BoxRec

We keep seeing stories of successful boxers who come from humble beginnings and broken families etc. But how many well known fighters have come from a more privileged upbringing?

I know you have some boxers with education degrees such as Cleverly and Macklin, but were their lives prior to that humble, or did they come from the middle classes?

I know boxing is more often seen as a poor mans sport, and perceived as a sport best suited for people who have experienced some sort of hardship, or for those who found boxing as a form of discipline to keep them out of trouble.

So excluding the likes of Chavez Jr who came from riches, but still had a boxing family, what other successful fighters are there out there who came from a silver spoon background?

James Hare was pretty comfortable, his dad was a builder, Tony Jeffries dad is wealthy, Dereck Chisora comes from a wealthy family, Mickey Murray from Doncaster had a wealthy dad and has become very wealthy - I think his sons have boxed amateur, I don't think Jimmy Tibbs was short of cash and his son, Mark boxed and was good, Mark Rowe had a wealthy dad -a pig farmer. I think I remember reading that Anthony Farnell's parents had a sucessful business and were able to support him financially until his career kicked off properly.

Gene Tunney used to knock about with Ernest Hemmingway.

palooka wrote:James Hare was pretty comfortable, his dad was a builder, Tony Jeffries dad is wealthy, Dereck Chisora comes from a wealthy family, Mickey Murray from Doncaster had a wealthy dad and has become very wealthy - I think his sons have boxed amateur, I don't think Jimmy Tibbs was short of cash and his son, Mark boxed and was good, Mark Rowe had a wealthy dad -a pig farmer. I think I remember reading that Anthony Farnell's parents had a sucessful business and were able to support him financially until his career kicked off properly.

There is a difference though between not struggling for cash and being a Yuppie. Arnie's Dad ran a pub, Tibbs was in prison most of Mark's childhood, Jefferies is North East working class and Hare called himself "Lord of the manor" as a p!ss take!

mickey1975 wrote:

palooka wrote:James Hare was pretty comfortable, his dad was a builder, Tony Jeffries dad is wealthy, Dereck Chisora comes from a wealthy family, Mickey Murray from Doncaster had a wealthy dad and has become very wealthy - I think his sons have boxed amateur, I don't think Jimmy Tibbs was short of cash and his son, Mark boxed and was good, Mark Rowe had a wealthy dad -a pig farmer. I think I remember reading that Anthony Farnell's parents had a sucessful business and were able to support him financially until his career kicked off properly.

There is a difference though between not struggling for cash and being a Yuppie. Arnie's Dad ran a pub, Tibbs was in prison most of Mark's childhood, Jefferies is North East working class and Hare called himself "Lord of the manor" as a p!ss take!

I agree that there is a difference but as I've always struggled for cash I imagined that they were pretty close; most of the people that I know who boxed were from precarious homes where the parents struggled - free school uniforms and meals etc.

I thought Tibbs had a scrap yard and had other interests, there are men who are inside and are still able to provide well (materially) for their families, Jefferies dad may have working class origins but if you are successful in business your social class does change, regardless if your accent remains the same, I understand that Hare took the mickey out of himself and it came about because his dad made a success of himself and bought the biggest house in Dewsbury.

Chris Eubank JR is probably one of the closest. Privately educated and with a Dad who THOUGHT he was upper class. He was a very posh young man on At Home With The Eubanks.

palooka wrote:

mickey1975 wrote:

palooka wrote:James Hare was pretty comfortable, his dad was a builder, Tony Jeffries dad is wealthy, Dereck Chisora comes from a wealthy family, Mickey Murray from Doncaster had a wealthy dad and has become very wealthy - I think his sons have boxed amateur, I don't think Jimmy Tibbs was short of cash and his son, Mark boxed and was good, Mark Rowe had a wealthy dad -a pig farmer. I think I remember reading that Anthony Farnell's parents had a sucessful business and were able to support him financially until his career kicked off properly.

There is a difference though between not struggling for cash and being a Yuppie. Arnie's Dad ran a pub, Tibbs was in prison most of Mark's childhood, Jefferies is North East working class and Hare called himself "Lord of the manor" as a p!ss take!

I agree that there is a difference but as I've always struggled for cash I imagined that they were pretty close; most of the people that I know who boxed were from precarious homes where the parents struggled - free school uniforms and meals etc.

I thought Tibbs had a scrap yard and had other interests, there are men who are inside and are still able to provide well (materially) for their families, Jefferies dad may have working class origins but if you are successful in business your social class does change, regardless if your accent remains the same, I understand that Hare took the mickey out of himself and it came about because his dad made a success of himself and bought the biggest house in Dewsbury.

Biggest house in robertown up road from me in peasants slum

I went to a grammar school, university and my dad was a headmaster, I believe Robert Harper was privately educated

Frank Buglioni was quite well off before he took up boxing full-time.

The Law wrote:Frank Buglioni was quite well off before he took up boxing full-time.

What was his background/Parents then?

Barrera's family were moderately well to do, AFAIK. Pretty sure I read somewhere that part of the Barrera-Morales rivalry was because Morales' family were dirt-poor and he resented that Barrera had chosen to box when he didn't have to, and Morales had had no choice.

@matt___s wrote:Barrera's family were moderately well to do, AFAIK. Pretty sure I read somewhere that part of the Barrera-Morales rivalry was because Morales' family were dirt-poor and he resented that Barrera had chosen to box when he didn't have to, and Morales had had no choice.

Yeah I remember that too! Wasnt Barrera a trained lawyer aswell?

columbo wrote:

The Law wrote:Frank Buglioni was quite well off before he took up boxing full-time.

What was his background/Parents then?

His father owns a building surveying company. Frank was working as a surveyor for his dad's company and was aiming to get fully qualified in university but was selected by Team GB which halted his education. He plans on returning to university to complete his degree when his boxing career ends.

A lot of his fans/friends are also well off (I had a good chat with them on his debut) and they booked the whole top floor of a casino after his most recent fight.

The Law wrote:

columbo wrote:

The Law wrote:Frank Buglioni was quite well off before he took up boxing full-time.

What was his background/Parents then?

His father owns a building surveying company. Frank was working as a surveyor for his dad's company and was aiming to get fully qualified in university but was selected by Team GB which halted his education. He plans on returning to university to complete his degree when his boxing career ends.

A lot of his fans/friends are also well off (I had a good chat with them on his debut) and they booked the whole top floor of a casino after his most recent fight.

He sells a lot of VIP ringside as well. I bet Fwank f!cking loves him. Have you seen his training t shirts with all his sponsors on as well? There's barely room for his name!

mickey1975 wrote:

The Law wrote:

columbo wrote: What was his background/Parents then?

His father owns a building surveying company. Frank was working as a surveyor for his dad's company and was aiming to get fully qualified in university but was selected by Team GB which halted his education. He plans on returning to university to complete his degree when his boxing career ends.

A lot of his fans/friends are also well off (I had a good chat with them on his debut) and they booked the whole top floor of a casino after his most recent fight.

He sells a lot of VIP ringside as well. I bet Fwank f!cking loves him. Have you seen his training t shirts with all his sponsors on as well? There's barely room for his name!

Indeed, a lot of his sponsors are friends who own companies. Bunny is very clever with his signings. Georgie Kean was also a good signing and sells a ridiculous amount of tickets.

mickey1975 wrote:

The Law wrote:

columbo wrote: What was his background/Parents then?

His father owns a building surveying company. Frank was working as a surveyor for his dad's company and was aiming to get fully qualified in university but was selected by Team GB which halted his education. He plans on returning to university to complete his degree when his boxing career ends.

A lot of his fans/friends are also well off (I had a good chat with them on his debut) and they booked the whole top floor of a casino after his most recent fight.

He sells a lot of VIP ringside as well. I bet Fwank f!cking loves him. Have you seen his training t shirts with all his sponsors on as well? There's barely room for his name!

Indeed, a lot of his sponsors are friends who own companies. Bunny is very clever with his signings. Georgie Kean was also a good signing and sells a ridiculous amount of tickets.[/quote]

Can anyone elaborate on why these guys are such big ticket sellers?! Im genuinely perplexed by it! I mean unless they both have 900 odd friends which is possible but not exactly the norm.

I think background is overrated, money can't buy talent.

I've been mentioning what Fwank is doing for a while. London ticket sellers are his priority and Chisora, Clev and Gavin are nominal main events. I bet he would love Groves back.

Carlos Monzón had twelve siblings. When Monzón was six years old, his family upgraded to Barranquitas Oeste, a shithole shanty town in Santa Fe. He quit school in third grade to work different jobs to help his family, such as shoe shiner, paper boy and milk man. When he got married he couldn't afford to pay for the paper for the licence aged 20.

Yuppie bastard.

Coco wrote:I went to a grammar school, university and my dad was a headmaster, I believe Robert Harper was privately educated

Wernt you also a banker? Yes I said banker.

banjo wrote:I think background is overrated, money can't buy talent.

Development of talent is invariably determined by your environment, so background is a huge, huge part of it..

Kahut is a solicitor. Glad he has something to fall back on.

Herbie hide went to private school, don't know his backstory though.

Nicky Piper - I'm not sure about his education, but he is known for his intelligence & high IQ.

Syntax Error wrote:Nicky Piper - I'm not sure about his education, but he is known for his intelligence & high IQ.

Fuck knows why

Also intelligence and being a yuppie certainly don't go hand in hand.

Chris Eubank is a close to a yuppie as you're gonna find I reckon