Paul Sykes (May 23, 1946 - March 7, 2007) is a British heavyweight, weightlifter, writer, prisoner and debt collector.
Video Paul Sykes (boxer)
Biography
Early life
Sykes was born May 23, 1946 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire to Walter Sykes and Betty Barlow. He grew up in the real board of Lupset and the box at Robin Hood and Thorpe Amateur Boxing Club. He is also known to have boxed in White Rose Boxing Club, Thornes Wharfe, Wakefield where, among others, he found John Taylor.
Sykes showed considerable talent at an early age which, with its size and ability to move, made it very tough. However, he also began to drink a lot at a young age. When he was 16 years old he went to Germany to fight and the night before was done bar. Not surprisingly, he lost.
Boxing career
The adult life of Sykes is peppered with alcohol abuse, small robbery, violent crime and imprisonment. Nevertheless, during a brief period of rehabilitation, he fought ten fights as a professional boxer between 1978 and 1980. In his sixth fight, Sykes made David Wilson America unconscious and continued to beat him endlessly as he unleashed the rope, before the referee arranged to pull him off. Wilson used life support machines and needed a month in the hospital to recover
Sykes's career peaked in June 1979 when he lost the British and Commonwealth title fight with John L. Gardner at Wembley. It proved to be a balanced match when entering the sixth round, although the younger Gardner's stamina proved too much for the 33-year-old Sykes, and the fight stalled when Sykes turned his back, obviously overwhelmed by Gardner's attack. Gardner was seven years younger than Sykes (Gardner called Sykes after a fight as an "old man"), and this was his thirty-first professional bout; Instead, Sykes has entered the fight after only eight professional fights. Sykes still holds the record of being a challenger to the British Heavyweight title with the least professional fights, as it has effectively been quickly tracked by people involved with sports who are already convinced of their potential. Despite his years in prison, such as the interest rate that Sykes generated on starting his late boxing career after his release in 1978, that he found himself in promotional photos with Don King and Larry Holmes, and also traveled to the United States to his feet. as a counterpart to Leon Spinks. Sykes is a bodyguard for Alec Steene, and argues for future champion David Pearce. The highly respected manager of Sykes, Tommy Miller, said, "Paul could have gone upstairs, easily.. he impressed everyone," but "he was always in trouble one way or another, he would always worry in his mind."
His "big chance" disappeared, Sykes clearly lost his temper and his professional career ended in March 1980 when African explorer Ngozika Ekwelum hit him in the first round of the fight in Lagos, Nigeria.
Interestingly, it would appear that Sykes had been billed to fight Lenny Mclean at the Rainbow Theater in London on November 20, 1979, but this fight never materialized. Lenny Mclean, in his autobiography, then explained: "A week before the holidays, Sykes went to a club in Wakefield where he lived, became very upset and had a fuss with four doormen.He did everything but one of them lucked out and put the pieces on top his eyes that took eight stitches to put together ".
Sykes immediately returned to the prison and made notes to lift the load. A very strong man, he is a record holder of British amateur heavy lift (deep knee bend 500 pounds).
Prison
Sykes was classified as one of the most difficult detainees in Britain during the 1970s and 1980s and in 1990, had spent 21 of 26 years in 18 prisons due to numerous acts of violence against prison officials and police officers. He committed violent offenses throughout Northern England and was well known to locals and police in Leeds, Liverpool, Blackpool, Hull and Rotherham, and was also known and respected by difficult cases in London, possibly as a result of Sykes after being coached and arguing with famous criminals like Roy Shaw during his long jail career. Some seem to classify Paul Sykes as one of the toughest men in Britain during the 1980s.
Paul Sykes is mentioned in the book, Legend by Charles Bronson, the A to Z guide of the people Bronson considers to be the heaviest in Britain. Referring to him as 'Sykesy', Bronson describes him as "legend, born and raised" and writes: "I first met Sykes in Liverpool in the early 70s and at that time he was probably the strongest fraudster in England. hard from Yorkshire, a fighter in every way.Many people never liked him, maybe they even feared him but I respect that person for what he strives for.Bronson then goes on to recount the incident that was said to have happened at HMP Liverpool, when Sykes allegedly killed a cat prison and make it a hat "Davey Crocket".
While in jail, Sykes earned a BA in Physics from the Open University and wrote a memoir, Sweet Agony . This book is now a rare title and, in good condition, orders a high price among collectors.
Next Year
After being released from HM Prison Hull in 1990, producer Roger Greenwood followed him in the filming of Paul Sykes: At Large . Greenwood describes Sykes as "an interesting and very intelligent character".
A further documentary explores Sykes's brief post-release career as a debt collector, a business venture dubbed the 'Last Resort Debt Collecting Agency...' threatening "specialization", and used by Wakefield businessman Dennis Flint, who sent Sykes for collecting debts in Spain in addition to funding his autobiography, 'Sweet Agony'.
Sykes could not control his drink, his life began to collapse and he became a famous figure in the town of Wakefield. In 2000, the Wakefield Board secured a two-year ASBO that banned him from the city center after a series of aggressive drunken incidents including shouting harassment and public urination.
He was arrested in August 2003 for violating the ban by making an appointment with an optician at Wakefield, but was released on his own admission.
Death
Sykes died on March 7, 2007 at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield. The cause of his death was recorded as pneumonia and liver cirrhosis. His death certificate declared his work as 'the author (retired)' and the funeral ceremony was held at Wakefield Baptist Church, which he regularly attended. She is buried in the Alverthorpe Wakefield cemetery
Children
Paul Sykes has two children who are both serving life sentences for murder. Paul Leighton Sykes underwent a life sentence for stabbing Michael Gallagher to death in a splashy knife attack on his flat in Lupset, Wakefield in June 2004. In 2008, 25-year-old Michael Sharp became the second son of imprisoned Paul Sykes. for murder, when he was given a 27-year sentence at Leeds Crown Court for murdering David Ward, 38, a former police officer, following a failed armed robbery at his home on Denby Dale Road in Wakefield.
Maps Paul Sykes (boxer)
Works published
- Sweet Agony (1988) ISBNÃ, 1-85517-006-X
- Unfinished Agony (2017) by Jamie Boyle https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XB84H38/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 also
"Further Agony" (2017) by Jamie Boyle
Awards
- 1988: Koestler Award, Sweetness of Suffering
References
External links
- Boxer: Paul Sykes, BoxRec.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments