Dai Dower
British boxer (1933-2016)
David William "Dai" Dower MBE (20 June 1933 – 1 August 2016), was a Welsh professional boxer who was a British, Empire and European Flyweight boxing champion, and is considered by fans and critics alike as one of the most successful Welsh boxers of all time.
Amateur career
After becoming the 1952 Amateur Boxing Association British flyweight champion, when boxing out of the Roath Youth ABC Dower was selected for the team of Great Britain at the 1952 Summer Olympics in the boxing squad, recording victories over Abdelamid Boutefnouchet of France (3–0) and Leslie Donovan Perera Handunge of Ceylon (3–0) before finally losing to Soviet boxer Anatoli Bulakov, the holder of the Russian and European titles, 1–2.
Professional career
While continuing to work as a coal miner at Abercynon colliery, in 1953 Dower turned professional and he made his professional debut at Maindy Arena in Cardiff against Vernon John. Dower won by technical knockout. Dower then beat Ron Hughes in two rounds before he was taken the distance for the first time, opposing the vastly more experienced Preston fighter Colin Clitheroe. Clitheroe had lost three of twenty two fights, mostly at bantamweight, but lost to Dower by points in a six-round bout. With another four wins to his name, including two over Jimmy Roche, Dower faced Clitheroe again, this time stopping him in round five.
On 23 March 1954, with 14 straight professional wins, Dower faced current British Flyweight Champion Terry Allen in a non-title fight at 8st 2lbs. Scheduled for a ten-round fight at Earls Court Arena in London, Dower stopped Allen in the second.
With 20 successful bouts as a professional boxer under his belt Dower was given his first chance at a title fight.
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