Charlie Magri
He may have held the WBC belt for little over six months, but as he is fond of saying: "Winning that world title has taken me a long way through life."
THE Victoria pub in Bow is a shrine to the noble art. Framed boxing photographs adorn the walls with images of everyone from Muhammad Ali to Naseem Hamed.
Yet pride of place goes to a large poster advertising a boxing bill from Wembley in March 1983 - a night when the pub's landlord, Charlie Magri, defeated Eleoncio Mercedes to become WBC flyweight champion. Now 50, Magri is slightly rounder than we remember but he remains immensely proud of his accomplishments. For a few years, at least, he regularly packed out the top London venues and made flyweight boxing sexy.
Born in the North African city of Tunis - Magri's parents were Tunisian - the future world champion moved to London's East End as a youngster.
A Millwall youth footballer, he was instantly turned on to the blood and guts of boxing and was an outstanding amateur, winning four ABA titles and competing for Great Britain in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Confident and cocky, Magri claims he often beat his opponents before he got into the ring. He recalls one such psychological battle at the ABA semis against Dave George. "They were all raving about this Welshman," recalls Magri. "We were waiting to go into the arena at Belle Vue and I said to him ‘You can tell your grandchildren you were knocked out by Charlie Magri'. "He just froze - you could see it in his face. He was beaten before we entered the ring." Sadly, Charlie underperformed in Montreal, exiting in the first round of the competition. In the wake of the disappointment he contemplated retirement, but Terry Lawless turned his head and offered him the chance to turn pro in 1977.
"When I first met Lawless, he said I'll be capable of winning a British title in three fights and was I ready for 15 three-minute rounds for the title? "I turned around and said, cheeky as anything, ‘How much do I get for that'?" Magri did it, too, beating Dave Smith in seven rounds at the Albert Hall to become British champion just three fights into his career. A shortage of real British talent at flyweight meant Charlie quickly had to seek overseas opposition. He lifted the European title in 1979 and after four defences Lawless finally delivered him the world title chance. Amid a highly-charged atmosphere at Wembley, there was little doubt as to the outcome. Magri dominated. "Mercedes was a really classy fighter, but I got right in to him straight away," says Magri. "There was no one left in East London - everyone had come to see me. They was no way I was going to be beaten that night. I was on such a high." In round seven the bout was stopped because of excessive cuts and Magri crowned. That's how the moniker "Champagne Charlie" stuck. Overnight, he became one the biggest sports stars in the country. His story was told on TV's This is Your Life and he enjoyed the trappings of fame and money.
Sadly, in his first defence back at Wembley he was stopped in six rounds by Filipino Frank Cedeno in a one-sided fight. The defeat still frustrates Magri because he believes he wasn't ready. "I discovered later I had a blind ball in my ear, a swelling inside the eardrum," he explains. "I went to see a Harley Street doctor after the fight and he told me.
"Cedeno was a southpaw and could punch a bit. But I didn't feel myself that night. I just didn't feel up for it." He bounced back to regain the vacant European title from Franco Cherchi of Italy, but his third and final ‘world' title bout, in 1985 at the Alexandra Palace, also ended in defeat by classy Thai Sot Chitalada. Magri rates Chitalada as one of his two finest opponents along with Argentina's future world flyweight champion Santos Laciar, whom he beat on points in a non-title 10-rounder at the Albert Hall in 1980. His eight-year professional career ended in 1986, aged 29, when future IBF flyweight champion Duke McKenzie stopped him in five rounds.
"I didn't think I'd ever get beaten by Duke," admits Magri. "But after I lost I knew it was the end and I got out as quickly as possible. I only did it [boxing] for the money." Retirement from the fight game has generally been kind to Magri. Two years before hanging up his gloves he set up Magri Sports on the Bethnal Green Road, which he ran until five years ago when he sold the premises to his daughter Emma, who now runs a beauty salon on the site.
He also has a son, Charlie Jnr, to his ex-wife and now happily shares the flat above the pub with his partner Tina, whom he has known since primary school.
He enjoyed a five-year stint as a trainer but is now landlord at The Victoria, where he puts on the occasional boxing night. Magri also acts as vice-president of the ex-London Boxers Association.
"It's amazing. Winning that world title has taken me a long way through life."
