22 Facts About Cliff Curvis

Cliff Curvis, was a champion welterweight boxer from Swansea, Wales.

Cliff Curvis was one of four brothers who boxed, most notably British and Commonwealth champion Brian Cliff Curvis.

Cliff Curvis was born in Swansea in 1927 to Dai Nancurvis.

Cliff Curvis's father had been a bantamweight fighter during his time in the British Forces, and had set up a gym in Swansea in which Curvis trained as a youth.

Cliff Curvis turned professional in 1944 at the age of 16 weighing in at flyweight.

Cliff Curvis's first fight was a second-round knockout over local fighter Bryn Collins.

Cliff Curvis lost only one of his first 19 fights, and that came from a disqualifaction against Frankie Williams.

Cliff Curvis had been finding it difficult to making the weight at featherweight, and after losing to Phillips he moved up to lightweight.

Cliff Curvis was reported as being 'faster throughout' and came close to knocking his opponent out before James' team threw in the towel in the seventh.

Cliff Curvis's opponent was Scottish boxer Harry Hughes and the two faced each other at the Drill Hall in Abergavenny.

Again Cliff Curvis reacted to an eliminator loss by moving up the weight scale to welterweight.

Cliff Curvis continued his progression and in the summer of 1950 he won his first title eliminator, beating Gwn Williams to set up a shot at the British belt.

On 13 September 1950 Cliff Curvis faced Eddie Thomas for the British welterweight title.

Rattray lasted only until the second when Cliff Curvis won by knockout.

Cliff Curvis followed this up with a fight against Wally Thom in July 1952, the final eliminator for the British welterweight belt.

Thom went on to beat Eddie Thomas, capturing both the British and Commonwealth welterweight titles, and on 24 July 1952 Cliff Curvis was given his first shot at a British belt when he was lined up to challenge Thom.

Cliff Curvis stopped Thom in the ninth via knockout, becoming British and European welterweight champion.

Cliff Curvis lost the European belt to South African Gerald Dreyer on 8 December 1952.

The match, held in the newly built Rand Stadium in Johannesburg, resulted in Cliff Curvis losing his Commonwealth belt.

Cliff Curvis had Dreyer down in the sixth, but he survived a 'long count' which lasted as long as sixteen seconds; this was followed by Curvis breaking his left hand and without his main attack he was forced to box defensively for the rest of the fight.

Cliff Curvis's final fight was against Frenchman Gilbert Lavoine for the vacant EBU European title.

Cliff Curvis was disqualified in the tenth and never fought professionally again.