Jimmy Wilde | |
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Born | William James Wilde 15 May 1892 Quakers Yard, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales |
Died | 10 March 1969 Whitchurch, Cardiff, Wales | (aged 76)
Nationality | Welsh |
Other names |
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Statistics | |
Weight(s) | Flyweight |
Height | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) |
Reach | 66 in (168 cm) |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 150 |
Wins | 137 |
Wins by KO | 98 |
Losses | 4 |
Draws | 1 |
No contests | 8 |
William James Wilde (12 May 1892 – 10 March 1969) was a Welsh professional boxer who competed from 1911 to 1923. He simultaneously held the National Sporting Clubs British flyweight title and the World Flyweight championship from 1916 to 1923.
Often regarded as the greatest British fighter of all time, he was the first official world flyweight champion and was rated by American boxing writer Nat Fleischer, as well as many other professionals and fans including former boxer, trainer, manager, and promoter, Charley "Broadway" Rose, as "the Greatest Flyweight Boxer Ever". Wilde earned various nicknames, such as "The Mighty Atom", "Ghost with the Hammer in His Hand", and "The Tylorstown Terror" due to his bludgeoning punching power. While reigning as the world's greatest flyweight, Wilde would take on bantamweights and even featherweights, and knock them out.[1]