1. Joe Bygraves immigrated to Britain as a youth but did not take British citizenship until the end of his fighting career in 1967.
15 Facts About Joe Bygraves
1. 2.
Joe Bygraves was born into a large family of 11 siblings, in Kingston, Jamaica in 1931.
3.
Joe Bygraves immigrated to Britain at the age of 15 and settled in Liverpool.
4.
Joe Bygraves began his amateur career at the age of 17 first as a light heavyweight and then moving up to the heavyweight division.
5.
Joe Bygraves was successful at both weights, winning amateur county titles.
6.
Joe Bygraves turned professional in 1953, managed by Johnny Campbell, his first paid encounter was against Don Maxwell on 12 February.
7.
Joe Bygraves's final fight of 1954 was a loss by points decision to Polly Smith, a fighter he had beaten just two months prior.
8.
Joe Bygraves began 1955 in the same way he ended 1954, with a loss.
9.
Joe Bygraves followed this with a string of four wins, including a victory over Tongan Kitione Lave, and his first fight outside the United Kingdom, a technical knockout of Hugo Salfeld in Germany.
10.
Joe Bygraves then travelled to Italy, for a string of three fights.
11.
Joe Bygraves lost the first to European Boxing Champion Franco Cavicchi when he was disqualified in the eighth round, but then took two victories when he beat Aldo Pellegrini in Milan and Uber Bacilieri in Bologna.
12.
On 24 February 1956, Joe Bygraves travelled to Sweden to face the then unbeaten Ingemar Johansson.
13.
Two months later, Joe Bygraves was back in a British ring, facing ex-British heavyweight champion Jack Gardner, whom he stopped in the second round.
14.
Joe Bygraves lost his next fight to American Wayne Bethea, and this was followed by a win over another ex-British Heavyweight champion, Johnny Williams.
15.
Joe Bygraves's last recorded professional bout was against Hector Eduardo Corletti on 20 March 1967.