Despite his Spanish forename of Jaime (Jaume in Mallorcan), Oliver was actually known as “Jim”. He was a product of Jaume Ferrer’s Gimnasio Baleares and in 1948 Jim Oliver became the first Mallorcan boxer to compete at the Olympics. His Olympic career was brief, lasting less than two rounds of his only contest. He turned professional after the Games, but that new career was also brief, and without success, so he turned to wrestling and in 1951, after only one year in his new sport, he beat Jose “Iron Man” Tarres in Barcelona to become the European mid-heavyweight champion. He didn’t have the best of temperaments and in 1952 he attacked a referee which resulted in the official receiving six broken teeth. Oliver was banned from wrestling in Spain for a year but continued fighting in Europe, mostly in London and Paris. He eventually retired in 1964 and became a successful entrepreneur, businessman and aviator. He also had acting roles in movies that featured wrestling. His brother Toni was also a wrestler and was at one time the European light-heavyweight champion. In 2016 Youba Sissokho became only the second Mallorcan boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Spain