Boxing Clever in Wales – Welsh Boxing Heroes

Wales has a rich boxing history, with many of Britain’s greatest fighters originating in the Principality.

One iconic boxer from Cardiff was Jim Driscoll, a child of Irish parents, who won the Lonsdale Belt in 1910. A featherweight, Driscoll grew up in grinding poverty in the Newtown district of Cardiff.

An interesting figure in Welsh boxing is former pro and now media pundit Nicky Piper. A highly educated man, Piper is also a member of Mensa, confounding the stereotype about punch-drunk fighters being barely articulate people.

More recently, Joe Calzaghe, the son of a Sardinian father and Welsh mother, has emerged as one of Welsh boxing’s true heroes. He retired in 2009, having finished his career with no professional defeats. His record of 46 bouts, no defeats and 32 wins by knockout is one of which any professional fighter would be very proud.