Chris Finnegan
Encyclopedia
Chris Finnegan MBE
(5 June 1944 – 2 March 2009) was an English
professional boxer
.
family; his father was from Liverpool
and his mother from Newry
, Northern Ireland
. Finnegan always wore a Union Flag
and a Shamrock
on his boxing trunks to signify his joint heritage. Finnegan was introduced to boxing at a young age by his elder brother Terence. His younger brother Kevin
also boxed professionally, winning the British and European
middleweight titles, and fighting such opponents as Marvin Hagler
and Alan Minter
.
, Finnegan was the 1966 ABA
middleweight champion, but he considered retiring from the sport after John Turpin, the man he had beaten in the ABA finals, was chosen ahead of him to represent England at the 1966 Commonwealth Games
in Jamaica
. Finnegan competed at the 1967 European Amateur Boxing Championships
in Rome
, where he lost on points to Jan Hejduk of Czechoslovakia
.
He almost missed out on making the 1968 Summer Olympics
team after sustaining an eye injury which prevented him taking the ABA championships. This resulted in a two-week drinking
binge as a result of his disappointment for not making the team. Finnegan's trainer, Dick Gunn, rescued the boxer from his binge by securing a box-off which Finnegan won.
One final obstacle almost prevented Finnegan's participation in the games; £70 owed in National Insurance Stamps
, for which he had to appear before a magistrate. When the presiding magistrate heard that Finnegan was due to represent Britain at the Olympics he was given a reprieve, and wished luck in his bid to win a gold medal. When the Games were over, the debt was eventually paid by the British boxing promoter Harry Levene.
Fighting in the middleweight
division, Finnegan's first opponent at the Olympics was little-known Titus Simba of Tanzania
; Finnegan was knocked down in the first round, but climbed off the canvas to win the decision. In the quarter-finals Finnegan guaranteed himself at least a bronze medal by out-pointing the Yugoslav
Mate Parlov
, who would win gold at the 1972 Olympics
and later hold the WBC
light-heavyweight championship.
In the semi-final, Finnegan won a 4-1 decision over the American
Al Jones
despite receiving two standing eight-counts. Finnegan's final opponent was Aleksei Kiselyov of the Soviet Union
. Finnegan won by a 3-2 verdict, the Mexican
, Spanish
and Cuba
n judges voting for him, and the Thai
and India
n for Kiselyov. Finnegan was the last British boxer to win an Olympic gold medal until Audley Harrison
in 2000
. For his success Finnegan was awarded an MBE
in the New Year's Honours, which was presented to him by the Queen on 12 February 1969.
In a famous television interview conducted moments after winning gold, Finnegan's wife back in Britain, Cheryl, remarked: "Fuckin' 'ell, you 'aven't fuckin' gone and done it, 'ave you?", to which Finnegan replied: "Yes, ol' lady, I fuckin' have." When asked of his future plans, Finnegan quipped that he intended "to go home and increase the family."
Finnegan's biggest problem after his gold medal victory was producing enough urine
for the doping
test. It would take several glasses of water
, three or four pints of beer
, encouragement from others, and a victory meal before Finnegan finally had enough urine to produce for the doping test which he finally got at 1:40 AM CST. The test proved negative.
Finnegan wrote an autobiography
entitled Finnegan: Self-Portrait of a Fighting Man about his boxing career, including his gold medal win at Mexico City
which he referred to as a "golden rivet".
To manage him he hired Sam Burns, who had guided Terry Downes
to the world middleweight championship in 1962. Now trained by Freddie Hill, he made his professional debut on 9 December 1968, defeating Mike Fleetham in three rounds. Finnegan won 13 of his first 14 fights, his sole loss a cut eye stoppage against Danny Ashie. Among his early opponents were Brendan Ingle
, who would later go on to be a successful boxing trainer, and Harry Scott, then the number one ranked British middleweight contender.
In his 15th fight, Finnegan was matched with reigning European
middleweight champion Tom Bogs
in Copenhagen
, as a late replacement for the injured Mark Rowe. Finnegan dropped a close 15 round decision, in which the referee and sole judge Herbert Tomser scored four rounds to Bogs and eleven even. Five months later, in January 1971, Finnegan stopped Eddie Avoth
in the 15th round to win the British and British Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles.
In May 1971, Finnegan travelled to Berlin
to challenge for the European light-heavyweight title, held by Conny Velensek of Germany
. The fight was scored a draw, although several British and German
reporters at ringside felt that Finnegan deserved to win. After a win over Roger Rouse, who had previously fought both Dick Tiger
and Bob Foster for the world light-heavyweight title, Finnegan and Velensek met again, this time at the Nottingham Ice Rink
. Finnegan won a unanimous 15 round decision to take the title.
Finnegan was named Ring Magazine's progress of the year
for 1971 and was now being touted as a challenger to reigning world light-heavyweight champion Bob Foster; he was at ringside for Foster's fight with Vicente Rondon
and introduced to the crowd after the fight. Finnegan made his first defence of the European title four months later against Jan Lubbers at the Royal Albert Hall
, and won by an eighth round knockout. The world title fight with Foster was arranged for 26 September, 1972, to take place at Wembley
.
Finnegan was considered a heavy underdog against Foster, whose previous two opponents, contenders Rondon and Mike Quarry
, had lasted a combined total of six rounds before being knocked out by him. However, Finnegan proved more competitive than expected, finally being stopped by Foster in the 14th round of a gruelling contest. Afterwards Foster commented that Finnegan had been the best-equipped of all his previous title challengers. The bout was selected as Fight of the Year
by Ring Magazine.
Six weeks after the Foster fight, Finnegan faced Rudiger Schmidtke at Wembley, having been ordered by the European Boxing Union to defend his European title against him or risk being stripped of it. Finnegan lost by a 12th round TKO after sustaining a bad cut on his nose. He remained inactive for four months, before successfully defending his British and Commonwealth titles against Roy John, winning a 15 round decision at Wembley.
Finnegan's next defence of his British and Commonwealth belts was against new European champion and emerging British light-heavyweight contender John Conteh
; Finnegan lost a 15 round decision. He then won a ten round decision over Mike Quarry
, before facing Conteh again. This time Finnegan was stopped on cuts after six rounds. Finnegan then dropped a decision against Johnny Frankham for the British light-heavyweight title, before avenging that loss to win the Lonsdale Belt
outright. That proved to be his final fight, as Finnegan retired from boxing in 1975 after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina. His final record stood at 29-7-1.
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(5 June 1944 – 2 March 2009) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
.
Early life
Finnegan was one of eight siblings born into an Anglo-IrishAnglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
family; his father was from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and his mother from Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Finnegan always wore a Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
and a Shamrock
Shamrock
The shamrock is a three-leafed old white clover. It is known as a symbol of Ireland. The name shamrock is derived from Irish , which is the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover ....
on his boxing trunks to signify his joint heritage. Finnegan was introduced to boxing at a young age by his elder brother Terence. His younger brother Kevin
Kevin Finnegan
Kevin Finnegan was an English boxer.In his early career when Kevin was still an amateur he was banned for 18 months for climbing into the ring to dispute a loss by his brother...
also boxed professionally, winning the British and European
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
middleweight titles, and fighting such opponents as Marvin Hagler
Marvin Hagler
Marvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former professional boxer who was undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987. Hagler holds the distinction of having the highest KO% of all middleweight champions at 78%...
and Alan Minter
Alan Minter
Alan Minter is a former middleweight world champion boxer.-Amateur career:Minter was the 1971 ABA Middleweight Champion. He won the bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games...
.
Amateur career
Juggling his amateur boxing career with his work as a hod carrierBrick hod
A brick hod is a three-sided box for carrying bricks or other construction materials, often mortar. It bears a long handle and is carried over the shoulder...
, Finnegan was the 1966 ABA
Amateur Boxing Association of England
The Amateur Boxing Association of England is the governing body of amateur boxing clubs in England. There are separate organisations for Scotland and Wales with boxing in Northern Ireland being organised on an All-Ireland basis. The Association was founded in 1880...
middleweight champion, but he considered retiring from the sport after John Turpin, the man he had beaten in the ABA finals, was chosen ahead of him to represent England at the 1966 Commonwealth Games
1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica from 4 August to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions....
in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Finnegan competed at the 1967 European Amateur Boxing Championships
European Amateur Boxing Championships
The European Amateur Boxing Championships is the highest competition for boxing amateurs in Europe, organised by the continent's governing body EUBC, which stands for the European Boxing Confederation...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he lost on points to Jan Hejduk of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
.
He almost missed out on making the 1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
team after sustaining an eye injury which prevented him taking the ABA championships. This resulted in a two-week drinking
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
binge as a result of his disappointment for not making the team. Finnegan's trainer, Dick Gunn, rescued the boxer from his binge by securing a box-off which Finnegan won.
One final obstacle almost prevented Finnegan's participation in the games; £70 owed in National Insurance Stamps
National Insurance
National Insurance in the United Kingdom was initially a contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment, and later also provided retirement pensions and other benefits...
, for which he had to appear before a magistrate. When the presiding magistrate heard that Finnegan was due to represent Britain at the Olympics he was given a reprieve, and wished luck in his bid to win a gold medal. When the Games were over, the debt was eventually paid by the British boxing promoter Harry Levene.
Fighting in the middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
division, Finnegan's first opponent at the Olympics was little-known Titus Simba of Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
; Finnegan was knocked down in the first round, but climbed off the canvas to win the decision. In the quarter-finals Finnegan guaranteed himself at least a bronze medal by out-pointing the Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
Mate Parlov
Mate Parlov
Mate Parlov was a Croatian boxer, and an Olympic gold medalist for former Yugoslavia. As a professional, he won the European light heavyweight title in 1976 and WBC light heavyweight world title in 1978....
, who would win gold at the 1972 Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
and later hold the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
light-heavyweight championship.
In the semi-final, Finnegan won a 4-1 decision over the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Al Jones
Alfred Jones (boxer)
Alfred Jones is a former professional boxer.Nicknamed "Tiger Cat"- Amateur career :Jones won the National Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship in 1965 with a win over Dave Matthews of Buffalo, NY....
despite receiving two standing eight-counts. Finnegan's final opponent was Aleksei Kiselyov of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Finnegan won by a 3-2 verdict, the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n judges voting for him, and the Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n for Kiselyov. Finnegan was the last British boxer to win an Olympic gold medal until Audley Harrison
Audley Harrison
Audley Harrison is a British professional boxer from Harlesden, England who fights in the heavyweight division. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney he became the first British fighter to win an Olympic gold medal in the superheavyweight division. He stands and usually weighs around .Harrison turned...
in 2000
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. For his success Finnegan was awarded an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the New Year's Honours, which was presented to him by the Queen on 12 February 1969.
In a famous television interview conducted moments after winning gold, Finnegan's wife back in Britain, Cheryl, remarked: "Fuckin' 'ell, you 'aven't fuckin' gone and done it, 'ave you?", to which Finnegan replied: "Yes, ol' lady, I fuckin' have." When asked of his future plans, Finnegan quipped that he intended "to go home and increase the family."
Finnegan's biggest problem after his gold medal victory was producing enough urine
Urine
Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
for the doping
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
test. It would take several glasses of water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, three or four pints of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, encouragement from others, and a victory meal before Finnegan finally had enough urine to produce for the doping test which he finally got at 1:40 AM CST. The test proved negative.
Finnegan wrote an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
entitled Finnegan: Self-Portrait of a Fighting Man about his boxing career, including his gold medal win at Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
which he referred to as a "golden rivet".
Olympic results
- 1968 won the Olympic Gold Medal, representing Great Britain as a Middleweight. Results were:
- Defeated Titus Simba (TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
) 5-0 - Defeated Ewald Wichert (West GermanyWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
) 3-2 - Defeated Mate ParlovMate ParlovMate Parlov was a Croatian boxer, and an Olympic gold medalist for former Yugoslavia. As a professional, he won the European light heavyweight title in 1976 and WBC light heavyweight world title in 1978....
(YugoslaviaYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) 5-0 - Defeated Alfred JonesAlfred Jones (boxer)Alfred Jones is a former professional boxer.Nicknamed "Tiger Cat"- Amateur career :Jones won the National Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship in 1965 with a win over Dave Matthews of Buffalo, NY....
(United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) 4-1 - Defeated Aleksei Kiselyov (Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
) 3-2
- Defeated Titus Simba (Tanzania
Professional career
The story of an unemployed labourer winning a gold medal for Britain at the Olympics had led to the Finnegans being inundated with small donations of money from well-wishers in the UK. Finnegan had considered turning professional even before the Olympics, but his money troubles meant that he was "more or less forced to".To manage him he hired Sam Burns, who had guided Terry Downes
Terry Downes
Terry Downes is a retired British middleweight boxer. He was nicknamed the "Paddington Express" for his aggressive fighting style. As of 2008, Downes was Britain’s oldest surviving former world champion...
to the world middleweight championship in 1962. Now trained by Freddie Hill, he made his professional debut on 9 December 1968, defeating Mike Fleetham in three rounds. Finnegan won 13 of his first 14 fights, his sole loss a cut eye stoppage against Danny Ashie. Among his early opponents were Brendan Ingle
Brendan Ingle
Brendan Ingle is a former professional boxer and a boxing manager and trainer . Brendan Ingle was born into a large family .- Boxing Trainer :...
, who would later go on to be a successful boxing trainer, and Harry Scott, then the number one ranked British middleweight contender.
In his 15th fight, Finnegan was matched with reigning European
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
middleweight champion Tom Bogs
Tom Bogs
Tom Bogs is a retired Danish middleweight boxer.Bogs competed for Denmark at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the light-middleweight division and reached the quarter-finals, where he lost to Nojim Maiyegun of Nigeria. Bogs turned professional shortly after the games and was active during the 1960s and...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, as a late replacement for the injured Mark Rowe. Finnegan dropped a close 15 round decision, in which the referee and sole judge Herbert Tomser scored four rounds to Bogs and eleven even. Five months later, in January 1971, Finnegan stopped Eddie Avoth
Eddie Avoth
Eddie Avoth is a former boxer and actor.He was British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion, with a record which reads: Fights Won 53 , Lost 9, Drawn 0.Eddie Avoth was born in Cardiff, Wales...
in the 15th round to win the British and British Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles.
In May 1971, Finnegan travelled to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to challenge for the European light-heavyweight title, held by Conny Velensek of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The fight was scored a draw, although several British and German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
reporters at ringside felt that Finnegan deserved to win. After a win over Roger Rouse, who had previously fought both Dick Tiger
Dick Tiger
Dick Tiger CBE was a boxer from Ubahu village, Amaigbo, Nigeria, who emigrated to Liverpool and later to the United States of America. Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group...
and Bob Foster for the world light-heavyweight title, Finnegan and Velensek met again, this time at the Nottingham Ice Rink
Nottingham Ice Stadium
The Nottingham Ice Stadium was an ice rink in Nottingham, England 1939 - 2000.The building was first opened in 1939 but it was quickly called upon for other purposes...
. Finnegan won a unanimous 15 round decision to take the title.
Finnegan was named Ring Magazine's progress of the year
Ring Magazine progress of the year
Ring Magazine was established in 1922. From 1953 to 1988, it gave a Progress of the Year award to the boxer who made the most significant progress during the preceding twelve months...
for 1971 and was now being touted as a challenger to reigning world light-heavyweight champion Bob Foster; he was at ringside for Foster's fight with Vicente Rondon
Vicente Rondon
Vicente Paúl Rondón was a former WBA light heavyweight boxing world champion.- Personal background :Rondon was born in extreme poverty in Río Chico, Miranda, Venezuela, and decided to escape his poor surroundings by enlisting in the Venezuelan military at an early age.- Professional career :When...
and introduced to the crowd after the fight. Finnegan made his first defence of the European title four months later against Jan Lubbers at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, and won by an eighth round knockout. The world title fight with Foster was arranged for 26 September, 1972, to take place at Wembley
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
.
Finnegan was considered a heavy underdog against Foster, whose previous two opponents, contenders Rondon and Mike Quarry
Mike Quarry
Mike Quarry born in Bakersfield, California, was a light heavyweight boxer. He had a record of 63-13-6 including 17 knockouts during his career, which began in 1969 and ended in 1982....
, had lasted a combined total of six rounds before being knocked out by him. However, Finnegan proved more competitive than expected, finally being stopped by Foster in the 14th round of a gruelling contest. Afterwards Foster commented that Finnegan had been the best-equipped of all his previous title challengers. The bout was selected as Fight of the Year
Ring Magazine fights of the year
The Ring was established in 1922 and since 1945, it has named a Fight of the Year.-1940s:*1945 - Rocky Graziano KO 10 Red Cochrane I*1946 - Tony Zale KO 6 Rocky Graziano I*1947 - Rocky Graziano KO 6 Tony Zale II...
by Ring Magazine.
Six weeks after the Foster fight, Finnegan faced Rudiger Schmidtke at Wembley, having been ordered by the European Boxing Union to defend his European title against him or risk being stripped of it. Finnegan lost by a 12th round TKO after sustaining a bad cut on his nose. He remained inactive for four months, before successfully defending his British and Commonwealth titles against Roy John, winning a 15 round decision at Wembley.
Finnegan's next defence of his British and Commonwealth belts was against new European champion and emerging British light-heavyweight contender John Conteh
John Conteh
John Conteh is a British former boxer who was world light-heavyweight boxing champion.Conteh is one of Britain's most successful boxing champions. At his peak in the mid to late 1970s he was considered good enough that he was touted as a possible opponent of Muhammad Ali...
; Finnegan lost a 15 round decision. He then won a ten round decision over Mike Quarry
Mike Quarry
Mike Quarry born in Bakersfield, California, was a light heavyweight boxer. He had a record of 63-13-6 including 17 knockouts during his career, which began in 1969 and ended in 1982....
, before facing Conteh again. This time Finnegan was stopped on cuts after six rounds. Finnegan then dropped a decision against Johnny Frankham for the British light-heavyweight title, before avenging that loss to win the Lonsdale Belt
Lonsdale belt
The Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize introduced by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, to be awarded to British boxing champions. It is still awarded to British champions today.-National Sporting Club:...
outright. That proved to be his final fight, as Finnegan retired from boxing in 1975 after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina. His final record stood at 29-7-1.
Death
Finnegan died at the age of 64 after several weeks in hospital suffering from pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.