Roy Ankrah

John Theophilus Oti Ankrah (25 December 1925 28 May 1995), better known as Roy Ankrah, was a Ghanaian featherweight boxing contender during the 1950s. He was given the nicknames "The Black Flash" and "Mr. Perpetual Motion" because of his fast hands and crafty footwork. Ankrah held the Commonwealth featherweight title from 1951 to 1952[1] and had his biggest fight against then-reigning NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring bantamweight world champion in a non-title fight as both fighters weighed above the 118-pound (54 kg) limit for a bantamweight fighter.

Roy Ankrah
Statistics
Real nameJohn Theophilus Oti Ankrah
Nickname(s)The Black Flash
Mr. Perpetual Motion
Weight(s)
NationalityGhanaian
Born(1925-12-25)25 December 1925
Ghana
Died28 May 1995(1995-05-28) (aged 69)
Boxing record
Total fights44
Wins34
Wins by KO14
Losses7
No contests3

Early life

According to some sources, Roy Ankrah was born in Jamestown, Ghana in 1923; however other sources have listed him as being born in 1925. His aunt raised Ankrah after the death of his mother. He soon became known as a street fighter and won the regional school championship at the age of 12. By this time, Ankrah was already working as a mechanic in his uncle's auto repair shop. He won his first professional fight at the age of 17.

Career

After winning the national featherweight title in 1941,[2] he joined the army. During his time with the Armed Forces, he was sent to India during World War II, where he is said to have participated in numerous exhibition fights and championships. After his return from India, the Ghanaian fighter began training for the national featherweight title once again. During this time, he defeated Nigerian stoker Kid Parry, claiming the title of West African champion. He is said to have kept this undefeated status until he moved to the British Isles.

According to reports, Ankrah switched to the professional camp on the Gold Coast in 1941.[2] He was undefeated throughout his 110 fights until 1949.[2] During this period, he became the national champion in five different weight classes; flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.[2] Following a suggestion by his fellow fighter Freddie Mills, Ankrah made his debut as the first Ghanaian to fight overseas.[2] On February 8, 1950, he joined George Lamont in the ring in Paisley, Scotland. He went on record as having 10 further wins before eventually losing to Jimmy Murray on a foul on May 30, 1950.[2] On April 30, 1951, Ankrah won the Commonwealth featherweight title against Ronnie Clayton. [3] He maintained this title until October 2, 1954, when he lost to Billy Kelly.[2] Shortly thereafter, Ankrah took a break and stopped competing in the British Isles. However, in 1959, he traveled back to his native Ghana, where he competed in three more professional fights, losing two.[2] He later supported the Ghanaian National Team in preparation for the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. He assisted the British trainer Jack Roy at the 1960 Olympic Games when Clement Quartey won the first Olympic medal for the former British colony. After these games, Ankrah was promoted to National Coach and worked directly with the National Sports Council until 1994, in addition to being a judge for the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Professional boxing record

44 fights 34 wins 7 losses
By knockout 14 1
By decision 19 5
By disqualification 1 1
No contests 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
44 Win 34–7 (3) Ghana Ray Akwei PTS 6 Jun 6, 1959 Ghana Tarkwa, Ghana
43 Loss 33–7 (3) Ghana Jomo Jackson PTS 6 Jun 2, 1959 Ghana Accra, Ghana
42 Win 33–6 (3) Ghana Ray Akwei PTS 8 Apr 11, 1959 Ghana Tema, Ghana
41 Loss 32–6 (3) France Robert Cohen TKO 4 (10) Dec 20, 1954 France Palais des Sports, Paris, Paris, France
40 Loss 32–5 (3) United Kingdom Sammy McCarthy PTS 10 Dec 7, 1954 United Kingdom Harringay Arena, Harringay, London, England, U.K.
39 Loss 32–4 (3) United Kingdom Billy Kelly PTS 15 Oct 2, 1954 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K. Lost British Empire featherweight title
38 Win 32–3 (3) United Kingdom Billy Kelly PTS 10 Apr 10, 1954 United Kingdom Kings Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.
37 Win 31–3 (3) Spain Juan Oscar Álvarez PTS 10 Oct 6, 1953 United Kingdom Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K.
36 NC 30–3 (3) Spain Manolo Garcia NC 10 (10) Sep 30, 1953 United Kingdom Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain The bout was stopped in the final round because of lack of combativeness
35 Win 30–3 (2) Italy Amleto Falcinelli PTS 10 Aug 26, 1953 United Kingdom Coney Beach Arena, Porthcawl, Wales, U.K.
34 Win 29–3 (2) Spain José Hernández PTS 10 Aug 19, 1953 Spain Pabellón del Deporte, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
33 Win 28–3 (2) France Jacques Dumesnil PTS 10 Jun 17, 1953 United Kingdom Firhill Park, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
32 Win 27–3 (2) Spain Juan Oscar Álvarez PTS 10 May 18, 1953 United Kingdom Embassy Rink, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, U.K.
31 NC 26–3 (2) France Mohammed Chickaoui NC 7 (10) May 11, 1953 United Kingdom Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K.
30 Win 26–3 (1) Ghana Benny Kid Chocolate TKO 2 (10) Jan 12, 1953 United Kingdom New St James Hall, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England, U.K.
29 Win 25–3 (1) Spain Jesús Aguirre PTS 10 Dec 19, 1952 Spain Gran Price, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
28 Loss 24–3 (1) Spain Luis Romero PTS 10 Nov 9, 1952 Spain Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain
27 Loss 24–2 (1) France Ray Famechon PTS 15 Jun 9, 1952 United Kingdom Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K.
26 Win 24–1 (1) Morocco Boudjema Ali Ramdane PTS 10 Apr 22, 1952 United Kingdom Harringay Arena, Harringay, London, England, U.K.
25 Win 23–1 (1) United Kingdom Ronnie Clayton RTD 13 (15) Feb 25, 1952 United Kingdom Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K. Retained British Empire featherweight title
24 Win 22–1 (1) United Kingdom Bernard Pugh RTD 6 (10) Dec 17, 1951 United Kingdom Ice Rink, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K.
23 Win 21–1 (1) United Kingdom Tommy McGovern PTS 10 Nov 6, 1951 United Kingdom Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K.
22 Win 20–1 (1) Italy Alvaro Cerasani DQ 2 (10) Oct 23, 1951 United Kingdom Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K. Cerasani, already down twice, was disqualified for going down without a punch
21 Win 19–1 (1) Belgium Jean Machterlinck TKO 5 (10) Sep 19, 1951 United Kingdom Ice Rink, Paisley, Scotland, U.K.
20 Win 18–1 (1) United Kingdom Ronnie Clayton PTS 15 Apr 30, 1951 United Kingdom Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K. Won British Empire featherweight title
19 Win 17–1 (1) United Kingdom Johnny Molloy RTD 4 (8) Apr 3, 1951 United Kingdom Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K.
18 Win 16–1 (1) United Kingdom Bernard Pugh PTS 8 Mar 28, 1951 United Kingdom Ice Rink, Paisley, Scotland, U.K.
17 ND 15–1 (1) Nigeria Speedy Twitch ND ? Feb 12, 1951 Nigeria Lagos, Nigeria
16 Win 15–1 South Africa Speedy Bandes PTS 12 Jan 29, 1951 South Africa City Hall, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
15 Win 14–1 South Africa Tony Lombard RTD 8 (10) Nov 7, 1950 United Kingdom Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K.
14 Win 13–1 United Kingdom Bernard Pugh PTS 10 Sep 19, 1950 United Kingdom Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K.
13 Win 12–1 Spain Luis Romero TKO 5 (10) Jul 29, 1950 Spain Stadium Metropolitano, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain
12 Win 11–1 United Kingdom Tommy Bailey PTS 10 Jul 27, 1950 United Kingdom The Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
11 Loss 10–1 Republic of Ireland Jimmy Murray DQ 3 (8) May 30, 1950 United Kingdom Streatham Ice Rink, Streatham, London, England, U.K. Ankrah struck his Murray after while he was down
10 Win 10–0 Spain Francisco Latorre TKO 2 (8) May 23, 1950 United Kingdom Earls Court Empress Hall, Kensington, London, England, U.K.
9 Win 9–0 United Kingdom Gene Caffrey KO 5 (8) Apr 20, 1950 United Kingdom Edinburgh National Sporting Club, Leith, Scotland, U.K.
8 Win 8–0 United Kingdom Jim McCann PTS 8 Apr 10, 1950 United Kingdom Royal Hippodrome, Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.
7 Win 7–0 United Kingdom Denny Dennis RTD 3 (8) Apr 8, 1950 United Kingdom Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.
6 Win 6–0 Republic of Ireland Danny Nagle KO 5 (8) Apr 5, 1950 United Kingdom New Baths, Willenhall, West Midlands, England, U.K.
5 Win 5–0 United Kingdom Joe King RTD 3 (8) Mar 18, 1950 United Kingdom Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.
4 Win 4–0 United Kingdom Peter Morrison TKO 5 (8) Mar 10, 1950 United Kingdom Ice Rink, Falkirk, Scotland, U.K.
3 Win 3–0 United Kingdom Len Shaw TKO 4 (8) Feb 28, 1950 United Kingdom Music Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.
2 Win 2–0 Jamaica Zeke Brown PTS 6 Feb 14, 1950 United Kingdom Music Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.
1 Win 1–0 United Kingdom George Lamont PTS 6 Feb 8, 1950 United Kingdom Ice Rink, Paisley, Scotland, U.K.

References

  1. Mahamah, George (28 May 2020). "Today In Sports History: Roy Ankrah dead". Happy Ghana. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  2. "Legends of Ghana Boxing". ghanaweb.com. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  3. "April 30, 1951: Roy Ankrah wins the British Empire Featherweight Crown". Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
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