Curley Walker

Curley Walker (4 February 1894 – 1973) was a British boxer who was British bantamweight champion between 1914 and 1915.

Curley Walker
Statistics
Weight(s)Flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight
NationalityBritish
Born(1894-02-04)4 February 1894
Lambeth, London, England
Died1973
Boxing record
Total fights106
Wins55
Wins by KO12
Losses41
Draws10

Career

Born in Bermondsey and based in Bermondsey, Cornelius "Curley" Walker made his professional debut in August 1909. In his first three years as a pro he had around 30 fights, losing only to Young Major, Louis Ruddick, and Jimmy Berry. In September 1912 he unsuccessfully challenged for Sid Smith's British flyweight title, losing on points over 20 rounds.

He moved up to bantamweight and in April 1914 faced Digger Stanley in a fight for the British title that had been postponed from January after Stanley broke his foot.[1] Stanley was disqualified in the thirteenth round for persistent holding, giving Walker the title.[2][3][4] Two months later he lost to former European champion Charles Ledoux and in December drew with Joe Fox.[2]

He was due to defend his title against Berry in November 1915 but no longer able to make bantamweight he relinquished his title in October and moved up to featherweight.[5][6][7] He won all four of his fights that year, but in 1916 lost to Mike Honeyman (disqualified for butting) and Johnny McIntyre.[8] In October 1916 he beat Bob Cotton in a British featherweight title eliminator but didn't go on to challenge for the title.[9]

From 1917 onwards his career went into decline. He won a few fights against less experienced opponents but in an 18-month period between 1917 and 1919 he won only one of eight fights. Between December 1920 and January 1922 he lost eleven straight fights. He continued until April 1923, never repeating his earlier success.

Walker served as a private in the British Army during World War I.[10]

References
  1. "Boxing News and Notes". Daily Mirror. 28 January 1914. Retrieved 28 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "Ledoux Defeats Walker", Bendigo Advertiser, 1 July 1914, p. 7. Retrieved 28 August 2015
  3. "Digger Stanley v Curley Walker", Sydney Morning Herald, 22 April 1914, p. 9. Retrieved 28 August 2015
  4. "Walker Beats Stanley". Daily Mirror. 21 April 1914. Retrieved 28 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Bantam-Weight Challenge: Jimmy Berry, of Newcastle, Selected by N.S.C.". Birmingham Gazette. 11 October 1915. Retrieved 28 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Win for Curley Walker". Aberdeen Evening Express. 24 October 1916. Retrieved 28 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "All Sorts of Sport". Evening Despatch. 26 October 1916. Retrieved 28 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Curley Walker v Mike Honeyman: Walker Disqualified". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 18 April 1916. Retrieved 28 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ""Feathers" Fly: A Spirited Contest Between Cotton and Walker". Birmingham Gazette. 24 October 1916. Retrieved 28 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "To-day's Boxing". Daily Mirror. 7 January 1918. Retrieved 28 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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