Saint Kitts and Nevis boxer
Pat Thomas (born 5 May 1950) was a Light-middleweight boxer, originally from Saint Kitts and Nevis, who took British citizenship and won two British boxing titles in the 1970s and 80s. After leaving Saint Kitts, Thomas settled in Cardiff in Wales, and is recognised as a Welsh fighter taking the Welsh light middleweight Championship in 1977.[1]
Boxing career
Thomas' first professional bout was at welterweight, fought in Manchester against Ray Farell, himself a fairly novice boxer with only two professional matches to his name. Thomas won by knockout in the second round, and this started a nine match unbeaten run, though none of his seven wins after Farell coming through knockout. His first defeat was a points decision to Alan Reid at the end of 1971, a fighter who he had faced and beaten six months earlier.
Thomas' next bout was in 1972, against Jimmy Fairweather in Walworth, saw Thomas now fighting in eight-round matches. A win over Fairweather was followed by victories over Mickey Flynn and Phil Dykes, before being disqualified in an encounter with Charlie Cooper. At the start of 1973, he beat Des Rea, the Irish Welterweight Champion by a points decision; this was followed by two more wins before he faced Rea again, this time beating him by technical knockout in the fourth round. 1973 ended just like the previous two years, with a defeat, a narrow points loss to Trevor Francis at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The next year saw Thomas begin one of the most successful periods of his career, going on a twelve match unbeaten run. On 15 December 1975, Thomas faced Pat MacCormack for the vacant British Welterweight title. He knocked MacCormack down twice, before winning by knockout in the thirteenth and in the process became the first immigrant fighter to win the British Welterweight title.[2]
After a win over Jim Devanny in February 1976, Thomas fought Italian Marco Scano in Cagliari, for the vacant European Welterweight title. Thomas was outclassed losing by knockout in the second round. This was followed by Thomas' second overseas match, facing Jørgen Hansen in Denmark; Thomas lost by technical knockout in the third. Back in Britain, Thomas successfully defended his welterweight title against Trevor Francis, but then lost the belt when he was knocked out by Henry Rhiney in Luton.
After losing the welterweight title, Thomas went up a weight division, now fighting at light-middleweight. He began in the new division by taking the Welsh Light-middleweight title from Dave Davies, who had beaten Thomas three times in the amateurs,[3] in early 1977. Despite the encounter being for a Welsh title, the match took place at The Stadium in Liverpool, the fight being part of the undercard for John Conteh's WBC World Championship bout with Len Hutchins.[4] Thomas' light-middleweight career was far more chequered than his time as a welterweight, losing to Larry Paul, before beating Rhiney and then drawing with Tony Sibson. In 1978 Thomas spent much of his time fighting outside Britain, but with little success. He fought twice in Netherlands, a win and a loss, which were followed by three straight loses, against former Olympic Lightweight Champion Chris Clarke in Canada, then French Champion Claude Martin and finally Spanish fighter Andoni Amana in Bilbao.
His fortunes changed on British soil, with wins over Salvo Nucifero and Robbie Davies, before losing to Kenny Bristol in a fight for the vacant British Empire Light-middleweight title by a unanimous points decision.[5] The very next fight was another title decider, this time for the British Light-middleweight belt on 11 September 1979. In that encounter he beat Jimmy Batten in the ninth round to take his second British title; though Batten later stated that he felt he had given the title away as he wasn't in the correct frame of mind due to personal problems.[6] Thomas defended his title successfully twice, knocking out Dave Proud in the seventh and then stopping Steve Hopkin in the final round with a badly cut eye. His third defence ended in defeat, losing to Hensol Graham by points. This was the start of a six-round losing streak that only ended with his retirement from boxing in 1984.
Professional boxing record
35 Wins (14 knockouts, 21 decisions), 18 Losses (4 knockouts, 14 decisions), 3 Draws, 1 No Contest
[1]
Result
Record
Opponent
Type
Round
Date
Location
Notes
Loss
7-0
Chris Pyatt
PTS
10
15 Mar 1984
Granby Halls,
Leicester, Leicestershire,
United Kingdom
Loss
11-0
Graeme Ahmed
PTS
10
31 Aug 1982
Buddy's Night Club,
South Shields,
United Kingdom
98-98.5.
Loss
13-3-3
Brian Anderson
PTS
10
21 May 1982
Crucible Theatre,
Sheffield,
United Kingdom
96.5-100.
Loss
7-2-1
Darwin Brewster
PTS
10
26 Apr 1982
STAR Centre,
Cardiff, Wales,
United Kingdom
96.5-99.5.
Loss
33-0
Nino La Rocca
TKO
4
13 Nov 1981
Rome,
Italy
Loss
16-0
Herol Graham
PTS
15
24 Mar 1981
Sheffield City Hall,
Sheffield,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title. 143-150.
Win
14-1-2
Steve Hopkin
TKO
15
16 Sep 1980
Wembley Conference Centre,
Wembley, London,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:25 of the 15th round.
Win
9-6
"Fighting" Jim Richards
PTS
8
3 Jun 1980
Royal Albert Hall,
Kensington, London,
United Kingdom
80-76.5.
Win
28-3-1
Dave Proud
KO
7
11 Dec 1979
Bletchley Leisure Centre,
Milton Keynes,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title.
Win
28-3
Jimmy Batten
TKO
9
11 Sep 1979
Wembley Conference Centre,
Wembley, London,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:15 of the ninth round.
Loss
9-0
Kenny Bristol
UD
15
29 Jul 1979
National Sports Hall,
Georgetown, Guyana
Commonwealth Light Middleweight Title.
Win
9-1
Robbie Davies
PTS
12
5 Apr 1979
Liverpool Stadium,
Liverpool, Merseyside,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title Eliminator. 118-117.
Win
9-3
Salvo Nucifero
TKO
1
27 Nov 1978
Civic Sports Centre,
Kettering, Northamptonshire,
United Kingdom
Loss
17-0
Andoni Amana
PTS
10
5 Oct 1978
Bilbao,
Spain
Loss
25-3-1
Claude "General" Martin
PTS
10
23 Sep 1978
Saint-Malo,
France
BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:25 of the 15th round.
Loss
13-0
Chris Clarke
UD
8
1 Aug 1978
Halifax Metro Centre,
Halifax, Nova Scotia,
Canada
Win
4-0
Agamil Yilderim
PTS
8
29 May 1978
Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis,
Rotterdam,
Netherlands
Loss
8-0
Marijan Benes
PTS
8
16 Jan 1978
Rotterdam,
Netherlands
Draw
17-0
Tony Sibson
PTS
8
18 Oct 1977
Wolverhampton Civic Hall,
Wolverhampton,
United Kingdom
Win
25-10-6
Henry Rhiney
PTS
8
14 Jun 1977
Empire Pool,
Wembley, London,
United Kingdom
Loss
28-6-1
Larry Paul
DQ
5
27 May 1977
Digbeth Institute,
Birmingham, West Midlands,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Light Middleweight Title Eliminator.
Win
6-6-2
"Boxing" Dave Davies
TKO
8
5 Mar 1977
Liverpool Stadium,
Liverpool, Merseyside,
United Kingdom
BBBofC Welsh Light Middleweight Title.
Loss
22-9-6
Henry Rhiney
TKO
8
7 Dec 1976
Luton Caesar's Palace,
Luton,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Welterweight Title.
Win
20-8-6
"Boxing" Trevor Francis
PTS
15
22 Sep 1976
Hilton Hotel,
Mayfair, London,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Welterweight Title. 147.5-147.
Loss
40-9
Jørgen Hansen
TKO
3
3 Jun 1976
K.B. Hallen,
Copenhagen,
Denmark
Loss
33-3-2
Marco Scano
KO
2
9 Apr 1976
Palazzo Dello Sport,
Cagliari,
Italy
EBU Welterweight Title.
Win
16-8-5
Jim Devanney
TKO
8
16 Feb 1976
Arden Sporting Club,
Birmingham, West Midlands,
United Kingdom
Win
30-17-1
Pat McCormack
KO
13
15 Dec 1975
Manor Place Baths,
Walworth, London,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Welterweight Title.
Win
7-3-1
Peter Scheibner
PTS
8
8 Jul 1975
Double Diamond Club,
Caerphilly,
United Kingdom
79.5-76.5.
Win
7-1
Jeff Gale
TKO
11
2 Jun 1975
National Sporting Club,
Piccadilly, London,
United Kingdom
BBBofC British Welterweight Title Eliminator.
Win
9-9
Jim Montague
KO
5
28 Apr 1975
Albany Hotel,
Glasgow,
United Kingdom
Win
13-4-2
Henry Rhiney
PTS
8
4 Dec 1974
National Sporting Club,
Piccadilly, London,
United Kingdom
Draw
10-4-2
Kenny Webber
PTS
10
25 Sep 1974
Midland Sporting Club,
Solihull, West Midlands,
United Kingdom
Win
11-3-1
Henry Rhiney
PTS
8
25 Jun 1974
National Sporting Club,
Piccadilly, London,
United Kingdom
Win
21-15-1
Mickey Flynn
PTS
8
22 Apr 1974
National Sporting Club,
Piccadilly, London,
United Kingdom
Win
15-14-1
"Scottish" John Smith
PTS
8
18 Mar 1974
National Sporting Club,
Piccadilly, London,
United Kingdom
Win
29-33-5
Des Rea
TKO
4
27 Feb 1974
Sophia Gardens,
Cardiff, Wales,
United Kingdom
Win
16-9-5
Les Pearson
KO
1
21 Jan 1974
National Sporting Club,
Piccadilly, London,
United Kingdom
Loss
9-3-1
"Boxing" Trevor Francis
PTS
8
21 Nov 1973
Sophia Gardens,
Cardiff, Wales,
United Kingdom
78-78.5.
Win
29-31-4
Des Rea
TKO
4
5 Oct 1973
Sophia Gardens,
Cardiff, Wales,
United Kingdom
Win
16-8-3
Les Pearson
PTS
8
26 Sep 1973
Midland Sporting Club,
Solihull, West Midlands,
United Kingdom
Win
19-15-1
Amos Talbot
PTS
8
12 Mar 1973
Anglo-Welsh Sporting Club,
Caerphilly,
United Kingdom
39.75-38.5.
Win
27-25-2
Des Rea
PTS
8
15 Jan 1973
Double Diamond Club,
Caerphilly,
United Kingdom
Loss
10-0
Charlie Cooper
DQ
7
22 Nov 1972
Cliffs Pavilion,
Southend,
United Kingdom
Win
7-11-1
Phil Dykes
TKO
3
19 Sep 1972
King's Hall,
Manchester,
United Kingdom
Win
13-8
Mickey Flynn
PTS
8
15 May 1972
Mayfair Sporting Club,
Mayfair, London,
United Kingdom
39.5-39.
Win
5-7
Jimmy Fairweather
PTS
8
20 Apr 1972
Manor Place Baths,
Walworth, London,
United Kingdom
Loss
4-6-1
"Boxing" Alan Reid
PTS
6
11 Oct 1971
Manchester,
United Kingdom
Win
4-2
Johnny Shields
PTS
6
17 May 1971
Hotel Piccadilly,
Manchester,
United Kingdom
Win
7-8
Tony Bagshaw
PTS
6
3 May 1971
Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire,
United Kingdom
Draw
3-10
Mohammed Ellah
PTS
6
20 Apr 1971
Newport, Monmouthshire,
United Kingdom
Win
4-3-1
"Boxing" Alan Reid
PTS
6
29 Mar 1971
Manchester,
United Kingdom
Win
10-10-2
Tony Burnett
DQ
4
23 Mar 1971
Newport, Monmouthshire,
United Kingdom
No Contest
7-7
Tony Bagshaw
NC
4
22 Feb 1971
Manchester,
United Kingdom
Win
3-9
Mohammed Ellah
PTS
6
9 Feb 1971
Newport, Monmouthshire,
United Kingdom
Win
7-5
"Boxing" Keith White
PTS
6
12 Jan 1971
Shoreditch Town Hall,
Shoreditch, London,
United Kingdom
Win
1-0-1
Ray "The Dart" Farrell
KO
2
14 Dec 1970
Manchester,
United Kingdom