Neville Meade
Encyclopedia
Neville Meade was a Jamaica
-born boxer
who emigrated to the United Kingdom settling in Swansea
in south Wales
. He rose to prominence when he won the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1974 Commonwealth Games
in New Zealand. He turned professional in 1974 and won the Welsh Heavyweight title in 1976 and then followed this with the British title in 1981. He retired in 1983 after a failed defence of his British title.
Meade was known for his big-hitting style of fighting with very few of his bouts going the distance. Of his 20 professional wins, 18 came via knockout. Despite this ability, Meade lacked motivation in training and during the middle of his career, with his weight reaching above 17 stone, he suffered a lack of form that saw him lose seven out of nine fights. He took on a new trainer, Jimmy Bromfield, in 1979 and this saw a change in his fortune which led to Meade taking the British Heavyweight title.
in Catterick
. Meade boxed for the RAF representing the airforce in inter-service competitions and in amateur tournaments. In 1973 he reached the final of the heavyweight division of the Amateur Boxing Association of England
(ABAE) National Championship held at Wembley Arena
in London, but lost to Garfield McEwan. The next year, still representing the RAF, Meade again reached the heavyweight final, and on this occasion won, taking the English amateur title. By winning the England amateur title, Meade was afforded the opportunity of representing England in the 1974 Commonwealth games, held in Christchurch
, New Zealand. Meade was given a bye through the preliminaries, and then beat Canada's Caroll Morgan on points in the Quarter finals. After beating Samoa's Vai Samu on points in the semi-final, Meade faced Nigerian Fatai Ayinla
in the final. Despite Ayinla's greater experience as an amateur, having won the Commonwealth light-heavyweight silver in 1966 and the gold in 1970, Meade took the bout after the referee stopped the contest in Meade's favour, giving him the Commonwealth heavyweight gold medal.
in London, went the full six rounds, with the referee giving the result to Mikulski. A month later, on 14 October, Meade faced Roger Barlow in an eight round bout in Swansea. Meade stopped Barlow via technical knockout in the third giving him his first professional win. A week later Meade entered a £2000 knock-out competition held at the Grosvenor. Meade faced three opponents that night, beating Harold James by points followed by a first round knockout of Les McGowan before achieving a first round technical knockout over Geoff Hepplestone in the final. Meade ended 1974 with a win over Eddie Fenton at the National Sporting Club
in London.
On 17 February 1975, Meade faced Richard Dunn in London and lost via a technical knockout, the first time Meade had been stopped within the distance of a bout at professional level. Later that year Dunn took the British heavyweight title, and then in 1976 lost a WBO World Heavyweight title bout against Muhammad Ali
. After the Dunn fight, Meade twice faced London fighter Tony Moore. The first ended in another defeat for Meade, a technical knockout in the sixth; while the second encounter ended in a draw after the fight went the full eight rounds. Meade completed 1975 with five wins, a points win in his third match with Moore and four technical knockouts over Lloyd Walford, Derek Simpkin, John Depledge and Lucien Rodriguez. The contest with Rodriquez, who would become the French and European Heavyweight champion, was held in Paris, Meade's first professional fight outside the United Kingdom.
Meade started 1976 with a defeat, losing to Spanish based boxer Alfredo Evangelista in Madrid on 12 March. Two weeks later Meade challenged for his first notable professional title when a match was arranged between him and Tony Blackburn for the Welsh Heavyweight belt. The ten round bout, held at the Mayfair Suite in Swansea, lasted only until the fourth round when Blackburn was stopped through a technical knockdown. This was followed by a win over Garfield Owen who had beaten Meade in his 1973 ABAE final.
in Wales, Meade was stopped in the seventh by Denton Ruddock, denting his chances for a title shot. This was the start of a protracted fall in form for Meade that lasted until 1979, in which he suffered more losses than wins for the first time in his professional career. Meade followed the Ruddock fight this with another loss, suffering a technical knockout in the sixth in an encounter with future European champion John Lewis Gardner
. Meade managed to defeat Bjorn Rudi in Oslo, but then lost in Brussels to Jean-Pierre Coopman
on the Belgian's way to taking the European Heavyweight title, then Meade was knocked-out for the first time in his professional career, by South African Kallie Knoetze
in Johannesburg. In December 1977, while back in Britain, he stopped his run of bad results with a win over American Bruce Grandham, but then lost a the rematch in March 1978. This was followed by two more defeats, both through stoppages, by Paul Sykes in May 1978 and then to Albert Syben in January 1979.
in early 1980. The ten round fight, held at Caerphilly
, lasted until the second, with Meade winning via a technical knockout. Meade followed this with an identical second round stoppage in another Welsh title defence, this time over Cardiff fighter Winston Allen. His turn in form was rewarded with a first round eliminator to choose the next challenger for the British Heavyweight title. His opponent was Stan Dermott, a London based fighter, and their encounter was held at the Royal Albert Hall
in the capital on the 8 December 1980. This time Meade took his chance and stopped Dermott in the fifth round, leaving just one more fight for a shot at the belt. The final eliminator was held in Wales, at Ebbw Vale
, and Meade, facing Terry Mintus from Leeds, recorded his fourth straight knockout this time in the third round.
Meade's title challenge for the British Heavyweight title was arranged for 12 October 1981 to be held at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre in Birmingham
. His opponent was Northern Ireland boxer Gordon Ferris, who had taken the belt from Billy Aird in March that year. The fight, shown live on British television, lasted less than a round. The contest began slowly, with both boxers trading searching shots at range with little contact made. With just less than thirty seconds to go before the bell Meade connected with a left jab
to Ferris left temple; as Ferris recovered and began moving back into position, Meade was already following up with a right hand hook
. Meade's hook landed on the left side of Ferris' jaw and Ferris dropped to the canvas. The referee began the count but quickly realised that the prone Ferris would not recover and so ended the fight, making Meade the new British Heavyweight champion.
After winning the title Meade was signed up by boxing promoter Terry Lawless
, breaking the Meade-Bromfield partenership. Meade followed up his title victory with an encounter with American Leroy Boone, less than a month later. The ten round fight went the full distance with referee Harry Gibbs giving the decision to Boone. Meade was back on winning form when he knocked out Rick Kellar in February of the next year when the two fought at the National Exhibition Centre
in Birmingham. Meade's final fight was his first defence of his British title, fought at St David's Hall in Cardiff on 22 September 1983. His opponent was David Pearce, who Meade had beaten at the start of his comeback in 1980. The match was the last British title fight ever to be held over 15 rounds, as the two fighters had signed contracts before the rule change came in. The contest ended in the ninth, when Meade was stopped by a technical knockout. He never fought professionally again.
in Swansea on 13 March 2010.
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...
-born 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...
who emigrated to the United Kingdom settling in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
in south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He rose to prominence when he won the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1974 Commonwealth Games
1974 British Commonwealth Games
The 1974 British Commonwealth Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games....
in New Zealand. He turned professional in 1974 and won the Welsh Heavyweight title in 1976 and then followed this with the British title in 1981. He retired in 1983 after a failed defence of his British title.
Meade was known for his big-hitting style of fighting with very few of his bouts going the distance. Of his 20 professional wins, 18 came via knockout. Despite this ability, Meade lacked motivation in training and during the middle of his career, with his weight reaching above 17 stone, he suffered a lack of form that saw him lose seven out of nine fights. He took on a new trainer, Jimmy Bromfield, in 1979 and this saw a change in his fortune which led to Meade taking the British Heavyweight title.
Amateur career
Jamaica born Meade emigrated to the United Kingdom, living in Swansea, Wales from the age of nine. After leaving education he served in the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in Catterick
Catterick
Catterick could be*Catterick, North Yorkshire, England, commonly known as Catterick Village**Catterick Bridge, a hamlet near Catterick Village**Catterick Garrison, a British Army garrison near Catterick Village...
. Meade boxed for the RAF representing the airforce in inter-service competitions and in amateur tournaments. In 1973 he reached the final of the heavyweight division of the Amateur Boxing Association of England
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...
(ABAE) National Championship held at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
in London, but lost to Garfield McEwan. The next year, still representing the RAF, Meade again reached the heavyweight final, and on this occasion won, taking the English amateur title. By winning the England amateur title, Meade was afforded the opportunity of representing England in the 1974 Commonwealth games, held in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand. Meade was given a bye through the preliminaries, and then beat Canada's Caroll Morgan on points in the Quarter finals. After beating Samoa's Vai Samu on points in the semi-final, Meade faced Nigerian Fatai Ayinla
Fatai Ayinla
Fatai Ayinla-Adekunle is a retired amateur boxer from Nigeria, who is best known for winning the gold medal in the men's heavyweight division at the 1973 All-Africa Games in Lagos, Nigeria....
in the final. Despite Ayinla's greater experience as an amateur, having won the Commonwealth light-heavyweight silver in 1966 and the gold in 1970, Meade took the bout after the referee stopped the contest in Meade's favour, giving him the Commonwealth heavyweight gold medal.
1974-1976: Welsh Heavyweight title
In September 1974, a little over seven months after taking the Commonwealth gold, Meade boxed in his first professional bout. His opponent was Tony Mikulski, who came to the fight with a run of seven professional wins. The contest, held at the Grosvenor House HotelGrosvenor House Hotel
Grosvenor House is a large and luxurious hotel. The iconic Mayfair, London hotel is owned by the Sahara Group. The name has also been licensed to a property in Dubai....
in London, went the full six rounds, with the referee giving the result to Mikulski. A month later, on 14 October, Meade faced Roger Barlow in an eight round bout in Swansea. Meade stopped Barlow via technical knockout in the third giving him his first professional win. A week later Meade entered a £2000 knock-out competition held at the Grosvenor. Meade faced three opponents that night, beating Harold James by points followed by a first round knockout of Les McGowan before achieving a first round technical knockout over Geoff Hepplestone in the final. Meade ended 1974 with a win over Eddie Fenton at the National Sporting Club
National Sporting Club
The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation.-Origins:...
in London.
On 17 February 1975, Meade faced Richard Dunn in London and lost via a technical knockout, the first time Meade had been stopped within the distance of a bout at professional level. Later that year Dunn took the British heavyweight title, and then in 1976 lost a WBO World Heavyweight title bout against Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
. After the Dunn fight, Meade twice faced London fighter Tony Moore. The first ended in another defeat for Meade, a technical knockout in the sixth; while the second encounter ended in a draw after the fight went the full eight rounds. Meade completed 1975 with five wins, a points win in his third match with Moore and four technical knockouts over Lloyd Walford, Derek Simpkin, John Depledge and Lucien Rodriguez. The contest with Rodriquez, who would become the French and European Heavyweight champion, was held in Paris, Meade's first professional fight outside the United Kingdom.
Meade started 1976 with a defeat, losing to Spanish based boxer Alfredo Evangelista in Madrid on 12 March. Two weeks later Meade challenged for his first notable professional title when a match was arranged between him and Tony Blackburn for the Welsh Heavyweight belt. The ten round bout, held at the Mayfair Suite in Swansea, lasted only until the fourth round when Blackburn was stopped through a technical knockdown. This was followed by a win over Garfield Owen who had beaten Meade in his 1973 ABAE final.
1976-1979: Loss of form
On 11 August 1976 Meade was offered a step towards a British belt with a first round eliminator for the British Heavyweight title. Held at CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
in Wales, Meade was stopped in the seventh by Denton Ruddock, denting his chances for a title shot. This was the start of a protracted fall in form for Meade that lasted until 1979, in which he suffered more losses than wins for the first time in his professional career. Meade followed the Ruddock fight this with another loss, suffering a technical knockout in the sixth in an encounter with future European champion John Lewis Gardner
John L. Gardner
John L. Gardner is a former British, Commonwealth, and European Heavyweight Champion. A stocky, game, pressure fighter, his speed and aggression made him a marginal top ten contender for the World Heavyweight Title. Gardner was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His best arena was really...
. Meade managed to defeat Bjorn Rudi in Oslo, but then lost in Brussels to Jean-Pierre Coopman
Jean-Pierre Coopman
Jean-Pierre Coopman is a retired Belgian boxer who is best known for his title fight against Muhammad Ali in 1976, which Ali won by KO in round 5.-Early life:Coopman's first fully paid job was as a stone cutter....
on the Belgian's way to taking the European Heavyweight title, then Meade was knocked-out for the first time in his professional career, by South African Kallie Knoetze
Kallie Knoetze
Kallie Knoetze was a South African heavyweight boxer.-Boxing career:...
in Johannesburg. In December 1977, while back in Britain, he stopped his run of bad results with a win over American Bruce Grandham, but then lost a the rematch in March 1978. This was followed by two more defeats, both through stoppages, by Paul Sykes in May 1978 and then to Albert Syben in January 1979.
1980-1983: British Heavyweight Champion
Meade, now 30, was in poor shape as a contender for the British title. Since winning the Welsh belt, Meade had fought ten times, losing seven and six of them were stoppages within the distance. In an attempt to change his fortunes as a fighter Meade linked up with trainer Jimmy Bromfield, boxing out of Colin Breen’s gym in Sandfields, Swansea. Meade spent a year away from professional fighting, making his comeback for a defence of his Welsh title against David PearceDavid Pearce (boxer)
David 'Bomber' Pearce was a British heavyweight boxing champion.-Early years:He was born in Newport, Monmouthshire...
in early 1980. The ten round fight, held at Caerphilly
Caerphilly
Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...
, lasted until the second, with Meade winning via a technical knockout. Meade followed this with an identical second round stoppage in another Welsh title defence, this time over Cardiff fighter Winston Allen. His turn in form was rewarded with a first round eliminator to choose the next challenger for the British Heavyweight title. His opponent was Stan Dermott, a London based fighter, and their encounter was held 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....
in the capital on the 8 December 1980. This time Meade took his chance and stopped Dermott in the fifth round, leaving just one more fight for a shot at the belt. The final eliminator was held in Wales, at Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River, south Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough...
, and Meade, facing Terry Mintus from Leeds, recorded his fourth straight knockout this time in the third round.
Meade's title challenge for the British Heavyweight title was arranged for 12 October 1981 to be held at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. His opponent was Northern Ireland boxer Gordon Ferris, who had taken the belt from Billy Aird in March that year. The fight, shown live on British television, lasted less than a round. The contest began slowly, with both boxers trading searching shots at range with little contact made. With just less than thirty seconds to go before the bell Meade connected with a left jab
Jab
A jab is a type of punch used in the martial arts.Several variations of the jab exist, but every jab shares these characteristics: while in a fighting stance, the lead fist is thrown straight ahead and the arm is fully extended...
to Ferris left temple; as Ferris recovered and began moving back into position, Meade was already following up with a right hand hook
Hook (boxing)
A hook is a punch in boxing. It is performed by turning the core muscles and back, thereby swinging the arm, which is bent at an angle near or at 90 degrees, in a horizontal arc into the opponent...
. Meade's hook landed on the left side of Ferris' jaw and Ferris dropped to the canvas. The referee began the count but quickly realised that the prone Ferris would not recover and so ended the fight, making Meade the new British Heavyweight champion.
After winning the title Meade was signed up by boxing promoter Terry Lawless
Terry Lawless
Terry Lawless was an English boxing manager and trainer who worked in London, most successfully during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:...
, breaking the Meade-Bromfield partenership. Meade followed up his title victory with an encounter with American Leroy Boone, less than a month later. The ten round fight went the full distance with referee Harry Gibbs giving the decision to Boone. Meade was back on winning form when he knocked out Rick Kellar in February of the next year when the two fought at the National Exhibition Centre
National Exhibition Centre
The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...
in Birmingham. Meade's final fight was his first defence of his British title, fought at St David's Hall in Cardiff on 22 September 1983. His opponent was David Pearce, who Meade had beaten at the start of his comeback in 1980. The match was the last British title fight ever to be held over 15 rounds, as the two fighters had signed contracts before the rule change came in. The contest ended in the ninth, when Meade was stopped by a technical knockout. He never fought professionally again.
Fighting style
Meade was a big-hitting heavyweight which is attested by his knockout ratio of 18 in 20 wins, with only two contests going the full distance, and one of those being a four round contest. Meade's problem was seen as a lack of finese, as in the words of one commentator, he was a "'hit or get hit' type of boxer. Meade disliked training and this showed as he got older, often coming in at over 17 stone. When Bromfield became his manager it was on agreement that Meade would stick to his training and this paid dividenends when the fighter got down to 16 stone and 3 pounds for his title decider with Ferris.Later life
After boxing Meade found life difficult and became an alcoholic. In 2004, he was living in a hostel for the homeless and wound up in court after assaulting a police officer. His life improved after that and he spent time as a youth worker, but late in 2009 he was diagnosed with cancer and he died at Tŷ Olwen Hospice at Morriston HospitalMorriston Hospital
Morriston Hospital is a 750 bed hospital located in Cwmrhydyceirw near Morriston in Swansea, Wales. Morriston is the largest hospital in the city and county of Swansea and is operated by Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board. Alongside its role as a district general hospital, Morriston...
in Swansea on 13 March 2010.