Paul Sykes (boxer)
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Paul Sykes | |
---|---|
Born | Paul Sykes 23 May 1946 Wakefield, England |
Died | 7 March 2007 Wakefield, England | (aged 60)
Nationality | British |
Statistics | |
Weight(s) | Heavyweight[1] |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 10 |
Wins | 6 |
Wins by KO | 4 |
Losses | 3 |
Draws | 1 |
Paul Sykes (23 May 1946 – 7 March 2007) was a
. A substantial portion of Sykes' adulthood was spent inside prison, where he became notorious as one of the most difficult prisoners in the country.Sykes also has a boxing career. After his amateur career, he transitioned to professional boxing. In 1979, he engaged in a consequential match against John L. Gardner, as he competed for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles.
Early life
Born on 23 May 1946 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Paul Sykes was the child of Walter Sykes and Betty Barlow. He spent his upbringing in Lupset Council Estate, where he embraced boxing at the age of 7 as a member of the Robin Hood and Thorpe Amateur Boxing Club.[2] He began heavy drinking at a young age. At 16, he journeyed to Germany for a fight but found himself carried out of a bar the night before the bout, leading to a defeat.
His initial encounter with the criminal justice system occurred when he was just 17 years old.[3] During a prison term in 1971, he engaged in sparring sessions with Roger Tighe.[4]
While serving a five-year sentence at
Following his release from incarceration in 1973, Sykes took on the role of a lifeguard on Blackpool Beach.[8]
Boxing
Sykes has experienced alcohol abuse and mental health issues and has done petty robberies, violent crime, and serving prison. During a brief period of rehabilitation, he fought ten bouts as a professional boxer between 1978 and 1980. On his release from prison in 1977, at the age of 30, having unsuccessfully applied for a professional licence in 1973, he applied again, but the
He finally made his professional debut in February 1978, beating Keith Steve Johnson via first-round retirement. In his second fight, he challenged Neil Malpass for the BBBofC Central Area heavyweight title, losing via disqualification after he was judged to have deliberately head-butted Malpass in the seventh round. After wins over Tommy Kiely and Neville Meade, he again challenged Malpass for the Central Area title. In July 1978, the fight ended in a draw. In his sixth fight, Sykes knocked American David Wilson unconscious and continued to hit him as he draped over the ropes before the referee managed to pull him away.[9] Wilson suffered a brain haemorrhage, was put on a life support machine, and needed a month in the hospital to recover.[10][11]
In June 1979, he challenged for
His professional career ended in March 1980 when Nigerian heavyweight Ngozika Ekwelum knocked him out in the first round of a fight in Lagos, Nigeria.
It appeared that Sykes had been billed to fight Lenny McLean at London's Rainbow Theatre on 20 November 1979,[20] but this fight never happened. Lenny Mclean, in his autobiography, later explained: "A week before the off, Sykes went into a club in Wakefield where he lives, got well pissed and had a ruck with four doormen. He did them all but one of them got lucky and put a cut above his eye that took eight stitches to pull together".[21]
Sykes was jailed for five years in 1981 for taking out a contract on a union official from Blackpool.[8] While in prison, he set records for lifting weights.[22] He was the holder of the British amateur squat weightlifting record (deep knee bend, 500 lbs).[23]
Professional results
10 fights | 6 wins | 3 losses |
---|---|---|
By knockout | 4 | 2 |
By decision | 2 | 0 |
By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
Draws | 1 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Loss | 6—3—1 (4) | Ngozika Ekwelum | KO | 1 (10) | 29 March 1980 | National Stadium, Indoor Sports Hall, Lagos, Nigeria | |
9 | Loss | 6—2—1 (4) | John L. Gardner | TKO | 6 (15) | 26 June 1979 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | for British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles |
8 | Win | 6—1—1 (4) | Conrad Tooker | PTS | 10 | 13 February 1979 | Theatre Club, Wakefield | |
7 | Win | 5—1—1 (4) | Lisimo Obutobe | KO | 6 (8) | 24 October 1978 | Tower Circus, Blackpool | |
6 | Win | 4—1—1 (3) | Dave Wilson | TKO | 3 (8) | 4 September 1978 | Theatre Club, Wakefield | |
5 | Draw | 3—1—1 (3) | Neil Malpass | 10 | 18 July 1978 | Theatre Club, Wakefield | for BBBofC Central Area heavyweight title | |
4 | Win | 3—1—0 (2) | Neville Meade | TKO | 5 (8) | 15 May 1978 | Yorkshire Executive S.C., Bradford | |
3 | Win | 2—1—0 (1) | Tommy Kiely | PTS | 8 | 17 April 1978 | Norfolk Gardens Hotel, Bradford | |
2 | Loss | 1—1—0 (1) | Neil Malpass | DQ | 7 (10) | 20 March 1978 | Yorkshire Executive S.C., Bradford | for BBBofC Central Area heavyweight title |
1 | Win | 1—0—0 (1) | Keith Steve Johnson | RTD | 1 (8) | 20 February 1978 | Norfolk Gardens Hotel, Bradford |
Prison
Sykes was classified as one of the most difficult prisoners in the UK throughout the 1970s and 1980s. By 1990, he had spent 21 out of 26 years in 18 prisons.
Paul Sykes is mentioned in the book Legends by
While in prison, Sykes earned a BA degree in
Later years
Following his release from
A further documentary explored Sykes's brief post-release career as a debt collector, a business venture he dubbed the 'Last Resort Debt Collecting Agency... "threatenergrams" a speciality', and which was utilised by Wakefield businessman Dennis Flint, who sent Sykes to collect debts in Spain in addition to funding his autobiography, 'Sweet Agony'.[27]
Sykes could not control his drinking. In 2000, Wakefield Council secured a two-year
Personal life
Paul Sykes has two children; they are both serving life sentences for murder. Paul Leighton Sykes is serving a life sentence for stabbing Michael Gallagher to death in a sudden knife attack in Lupset, Wakefield, in June 2004. In 2008, 25-year-old Michael Sharp was given a minimum 27-year sentence at
Death
Sykes passed away on 7 March 2007 at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield. His cause of death was noted as pneumonia and liver cirrhosis.[31] His death certificate states his occupation as 'author (retired)', and the funeral service was held at Wakefield Baptist Church, which he regularly attended. He is buried in the Alverthorpe cemetery in Wakefield.[32]
Media
Books
Sykes released an autobiography Sweet Agony in 1988 [33] which won an Koestler Award the same year. Writer Jamie Boyle has written three books about Sykes, which have been published in 2017 and 2020.[34]
- Boyle, Jamie (2017) Sykes: Unfinished Agony, Warcry Press, ISBN 9780995531246
- Boyle, Jamie (2017) Further Agony: One More Round with Sykes, Warcry Press, ISBN 9780995531260
- Brenton, Rob (2018) ''It's...Sharks: Paul Sykes & The Straits of Johor, Warcry Press, ISBN 9781912543137
- Boyle, Jamie (2020) Final Agony: The previously untold stories of Paul Sykes Warcry Press, ISBN 9781912543342
Film
The film rights to Sykes' book were acquired in 2017 by Western Edge Pictures, and as of 2019 the film is still in development.[34][35]
References
- ^ Stated by Paul Sykes during the documentary 'Paul Sykes at Large' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fjC3zQu9ds
- ^ "Who was the infamous Wakefield 'shark puncher' Paul Sykes? – The Hoot". 7 June 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Expert at Violence". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 4 December 1990. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c "From Prison to Crack at the British Title – That's the Sykes Story". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 4 May 1979. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Mersey Boxers March on in Force to Belle Vue". Liverpool Echo. 30 March 1973. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Title Time at the Stadium". Liverpool Echo. 28 March 1973. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "It's a Fact". Liverpool Echo. 6 July 1979. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b Gavell, Tim (2017) "Book tells story of boxer jailed in Blackpool", Blackpool Gazette, 23 October 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2019
- ^ Sykes' bragging offers Brook a cautionary tale. Steve Bunce, The Independent, 20 March 2012
- ^ "US Boxer has Brain Damage After Fight". Birmingham Daily Post. 6 September 1978. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b Roger Greenwood, 1990 documentary, "Paul Sykes: At Large": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXW21DIfrfo
- ^ a b "Gardner to Solve this Con-trick". Reading Evening Post. 26 June 1979. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Gardner On Top". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 27 June 1979. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "John L Gardner v Paul Sykes – YouTube". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ "BoxRec – John L. Gardner". boxrec.com. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ "Don King With Paul Sykes And Larry Holmes Pictures | Getty Images". gettyimages.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ Sykes, Paul: Sweet Agony
- ^ The 'Sunshine' in My Life: My Own Story. January 1993.
- ^ "A Fistful of Trouble". Daily Mirror. 1 June 1979. Retrieved 8 September 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Burton, Rick. "1979". rainbowhistory.x10.mx. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ McLean, Lenny: "The Guv'nor", 2003
- ^ The Independent, 20 March 2012
- ^ boxrec.com/media/index.php/Paul_Sykes
- ^ a b c "Goodbye to a notorious character". Wakefield Express. 16 March 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Bronson, Charles and Richards, Stephen: "Legends, Volume One", published by Mirage Publishing, 2000
- ^ "Movie makers interested in shooting Paul Sykes film", Wakefield Express, 13 October 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2019
- ^ "Paul Sykes and Dennis Flint – YouTube". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ Mulchrone, Patrick (9 August 2003). "Man without specs could not read ban". The Mirror.
- ^ "Wakefield boxing legend's son jailed for ex-cop murder". Yorkshire Post. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ McInerney, Liam (19 January 2022). "Bleak legacy of boxer who became 'UK's hardest lag' with son jailed for murder". Daily Star. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ Lavery, Mark (17 March 2007). "Famous Yorkshire boxer dies at 60". Yorkshire Evening Post.
- ^ "Goodbye to a notorious character". Wakefield Express. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ISBN 1-85517-006-X
- ^ a b "Life of notorious Hull prisoner to be made into a film". Hull Daily Mail. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Life of notorious Wakefield prisoner Paul Sykes to be turned into a movie". Wakefield Express. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
External links
- Boxing record for Paul Sykes from BoxRec (registration required)