Jock McAvoy

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Arguably Britain's greatest Middleweight,

McAvoy, should have got a pop at the World Middleweight Title mid/late 1930s against anyone of Risko, Steele or Apostoli and Co, the supposed denials claiming "he wasn't a Middleweight" anymore, took the great JHL 15 rounds for the L-HW Title, fought the Best Brit, Euro and a few Americans in validating his credentials...

He is another case of Boxing Partisanship & Corruption.

 

He was one of the most feared punchers of his day + could take a punch as well. His biggest career win was a 1st-round blowout of reigning MW titlist Babe Risko in a non-title fight, in which he floored Risko several times. Risko was reputed to have mob connections, & they used their influence to ensure that he wouldn't have to risk his title in a rematch w/ McAvoy.

Aside from that, McAvoy's career was also hindered by the fact that he was basically a natural SMW & was caught in between either sucking himself down to 160 or fighting naturally larger men @175. In other notable fights, he lost to skilled LHW boxers John Henry Lewis (in a title challenge) & Len Harvey (for Brit/Euro titles) & was stopped in 1 round by an up-n-coming Freddie Mills when he suffered a back injury, which effectively ended his long career.

 

Here's some footage of McAvoy, first vs. Frenchman Marcel Lauriot:

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Several clips of him vs. Len Harvey:

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100%

 

Realistically, I think he was one big win away.

 

Dang that Frenchman went down like he was dead.

 

Yes

 

He couldn't beat Thil at middleweight,I don't see how he would beat Steele or Apostoli.
He had 7 pounds on Risko.

 

he lost to Thil, so what?

Thil was a TOP Fighter and a Champion, fighters are allowed too & expected to lose some you know, and of course even loses have to be assessed & looked at individually.

he, McAvoy, also fought & beat L-HWs & HWs, some of them ATGs, TOP Fighters and Top Noted Fighters...

you have to look at the Whole of his Peak Career. MOST of the other Middleweights weren't doing this.

Thil was not the cream of that crop, arguably Steele was, but that doesn't mean McAvoy couldn't better them either.

You have to look at Who 'they' were fighting too... and who they 'weren't' fighting also.

McAvoy was a Great, of this there is No Argument,

was he 'the Best' Middleweight then(?), maybe, maybe not. But he certainly was One of Them!

 

Which ones? (Risko wasn't)

 

John Henry Lewis and Len Harvey.