Alan Minter

Alan Sydney Minter (17 August 1951Template:Spnd9 September 2020) was a British professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1981. He held the undisputed middleweight title in 1980, having previously held the British middleweight title from 1975 to 1976, and the European middleweight title twice between 1977 and 1979. As an amateur, Minter won a bronze medal in the light-middleweight division at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Minter was born in Penge, Bromley, Kent, to Syd and Anne Minter. His father was a plasterer,<ref name="Penge"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and his mother was of German birth.<ref name="Penge">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His family moved to Crawley, West Sussex, and he joined Crawley Boxing Club at aged 11,<ref name="langley">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> training under John Hillier and Dougie Bidwell.<ref name="crawley">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Amateur career

Minter took part at the 1970 European Junior Championships at the middleweight division, but in the very first fight he was stopped in the 2-nd round by Vyacheslav Lemeshev (USSR).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Because Minter was the 1971 Amateur Boxing Association of England Middleweight Champion, he was selected to box for UK in the Olympics 1972.<ref name="SR"/> He won a bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in the light-middleweight classification, losing in the semifinal to Dieter Kottysch of West Germany by a 3-2 marginal decision which was hotly disputed.<ref name="SR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kottysch went on to win the gold medal.<ref name="SR"/>

1972 Olympic results

Minter's results at the 1972 Munich Olympics are as follows:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Round of 64: bye
• Round of 32: Defeated Reggie Ford (Guyana) by second-round knockout
• Round of 16: Defeated Valeri Tregubov (Soviet Union) by decision, 5–0
• Quarterfinal: Defeated Loucif Hamani (Algeria) by decision, 4–1
• Semifinal: Lost to Dieter Kottysch (West Germany) by decision, 2–3 (was awarded bronze medal)<ref name="ilf">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Professional career

Minter began his professional career with 11 straight wins,<ref name="boxrec">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the first against Maurice Thomas in London on 31 October 1972, winning by knockout in the 6th round.<ref name="PP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Minter won his first five fights by knockout until 16 January 1973, when Pat Dwyer went the distance, Minter taking the fight on points.<ref name="boxrec"/> Minter won his next five fights, three by knockout,<ref name="boxrec"/> before being defeated for the first time after the referee stopped the fight in the eighth round against "Scottish" Don McMillan due to bad cuts suffered by Minter. Two more wins followed before facing Jan Magdziarz, who beat him twice in a row (once in the eighth and once in the sixth) again due to cuts.<ref name="boxrec"/>

1974 was a mixed year for Minter, beating Tony Byrne by a decision in eight,<ref name="boxrec"/> losing in two to Ricky Torres (again on cuts),<ref name="boxrec"/> having a third fight with Magdziarz, resulting in a no contest,<ref name="boxrec"/> closing the year with a win against Shako Mamba in Hamburg, Germany.<ref name="boxrec"/>

In 1975, he won four fights in a row, including another bout in Hamburg and, by the end of the year, he challenged Kevin Finnegan for the British Middleweight title, winning it by a 15-round decision.<ref name="PP"/>

In 1976, he won six fights, to extend his streak to ten consecutive wins.<ref name="boxrec"/> Among the boxers he beat were Billy Knight by a knockout<ref name="boxrec"/> and Finnegan once again, by decision in 15,<ref name="boxrec"/> both in defence of his British title,<ref name="boxrec"/> along with former world title challenger Tony Licata,<ref name="boxrec"/> knocked out in six and United States Olympic Games Gold medal winner Sugar Ray Seales,<ref name="boxrec"/> in five rounds. These wins gave Minter a ranking among the top ten Middleweight challengers.<ref name="boxrec"/>

In 1977, he won the European Middleweight title by beating Germano Valsecchi by a knockout in five in Italy.<ref name="PP"/> But in his next fight his winning streak ended when he lost to former world title challenger Ronnie Harris by a knockout in eight.<ref name="boxrec"/> Minter returned to top ten challenger status by upsetting the former World Welterweight and Light Middleweight Champion Emile Griffith with a ten-round decision win in Monte Carlo,<ref name="boxrec"/> but then he lost his European title to Gratien Tonna by a knockout in eight at Milan.<ref name="boxrec"/> He closed '77 with a third 15-round decision win over Finnegan to retain his British title.<ref name="boxrec"/>

1978 was a sad year for Minter, although he won all three of his bouts. On 15 February, at the Muhammad Ali–Leon Spinks I undercard in Las Vegas, Nevada, he won his first bout in the United States by knocking out Sandy Torres in five.<ref name="boxrec"/> Then, he went to Italy once again to regain his European Middleweight title by knocking out Angelo Jacopucci in twelve rounds.<ref name="boxrec"/> Jacopucci died a few days afterwards, due to injuries sustained in the bout.<ref name="bbc"/> Minter finished his year by avenging his loss to Tonna with a six-round knockout.<ref name="boxrec"/>

In 1979, Minter won all four of his fights, two of them by knockout. On 16 March 1980, in Las Vegas, he was given a shot at World Middleweight Champion Vito Antuofermo's title at Caesars Palace. He won the title by a 15-round split decision<ref name="PP"/> in which the judges' scorecards varied wildly. A Venezuelan judge had Minter losing the fight, while the British judge (Roland Dakin) had Minter winning 13 of the 15 rounds. In a rematch held three months later in London on 28 June, Minter retained the world title by a TKO in eight rounds.<ref name="boxrec"/>

On 27 September 1980, Minter's short run as world champion came to an abrupt end when he was stopped on cuts in the third round against 'Marvelous' Marvin Hagler at Wembley Arena in London.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fight was controversial owing to a racially-charged remark Minter made during the build-up (Minter was alleged to have said that he "didn't intend to lose his title to a black man", though he insisted that he had actually said that he didn't intend to lose to "that" black man, and had been goaded to say so by his promoters)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and then by a crowd riot once the referee had agreed with Minter's corner that he was unable to continue, with chairs, bottles and glasses being hurled into the ring after the decision.<ref name="fight">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Minter beat fringe contender Ernie Singletary in London, in 1981,<ref name="boxrec"/> but after losses to future Hagler challengers Mustafa Hamsho in Las Vegas<ref name="boxrec"/> and Tony Sibson in London,<ref name="boxrec"/> he retired for good.<ref name="PP"/>

He left boxing with a record of 39 wins, 9 losses and 1 no contest, with 23 wins by knockout.<ref name="boxrec"/><ref name="PP"/>

Death

Minter died of cancer in September 2020, in Guildford at the age of 69.<ref name="bbc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
49	Template:No2Loss	39–9 Template:Small	Tony Sibson	TKO	3 (12), Template:Small	15 Sep 1981	Template:Small	Template:Small
48	Template:No2Loss	39–8 Template:Small	Mustafa Hamsho	SD	10	6 Jun 1981	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	39–7 Template:Small	Ernie Singletary	PTS	10	17 Mar 1981	Template:Small
46	Template:No2Loss	38–7 Template:Small	Marvin Hagler	TKO	3 (15), Template:Small	27 Sep 1980	Template:Small	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	38–6 Template:Small	Vito Antuofermo	RTD	8 (15)	28 Jun 1980	Template:Small	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	37–6 Template:Small	Vito Antuofermo	Template:Abbr	15	16 Mar 1980	Template:Small	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	36–6 Template:Small	Doug Demmings	PTS	10	23 Oct 1979	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	35–6 Template:Small	Monty Betham	TKO	2 (10), Template:Small	26 Jun 1979	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	34–6 Template:Small	Renato Garcia	TKO	9 (10), Template:Small	1 May 1979	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	33–6 Template:Small	Rudy Robles	PTS	10	6 Feb 1979	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	32–6 Template:Small	Gratien Tonna	RTD	6 (15)	7 Nov 1978	Template:Small	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	31–6 Template:Small	Angelo Jacopucci	KO	12 (15)	19 Jul 1978	Template:Small	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	30–6 Template:Small	Sandy Torres	KO	5 (10), Template:Small	15 Feb 1978	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	29–6 Template:Small	Kevin Finnegan	PTS	15	8 Nov 1977	Template:Small	Template:Small
35	Template:No2Loss	28–6 Template:Small	Gratien Tonna	TKO	8 (15), Template:Small	21 Sep 1977	Template:Small	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	28–5 Template:Small	Emile Griffith	PTS	10	30 Jul 1977	Template:Small
33	Template:No2Loss	27–5 Template:Small	Ronnie Harris	TKO	8 (10), Template:Small	12 Apr 1977	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	27–4 Template:Small	Germano Valsecchi	KO	5 (15)	4 Feb 1977	Template:Small	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	26–4 Template:Small	Sugar Ray Seales	TKO	5 (10), Template:Small	7 Dec 1976	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	25–4 Template:Small	Tony Licata	TKO	6 (10), Template:Small	9 Nov 1976	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	24–4 Template:Small	Kevin Finnegan	PTS	15	14 Sep 1976	Template:Small	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	23–4 Template:Small	Frank Reiche	TKO	8 (10)	24 May 1976	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	22–4 Template:Small	Billy Knight	TKO	2 (15), Template:Small	27 Apr 1976	Template:Small	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2Win	21–4 Template:Small	Trevor Francis	TKO	8 (10), Template:Small	20 Jan 1976	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	20–4 Template:Small	Kevin Finnegan	PTS	15	4 Nov 1975	Template:Small	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	19–4 Template:Small	Peter Wulf	KO	6 (10)	30 May 1975	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	18–4 Template:Small	Larry Paul	PTS	10	25 Mar 1975	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	17–4 Template:Small	Tony Allen	PTS	8	10 Feb 1975	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	16–4 Template:Small	Henry Cooper	KO	1 (8), Template:Small	20 Jan 1975	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	15–4 Template:Small	Shako Mamba	PTS	8	30 Nov 1974	Template:Small
19	Template:Abbr	14–4 Template:Small	Jan Magdziarz	NC	4 (10)	29 Oct 1974	Template:Small	Template:Small
18	Template:No2Loss	14–4	Ricky Ortiz	TKO	2 (10)	21 May 1974	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	14–3	Tony Byrne	PTS	8	26 Mar 1974	Template:Small
16	Template:No2Loss	13–3	Jan Magdziarz	Template:Abbr	6 (8)	11 Dec 1973	Template:Small
15	Template:No2Loss	13–2	Jan Magdziarz	TKO	3 (8)	30 Oct 1973	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	13–1	Ernie Burns	TKO	5 (8)	2 Oct 1973	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	12–1	Octavio Romero	PTS	8	10 Sep 1973	Template:Small
12	Template:No2Loss	11–1	Don McMillan	TKO	8 (8), Template:Small	5 Jun 1973	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	11–0	George Aidoo	TKO	5 (8)	9 May 1973	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	10–0	Frank Young	PTS	8	27 Mar 1973	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Harry Scott	PTS	8	13 Mar 1973	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Gabe Bowens	TKO	7 (8), Template:Small	20 Feb 1973	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Pat Brogan	TKO	7 (8)	30 Jan 1973	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Pat Dwyer	Template:Abbr	8	16 Jan 1973	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Mike McCluskie	Template:Abbr	5 (8)	8 Jan 1973	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Ronnie Hough	TKO	5 (8)	11 Dec 1972	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Anton Schnedl	TKO	7 (8)	5 Dec 1972	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	John Lowe	TKO	3 (6)	14 Nov 1972	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Maurice Thomas	Template:Abbr	6 (6)	31 Oct 1972	Template:Small

<ref name="boxrec"/>

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

• WBA middleweight champion (160 lbs)
• WBC middleweight champion (160 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles

• The Ring middleweight champion (160 lbs)

Regional/International titles

• Lonsdale Belt middleweight champion (160 lbs)
• British middleweight champion (160 lbs) (2×)
• European middleweight champion (160 lbs) (2×)

Undisputed titles

• Undisputed middleweight champion

See also

• List of middleweight boxing champions
• List of WBC world champions

External links

• Template:Boxrec
• Alan Minter at Cyber Boxing Zone
• Template:Team GB
• Template:Olympics.com
• Template:Olympedia

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