Maurice Hope

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Maurice Hope (born December 6, 1951 in St. John's, Antigua) is a former boxer from England, who was world Jr. Middleweight champion. Hope lived in Hackney most of his life, but now lives in his place of birth, Antigua. He represented Great Britain at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.

[edit] Biography

Maurice Hope moved at a very young age to England. In England, where boxing is a popular sport, he learned how to box. Hope's aptitude towards boxing was evident early in childhood; he began to train as a very young boy.

After being a star amateur fighter, Hope made his professional debut on June 18, 1973, defeating John Smith by decision in eight rounds at Nottingham.

On Hope's second fight, held on September 25 of that year, he scored his first knockout win, a victory in three rounds over Len Gibbs in Shoreditch. Hope won his first four professional fights.

On November 21, he made his professional debut in London. What was his first fight in that city also turned out to be his first defeat, being beaten by Mickey Flynn over eight rounds by decision.

After that loss, Hope went on to win five fights in a row, four by knockout, before winning his first regional belt, when he beat Larry Paul, November 5, 1974, by a knockout in round eight of a fifteen round bout, at Wolverhampton, to win the British Jr. Middleweight title.

Hope then won three more fights, including one (a fourth round knockout of Don Cobbs on February 11, 1975 at Royal Albert Hall) which was refereed by legendary referee Harry Gibs, who also oversaw the refereeing of the Wilfredo Gómez-Carlos Zarate bout, among many other famous fights.

After these three wins, Hope went up in weight to fight for the vacant British Middleweight title, vacated by Kevin Finnegan, who, in turn, lost four times to Alan Minter. On June 10, Hope was defeated by knockout for the first time, losing to Bunny Sterling in the eighth round for that regional title.

Hope's career took on an upwards movement after the loss to Sterling. He followed that loss with a knockout in a rematch against Larry Paul on September 30 at London's Empire Pool. This was the beginning of a four knockout win streak that took him to fight Tony Poole, April 12, 1976, for the vacant British Commonwealth Jr. Middleweight title. He won the regional belt by knocking out Poole in the twelfth round, and, after one more win, he met future world Middleweight champion Vito Antuofermo, on October 10, at Rome, Italy, for the European Boxing Union's Jr. Middleweight title. Hope conquered his third regional title by knocking out Antuofermo (who would later last the full fifteen rounds in a fight with Marvin Hagler), in the fifteenth and last round. This bout was Hope's first fight abroad.

Having won three regional titles, Hope was ranked among the top Jr. Middleweight challengers by the WBC, and so, he obtained his first world title try, on March 15, 1977, against the WBC's world champion, Eckhard Dagge, in Berlin, Germany. After fifteen rounds, the fight was declared a draw (tie).

Hope regrouped with six wins in a row, before getting his second world title try. On March 4, 1979, he faced the then WBC world champion Rocky Mattioli in Sanremo, Italy. Hope became a world champion by knocking Mattioli out in the ninth round.

On September 25, he defended the WBC's world title for the first time, knocking out Mike Baker in the seventh round, at London. His second defence, on June 12, 1980, was a rematch with Mattioli. This time, they fought in London, and Hope repeated his previous win, but with an eleventh round knockout instead. On November 26, he defended his crown against well known Venezuelan contender Carlos Herrera in London, winning by a fifteen round decision.

Hope went to Las Vegas, Nevada, for his next defence, which also turned out to be his first, and, ultimately, last fight in the United States. He planned to marry his girlfriend while in Las Vegas. On May 23, 1981, at the Caesar's Palace, Hope lost the world Jr. Middleweight title to Wilfred Benitez, suffering a twelfth round knockout that later made television sports show highlights. While Benitez became the first Latin American to win world titles in three different divisions, the youngest boxer in history to do so, and the first in 40 years to achieve the accomplishment, Hope had to be hospitalised, but he recuperated and was able to marry his girlfriend before returning to England.

After one more defeat, to Luigi Minchillo, Hope permanently retired from boxing.

He continued on the public eye in England, doing various jobs, and he has enjoyed his earnings as a boxer. Furthermore with Benitez suffering from diabetes and boxing-related conditions, he has become a frequent visitor to Puerto Rico, where he and Benitez sometimes spend days talking about their old days as boxers.

Maurice Hope had a record of 30 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw in 35 bouts, with 25 wins by knockout.