Richard “Shrimpy” Clarke: Jamaican Boxer and Coach
Richard “Shrimpy” Clarke is a Jamaican former flyweight and super flyweight boxer from Kingston. He grew up in the city’s Studley Park Road area and began boxing as a youth, later building a career in the professional ranks and coaching in downtown Kingston.
Early Life and Beginnings
Clarke has described being drawn to boxing while growing up on Studley Park Road, where he would travel to a gym near Heroes Circle to watch fighters train before taking up the sport himself. In 2015, he told the Jamaica Gleaner that boxing had been part of his life since he was young. A Jamaica Observer profile also reported that he won four gold medals and one silver medal while representing Jamaica in amateur tournaments overseas.
Professional Career Highlights
Clarke held the Commonwealth flyweight title as well as the WBC Continental Americas flyweight and WBC International light-flyweight titles. In 2015, the Jamaica Gleaner reported that he won 27 of his 33 professional bouts.
His best-known world-title opportunity came on September 7, 1990, when he challenged WBC flyweight champion Sot Chitalada in Kingston. Chitalada stopped Clarke in the 11th round. The bout is listed in the WBC flyweight title-fight record; the Observer’s report on Clarke’s boxing recognition also notes the challenge.
Life After Boxing
Clarke continued in boxing as a trainer at Stanley Couch Gym in downtown Kingston. By 2015, he was the gym’s head coach and had served as head trainer for Donovan “Police” Campbell in the 2012 Wray & Nephew Contender series. The Gleaner reported that he had mentored four of the previous five winners of the series.
In 2013, Clarke received Jamaica’s Order of Distinction for his contribution to sport, according to the Gleaner. Two years later, Wray & Nephew presented him with its Spirit of Jamaica Award for Boxing. The recognition reflected both his professional career and his long involvement in Jamaican boxing.
Sources
Career records and reporting: boxrec.com.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
