Yes there was, black British fighters had to fight for the Empire (Commonweath) title until well into the 20th century. I think Dick Turpin was the first black person to win a British title.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Turpin_(boxer) 1948 was the first time a black fighter had been allowed to fight for the British title.
My dad's got one. Back then you had to win 3 title fights to get it. Winning and defending both the same thing. Interestingly I think he still receives a pension on it, a pound a week. Yes, thats £1.00. Not much but I suppose when they first came out it was decent money.
Honestly? That guy was very unlucky not to win a world title. Hows he doing? Check out post number 5 in this thread http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134285
That's a coincidence! That's him in my avatar as well against Harada. He's alright, 67 now and Living in Liverpool.
another merseyside boxer,nella tarleton ,would have been the first boxer to benefit from the lonsdale belt pension had he not died before his 50th birthday. andrew jeptha was the first black man to win a british title ,in 1907.
I thought you had to defend the belt three times to keep it? It used to be five times with three being mandatories, unless the first two were mandatories making it only four defences required. If the first two and the fourth defence were mandatories you didn't have to defend it in the third fight but would have to fight a top ten ranked opponent within three months of the second defence. If you won the title then lost in your next fight then you would have to start over again, unless you won the rematch within a three month period and only if your first defence was not a mandatory defence and the opponent was not top ten ranked. The only other way was to defend it four times in 12 months with the first and fourth being mandatories and the other two being within three months of each other and not against the same opponent, unless the opponent was a top ten ranked fighter in which case the fourth fight wasn't necessary.