Charlie Magri: Unraveling the Life of a Boxing Legend
Charlie Magri was a British flyweight boxer, born in Tunisia to a Maltese family and raised in London. He won the Amateur Boxing Association flyweight title in 1975, earned bronze at that year’s European Championships, and represented Great Britain at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He turned professional the following year.
British and European titles
Magri won the British flyweight title in only his third professional fight in December 1977. In May 1979, he defeated Franco Udella on points to take the European title. His busy, aggressive style made him a popular attraction at London venues including Wembley Arena and the Royal Albert Hall, as boxing writer Steve Bunce later recalled in Boxing News.
WBC world champion
On March 15, 1983, Magri fought Eleoncio Mercedes at Wembley for the WBC and lineal flyweight championships. The bout was stopped in the seventh round because of cuts, giving Magri the world titles. He lost them six months later when Frank Cedeno’s corner-stoppage victory ended their September contest in the sixth round.
Later career
Magri regained the European flyweight title in August 1984 with a win over Franco Cherchi in Italy. In February 1985, he challenged Sot Chitalada for the WBC title, but his corner retired him after the fourth round. His final fight came in May 1986, when Duke McKenzie stopped him in the fifth round. Magri finished with 30 wins and five losses, according to the record cited by Boxing News.
Sources
- Team GB: Charlie Magri
- This Is Your Life: Charlie Magri biography
- Boxing News: career overview and later bouts
- BoxRec: Charlie Magri professional record
Career records and reporting: boxrec.com.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
