John Conteh

John Conteh MBE
Conteh c. 1973
Born	(1951-05-27) 27 May 1951 Toxteth, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Nationality	British
Statistics
Weight(s)	Light-heavyweight Cruiserweight Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Reach	76 in (193 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	39
Wins	34
Wins by KO	24
Losses	4
Draws	1
Medal record Representing England British Commonwealth Games 1970 Edinburgh Middleweight

John Anthony Conteh, MBE (born 27 May 1951) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980. He held the WBC light-heavyweight title from 1974 to 1977, 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, Lancashire (now Merseyside) to an Irish mother and Sierra Leonean father, Conteh began boxing at the age of 10 at a boxing club in Kirkby that was a training ground for fellow British amateurs Joey Singleton and Tucker Hetherington. 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 mandatory 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 controversial.

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 (1973), The Stud (1978) and Tank Malling (1989), 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 (MBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to boxing.

Conteh also appeared in a celebrity episode of The Chase in 2024.

Professional boxing record

39 fights	34 wins	4 losses
By knockout	24	1
By decision	10	3
Draws	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
39	Win	34–4–1	James Dixon	TKO	5 (10), 2:49	31 May 1980	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, England
38	Loss	33–4–1	Matthew Saad Muhammad	TKO	4 (15), 2:27	29 Mar 1980	Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	For WBC and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
37	Loss	33–3–1	Matthew Saad Muhammad	UD	15	18 Aug 1979	Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	For WBC light-heavyweight title
36	Win	33–2–1	Ivy Brown	PTS	10	4 Jun 1979	Liverpool, England
35	Draw	32–2–1	Jesse Burnett	PTS	10	19 Apr 1979	Hilton on Park Lane, London, England
34	Win	32–2	Leonardo Rodgers	KO	7 (10), 1:15	26 Sep 1978	Empire Pool, London, England
33	Loss	31–2	Mate Parlov	SD	15	17 Jun 1978	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia	For WBC light-heavyweight title
32	Win	31–1	Joe Cokes	PTS	10	7 Feb 1978	Michael Sobell Sports Centre, London, England
31	Win	30–1	Len Hutchins	TKO	3 (15), 1:05	5 Mar 1977	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, England	Retained WBC light-heavyweight title
30	Win	29–1	Yaqui López	UD	15	9 Oct 1976	Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark	Retained WBC light-heavyweight title
29	Win	28–1	Willie Taylor	UD	10	16 Aug 1975	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania, US
28	Win	27–1	Lonnie Bennett	TKO	5 (15), 1:10	11 Mar 1975	Empire Pool, London, England	Retained WBC light-heavyweight title
27	Win	26–1	Jorge Ahumada	PTS	15	1 Oct 1974	Empire Pool, London, England	Won vacant WBC light-heavyweight title
26	Win	25–1	Chris Finnegan	TKO	6 (15)	21 May 1974	Empire Pool, London, England	Retained European, British, and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles
25	Win	24–1	Tom Bogs	RTD	6 (15)	12 Mar 1974	Empire Pool, London, England	Retained European light-heavyweight title
24	Win	23–1	Les Stevens	PTS	10	12 Feb 1974	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
23	Win	22–1	Fred Lewis	TKO	3 (10)	14 Dec 1973	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, England
22	Win	21–1	Baby Boy Rolle	PTS	15	23 Oct 1973	National Ice Centre, Nottingham, England	Retained Commonwealth light-heavyweight title
21	Win	20–1	Vicente Rondón	TKO	9 (10)	10 Sep 1973	Empire Pool, London, England
20	Win	19–1	Chris Finnegan	PTS	15	22 May 1973	Empire Pool, London, England	Retained European light-heavyweight title; Won British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles
19	Win	18–1	Rüdiger Schmidtke	TKO	12 (15), 2:28	13 Mar 1973	Empire Pool, London, England	Won European light-heavyweight title
18	Win	17–1	Terry Daniels	TKO	7 (10)	14 Feb 1973	Las Vegas Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada, US
17	Win	16–1	Dave Matthews	PTS	10	15 Jan 1973	Ice Stadium, Nottingham, England
16	Win	15–1	Sam McGill	TKO	9 (10)	5 Dec 1972	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
15	Win	14–1	John Hudgins	KO	3 (10), 1:30	14 Nov 1972	Empire Pool, London, England
14	Win	13–1	Bill Drover	KO	7 (10), 2:24	31 Oct 1972	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
13	Win	12–1	Ferenc Kristofcsak	TKO	1 (8)	10 Oct 1972	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
12	Loss	11–1	Eddie Duncan	PTS	10	26 Sep 1972	Empire Pool, London, England
11	Win	11–0	Johnny Mac	TKO	2 (8)	19 Jul 1972	Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
10	Win	10–0	Billy Aird	TKO	8 (8)	6 Jun 1972	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
9	Win	9–0	Joe Gholston	TKO	5 (8)	25 Apr 1972	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
8	Win	8–0	Ruben Figueroa	KO	2 (8)	28 Mar 1972	Empire Pool, London, England
7	Win	7–0	Larry Sykes	KO	1 (8)	15 Feb 1972	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
6	Win	6–0	Wilhelm Janco	TKO	1 (8)	25 Jan 1972	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
5	Win	5–0	Emilio Okee	TKO	5 (8)	7 Dec 1971	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
4	Win	4–0	Tony Burwell	PTS	8	24 Nov 1971	National Ice Centre, Nottingham, England
3	Win	3–0	Frank Bullard	TKO	2 (10)	16 Nov 1971	Empire Pool, London, England
2	Win	2–0	Pierre Minier	TKO	5 (8)	8 Nov 1971	Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England
1	Win	1–0	Okacha Boubekeur	KO	1 (8)	18 Oct 1971	Hotel Café Royal, London, England

External links

• Boxing record for John Conteh from BoxRec (registration required)