I hope this is a genuine mistake and not another example of the "Bert Gilroy syndrome". It is all over the internet that Denis Haugh became the British light-heavyweight champion in1913 when he beat Sid Ellis. It is also claimed that he defended his title against Hawker Wilson an Dan Voyles. I have edited this nonsense out of his Wikipedia page today but it still shows up on Cyberboxingzone and a host of other sites. Denis Haugh was never the British champion. He boxed for the vacant title in 1914 losing to Dick Smith. He had beaten Smith the previous year but not in a title bout. His so-called title winning affair against Ellis was a ten rounder and Ellis was nowhere near title standard. Why is it that people feel the need to exaggerate the careers of these old timers? It merely muddies the water and tarnishes the memory of what they actually achieved. Haugh was a very good fighter but he was no British champion.
This feels like an oxymoron. I'm afraid I know next to nothing about Haugh other than seeing his name while Boxrecing.
yeah, strange that Ellis bit. There was more validity in a claim for the first Smith fight, though not NSC, if I remember correctly, though it probably was a bad decision anyway
Hi Matt, Good to see you on here. It wasn't really a question of having a valid claim in 1913. The NSC and the Lonsdale Belts had put a stop to that from 1909 onwards. The fact that he had beaten Smith earlier in 1914 at the NSC put him in a good position for a title chance against Smith when the NSC arranged it, especially as the NSC seemed keen that Smith should be fighting for their title. Haugh got that chance, again in 1914, and he lost. Smith went into his title contest with a record of 2 contests, won one and lost one (the bout against Haugh). Surely, the poorest record coming into a British title contest that there has ever been. Smith was the 1912 and 1913 ABA heavyweight champion, however, so he did have something about him. The return between Smith and Haugh was was the first ever British light-heavyweight contest and, in my view, neither boxer was particularly deserving of the opportunity. There were better light-heavies around at the time. The reason I started this thread is because I was annoyed to see that someone was trying to invent history by 'making' Haugh into a British title holder when he absolutely wasn't. What is is with people these days? They can't seem to respect a man for what he actually achieved without trying to make him appear better than he was. I suspect a family member might be behind it. The Sid Ellis contest was a 'nothing' bout, if I can be blunt, and had no bearing on the 'then' British light-heavyweight situation at all. A ten rounder on an otherwise uneventful and unimportant Monday night at the NSC.
Extracts from the Nenagh Guardian, the hometown of Haugh bear you out; “He met Dick Smith (an ex-amateur heavy-weight champion of England) at the National Sporting Club in London on Monday, January 19th in a contest of 15 rounds for £175. The battle went the full distance, and after a splendid struggle, Haugh was declared the winner on points." “The newspapers in London are not quite giving Denis the credit he undoubtedly deserved, although all pay tribute to his wonderful pluck and gameness. It was, indeed, a great victory and leaves Tipperary's champion at the top of the tree in his profession. He has numerous offers of matches from all parts and shortly will be seen again in the ring, probably against Packey Mahoney for the Irish heavyweight championship, while it is quite on the cards that he may meet Smith again over 20 rounds ."
To follow on from mattdonnellon above, The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Boxing (at least the 1989 version I was browsing by boxing historian Gilbert Odd, page 150) has Dennis Haugh down as the first British light-heavyweight boxing champion in 1913, although it also recognises that Dick Smith was the first to get title recognition. To further add, I contacted the BBBofC out of curiosity about this and got a reply from Wynford Jones, another boxing historian and an ex-boxing referee who deals with their requests re boxers of the past. He confirmed that Dennis Haugh did indeed claim the British light-heavyweight championship during 1913/14. However, he also acknowledges that Dennis was not given title recognition for it.
He was absolutely, completely and most definitely NOT the British champion and nor did he have a valid claim to be. I know Wynford very well and he is wrong on this. I can provide a wealth of documentary evidence regarding this matter if necessary.
