Dave Needham: Commonwealth Games Gold and British Titles

English boxer Dave Needham won flyweight gold at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh before building a professional career that included British championship success. His progress from Nottingham’s amateur boxing scene to major titles connects two distinct stages of his career.

Nottingham roots and amateur titles

Needham was born in Nottingham in 1951 and trained at the Nottingham Boxing School in Radford. He won the Amateur Boxing Association flyweight championship in both 1969 and 1970, giving him consecutive national titles before his Commonwealth breakthrough.

Representing England in Edinburgh, he finished as the flyweight gold medalist. England Boxing’s results place him alongside middleweight champion John Conteh as one of England’s two boxing gold medalists at the 1970 Games. The achievement belonged to amateur competition, rather than a professional Commonwealth championship.

Moving into the professional ranks

Needham subsequently competed as a professional and became British bantamweight champion at Nottingham’s former ice rink on December 10, 1974. He later added the British featherweight title, defeating Alan Richardson on points. His championship record therefore extended beyond the flyweight division in which he had first made his name.

Known as “The Artful Dodger,” Needham is part of Nottingham’s long boxing history. The sequence of his achievements is especially useful when following that history: consecutive ABA crowns came first, Commonwealth Games gold followed, and British professional titles came later. Keeping those competitions distinct gives a clearer picture of the range of his success.

England Boxing’s Commonwealth Games records confirm the medal and division; BoxRec documents his professional career. Sources: Nottingham boxing history; [1] [2]

Sources

Tags

Boxing, Boxing History