John Conteh


John Anthony Conteh, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980. He held the WBC light-heavyweight title from 1974 to 1978, and regionally the European, British and Commonwealth titles between 1973 and 1974. As an amateur, he represented England and won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. In 2017, Conteh was awarded an MBE for services to boxing at the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Professional career

Born in Liverpool, Merseyside, Conteh began boxing at the age of 10 at a boxing club in Kirkby that was a training ground for amateur boxers such as Joey Singleton, Tucker Hetherington and Stuart Morton. At 19, he won the middleweight gold medal at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. He won the WBC light-heavyweight title in October 1974 by defeating Jorge Ahumada. He held the title until 1977 when he was stripped for not going through with a mandated defence.
Conteh lost a 15-round split decision to the Yugoslavian fighter Mate Parlov when he attempted to regain the title. He failed twice in further efforts to win back the crown, in 1979 and then again seven months later in 1980, on both occasions fighting the American Matthew Saad Muhammad. Muhammad won both bouts but the first victory was declared void because his cornermen used an illegal substance on a cut.

Appearances outside boxing

Conteh was one of the celebrities featured dressed in prison gear on the cover of the 1973 Wings album, Band on the Run. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1974.
Conteh was the British Superstars competition champion in 1974, the second year of the televised sporting event. Conteh is now an after-dinner speaker and speaks at venues all across the country.
Conteh appeared on the BBC television programme Sporting Legends which was presented by Eamonn Holmes. There he spoke at length at how he started out in boxing and how Ali persuaded him to fight at light-heavyweight instead of heavyweight. Ali believed that Conteh was too small to be a heavyweight. Conteh also spoke of how his lifestyle led to alcoholism and a charge of assault, he stated that at the time he appeared on Sporting Legends he had been dry for nine years.
Conteh also appeared in films such as Man at the Top, The Stud and Tank Malling, and made a starring appearance in the television show Boon in 1989, as a washed-up boxer. He more recently appeared on a boxing special of The Weakest Link in 2009, where he finished in third place. His most recent TV acting appearance was in the crime drama Justice, in which he again played an ex-boxer.
Conteh was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to boxing.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
39Win34–4–1 James DixonTKO5, 2:4931 May 1980 Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, England
38Loss33–4–1 Matthew Saad MuhammadTKO4, 2:2729 Mar 1980 Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USFor WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
37Loss33–3–1 Matthew Saad MuhammadUD1518 Aug 1979 Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USFor WBC light-heavyweight title
36Win33–2–1 Ivy BrownPTS104 Jun 1979 Liverpool, England
35Draw32–2–1 Jesse Burnett1019 Apr 1979 Hilton on Park Lane, London, England
34Win32–2 Leonardo RodgersKO7, 1:1526 Sep 1978 Empire Pool, London, England
33Loss31–2 Mate Parlov1517 Jun 1978 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, YugoslaviaFor WBC light-heavyweight title
32Win31–1 Joe CokesPTS107 Feb 1978 Michael Sobell Sports Centre, London, England
31Win30–1 Len HutchinsTKO3, 1:055 Mar 1977 Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, EnglandRetained WBC light-heavyweight title
30Win29–1 Yaqui LópezUD159 Oct 1976 Forum, Copenhagen, DenmarkRetained WBC light-heavyweight title
29Win28–1 Willie Taylor1016 Aug 1975 Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, US
28Win27–1 Lonnie BennettTKO5, 1:1011 Mar 1975 Empire Pool, London, EnglandRetained WBC light-heavyweight title
27Win26–1 Jorge AhumadaPTS151 Oct 1974 Empire Pool, London, EnglandWon vacant WBC light-heavyweight title
26Win25–1 Chris FinneganTKO6 21 May 1974 Empire Pool, London, EnglandRetained European, British, and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles
25Win24–1 Tom Bogs6 12 Mar 1974 Empire Pool, London, EnglandRetained European light-heavyweight title
24Win23–1 Les StevensPTS1012 Feb 1974 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
23Win22–1 Fred LewisTKO3 14 Dec 1973 Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, England
22Win21–1 Baby Boy RollePTS1523 Oct 1973 National Ice Centre, Nottingham, EnglandRetained Commonwealth light-heavyweight title
21Win20–1 Vicente RondónTKO9 10 Sep 1973 Empire Pool, London, England
20Win19–1 Chris FinneganPTS1522 May 1973 Empire Pool, London, EnglandRetained European light-heavyweight title;
Won British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles
19Win18–1 Rüdiger SchmidtkeTKO12, 2:2813 Mar 1973 Empire Pool, London, EnglandWon European light-heavyweight title
18Win17–1 Terry DanielsTKO7 14 Feb 1973 Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada, US
17Win16–1 Dave MatthewsPTS1015 Jan 1973 Ice Stadium, Nottingham, England
16Win15–1 Sam McGillTKO9 5 Dec 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
15Win14–1 John HudginsKO3, 1:3014 Nov 1972 Empire Pool, London, England
14Win13–1 Bill DroverKO7, 2:2431 Oct 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
13Win12–1 Ferenc KristofcsakTKO1 10 Oct 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
12Loss11–1 Eddie DuncanPTS1026 Sep 1972 Empire Pool, London, England
11Win11–0 Johnny MacTKO2 19 Jul 1972 Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
10Win10–0 Billy AirdTKO8 6 Jun 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
9Win9–0 Joe GholstonTKO5 25 Apr 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
8Win8–0 Ruben FigueroaKO2 28 Mar 1972 Empire Pool, London, England
7Win7–0 Larry SykesKO1 15 Feb 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
6Win6–0 Wilhelm JancoTKO1 25 Jan 1972 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
5Win5–0 Emilio OkeeTKO5 7 Dec 1971 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
4Win4–0 Tony Burwell824 Nov 1971 National Ice Centre, Nottingham, England
3Win3–0 Frank BullardTKO2 16 Nov 1971 Empire Pool, London, England
2Win2–0 Pierre Minier5 8 Nov 1971 Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England
1Win1–0 Okacha Boubekeur1 18 Oct 1971 Hotel Café Royal, London, England