Alan Minter
August 1951 - September 2020
Former British boxing hero Alan Minter has died at the age of 69, following a long battle with cancer.
Minter, who was the undisputed world middleweight champion during the 1980s, passed away on Wednesday, September 9 in a Guildford hospital.
The Crawley- born fighter retired from the ring in 1981 with a record of 39 wins and nine defeats, having previously won an Olympic bronze medal as an amateur in 1972. In the mid1970s he beat fellow Olympic champion Chris Finnegan three times, each time on points.
He was crowned middleweight champion of the world when he outpointed Vito Antuofermo in Las Vegas in March 1980 and he proved he was the ‘ best on the planet’ at this weight level by beating Antuofermo in a rematch just three months later.
However, when he was stopped by ‘ Marvellous’ Marvin Hagler in September 1980, Minter also lost his British, European and World championship titles and thereafter Minter, nicknamed ‘ Boom Boom’ had just three more fights before a defeat against Tony Sibson saw him take off his gloves at the age of 29.
Tributes poured in from fans following the news of his death. One read: “RIP Champ” while another said: “RIP, a boxing great” while a third stated “You took British boxing a step forward. RIP ‘ Boom Boom.’”
Minter’s son Ross said: "Dad was extremely proud of being undisputed world champion and I was always very proud when I was out with him to see how popular he was with people long after he had retired. I’ll miss him greatly."