1 | Trevor Burt | KO | 3 (6) | Oct 4, 1937 | Arena, Coventry, West Midlands, England | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Eric Lloyd | TKO | 6 (6) | Sep 27, 1937 | Co-op Hall, Rugby, Warwickshire, England | |
References
- "Something About This Lionel Turpin". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 5 March 1940. Retrieved 26 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Former champion to be remembered". Leamington Courier. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- "On This Day: Dick Turpin becomes Britain's first mixed-race boxing champion | The Pugilist - Yahoo Sport". Uk.sports.yahoo.com. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- Weeks, Jim. "Breaking the Barrier: How Dick Turpin Became Britain's First Black Boxing Champion | FIGHTLAND". Fightland.vice.com. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- "Marcel Cerdan KO's Dick TURPIN" on YouTube
- Solomons, Jack (1951). Jack Solomons Tells All. Rich & Cowan. p. 149. ASIN B0000CHY1P.
- "Dave Sands in Full Colour" on YouTube
- Turpin, Jackie; Fox, W. Terry (2005). Battling Jack. Mainstream Publishing. p. 280. ASIN B00AKBEJ7Y.
Sources
- Boxing record for Dick Turpin from BoxRec (registration required)
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