By James Slater: A recent article here on ESB pondered the notion of what would have happened had current light-heavyweight champ Joe Calzaghe met a former world champ at the same weight who also hailed from the U.K. This fighter was John Conteh, and in this article I take a look back at the fine career of the man who celebrates his 57th birthday later this month (the 27th)..
Thirty-six years ago, Liverpool’s John Conteh KO’d one Okacha Boubekeur in a single round in Mayfair, London. It was the beginning of a career at 175 pounds that would see the good looking Conteh become a household name. In all, John would box in a total of seven bouts that would contest a world title in the light heavyweight division. Victorious in four of these fights, Conteh’s stylish and brave approach to his craft would endear him to the British public.
Born on the 27th of May, 1951, in Kirkby, John turned professional while barely out of his teenage years. After the successful debut win against Boubekeur, Conteh would emerge victorious another ten times before suffering his first defeat. When the loss came, at the hands of the American, Eddie Duncan in 1972, the setback was on points over ten rounds. Unperturbed, John fought again, and won, less than a month later. It would be six years before he tasted another defeat. Gathering serious momentum in the years 1972 and ’73 (16 KO’s in his 25 wins) Conteh was soon ranked sufficiently so as to fight for a major title. In March of ’73, at Wembley, he successfully challenged the German, Rudiger Schmidtke for the European light heavyweight title. The twelfth round TKO would set up the first of two very memorable fights in Conteh’s career.
Schmidtke had taken the European belt from another Brit in Chris Finnegan. Now the twenty-seven year old southpaw wanted to regain the title that was currently in Conteh’s possession. A spirited fifteen round affair followed. Fighting once again at Wembley, John managed to grind out a very hard points win over the gutsy Finnegan. Still the holder of both the British and Commonwealth titles going in, Chris, who had only eight months earlier given world champion Bob Foster an excellent challenge in Ring magazine’s fight of the year for 1972, did not want to lose to his domestic rival. The fight was one of the best ever seen in a British ring as a result.
Now holder of three respected belts, Conteh embarked on a busy schedule, defending his titles three times inside twelve months, before focusing on the world title. His final bout before making his move on the light heavyweight championship of the world was the second fight with Finnegan. This time it was a much easier fight for John, however, as he managed to stop Chris inside half a dozen rounds. It was now clear that while Conteh was coming ,Finnegan was going. Now the undisputed best 175 pound fighter in the U.K, Conteh wanted the world.
His chance came against the Argentinean, Jorge Ahumada, in October of 1974. Having home advantage over the man who had held the great Bob Foster to a draw in the world champion‘s final fight before retiring, Conteh saw his dream come true courtesy of a hard fought split decision win in a bout that decided a version of Foster’s vacated championship. John was now the WBC light heavyweight king. It had been another great night for British boxing. His first defence came five months later, against the American, Lonnie Bennett. Only ever stopped once previously, Bennett’s fight stats had another digit added to their KO-by details afterwards. A badly cut eye forced the termination of the match in the defending champ’s favour, and Conteh had notched up defence number one. Harder tests would soon challenge him though.
After a non-title fight win over another American in Willie Taylor, this victory coming on points over ten rounds, John boxed the extremely tough Mexican, Yaqui Lopez. This fight took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and proved to be just as hard as most people thought it would be going in. A gruelling points win was Conteh’s though, and he returned home still champion. By now incredibly popular, John, by his own admission, became something of a playboy. Perhaps not devoting himself to training chores as he should have been, he began to enjoy the nightlife a little too much. For the moment, however, he managed to get away with it.
The year 1977 saw him make one solitary defence. In March he stopped the overmatched American, Len Hutchins, in three rounds in his hometown of Liverpool. Still, the defences were piling up, this fight being John’s third.
Unfortunately though, the third one marked the final one. For John was then stripped of his title for failing to defend against Argentina’s Miguel Cuello. A hand injury was the official reason for John’s failure to adhere to the rules. So, in June of 1978, after a ten round points victory over American boxer, Joe Cokes, Conteh travelled to Belgrade, Yugoslavia and challenged the Croatian fighter and new WBC ruler, Mate Parlov (who had beaten Cuello for the vacant belt). The southpaw champion held onto his title with a unanimous decision. His hopes of regaining his championship gone, Conteh’s time at the top seemed over.
He would try again though.
By the year 1979 Parlov had lost the title to Marvin Johnson, who in turn would lose it to the incredible Matthew Saad Muhammad. The crowd pleasing Muhammad was the man who John, having won two and drawn one since the loss to Parlov, would fight in another attempt at regaining his old crown. Fighting one of his best and bravest ever fights, John gave Matthew all he could handle in a bout that was held in Atlantic City, USA on the 18th of August that year. The fight was so good a rematch was staged seven months later. Fighting at the very same venue, Conteh was unfortunately this time Stopped in only four rounds. Beaten inside the distance for the only time in his fine career, John hung up his gloves later on in 1980. Although he did go out a winner, with a fifth round KO over another American in James Dixon, in a match fought before his hometown fans in Liverpool.
And with that May victory the curtain came down on the career of one of England’s most exciting and talented world champions. With his superb combination punching, great heart, and genuine charisma, John Conteh was a fighter who boxed perhaps as well as any British fighter in recent memory.
His final record reads, 34-4-1 (23KO’s) He was WBC light heavyweight champion from 1974-1977.
Would Conteh have beaten Calzaghe? Very possibly, yes.