Henry Carpenter

Henry Carpenter was beaten in the 1947 ABA flyweight final by Scotland’s Jim Clinton, the uncle of the British, European, and WBO World flyweight champion Pat Clinton. Shortly after the final, Carpenter made his Great Britain début, in the match against Switzerland at Zürich. The following year he won the ABA title and also selected for the London Olympics. Regarded as one of the British favourites to win a medal, the Peckham hairbrush manufacturer had lost just six of his previous 40 bouts going into the Olympics. Sadly, the boxing competition was marred by some bad judging and several officials were expelled from the Games. Carpenter fell foul of such judging when he lost the points decision in his bout to Belgium’s Alex Bollaert. The Briton clearly outfought his opponent, and brought him to a standstill in the final round. Being the true sportsman that he was, Carpenter accepted the decision and simply said: “I thought I had won.”

A stylish boxer, Carpenter turned professional after the Olympics and made his début on 9 November 1948. He won 45 of his 49 professional bouts. He never fought for a Championship Belt and had his last fight at Earl’s Court in October 1953, losing on points to Welshman Dai Dower, who later became the British and European flyweight champion.