British Boxing Champion "Fearless" Freddie Mills

Freddie Mills was born in Bournemouth, England on June 26, 1919, the youngest of four children and the son of a dealer in marine stores. He first put on the gloves at age 11 and started learning how to box by sparring with his brothers and other boys, and had his first professional bout at an ice rink at age 16. Despite being a legal minor, Mills was soon embarked on a career as a prizefighter, taking bouts at fairs and club venues all over Dorset. By his 18th birthday, Freddie Mills had run up a record of 18-1-2.

"Fearless" Freddie Mills stood 5'10 1/2" with a 72" reach, and he never overcame his lack of proper schooling in the sweet science. Throughout his career, Mills was a swarmer who used constant aggression and pressure to win fights, and relied on his innate toughness rather than defensive technique to keep him going. In that respect, he was much like a bigger, antique version of Ricky Hatton.

British Contender
Mills's record fought a steady string of journeymen and tomato cans until May 1940, taking his first step up to fighting better opponents just a month shy of his 21st birthday and with a record of 47-9-7. He fought fringe contender Ben Valentine and stopped him in the 3rd on cuts. That led to a clash with a solid contender in the form of 126-11-1 Jock McAvoy, a former British and Commonwealth middleweight champion who had given 175lbs legend John Henry Lewis a stern test in 1937. Freddie Mills pounded his way to a points victory. The wins established Mills's place on the world stage.

Boxing was a different sport back then, and without television even a prominent boxer needed to fight often to make a living. Also, the sport was in greater demand, so people would pay to see Mills fight on a regular basis. However, that also meant on some nights Freddie Mills showed up in less than spectacular condition, and in 1941 and 1942 he won some and lost some with British fringe contenders Tom Reddington (going 2-1) and Jack Hyams (going 1-1), as well as scoring a win over heavyweight contender Jack London. He also racked up a second win over McAvoy, when that fighter was forced to quit in the first round with a back injury.

This mostly winning record against the best 175 lbs fighters the United Kingdom could offer led to a June 1942 challenge to British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Champion Len Harvey at the Tottenham FC Stadium which Harvey won dramatically by knocking Harvey out in the 2nd by literally hammering him out of the ring.

After capturing the British and Commonwealth titles, Mill's dance card slowed down significantly. It was wartime Britain, after all, and many boxers were in uniform and fighting the Germans, even in Freddie Mills was not. However, Jack London had gone on to win the British and Commonwealth belts in the heavyweight division, so Mills decided to challenge him. London outweighed Mills by a staggering 45 lbs, and Mills had been lucky to eek out a points win over him in their first encounter. London got his revenge and handed Mills a solid thumping and decisive points loss. Mills was sent to India to entertain the troops shortly thereafter.

After the War
With the Second World War over, Freddie Mills set his sights on the World Light Heavyweight Title, which had been "frozen" after the United States entered the war. Champion Gus Lesnevich traveled to London in May 1946 and defended his title against Mills, the hometown hero, and gave Mills the worst beating the British boxer suffered in his entire, lump-laden career. Lesnevich dropped Mills twice in the 2nd Round, but Mills rallied and started applying his trademark pressure, eating tons of leather in the process. Mills was knocked down twice again in the 10th, leading to a stoppage.

Freddie Mill suffered a rough patch after that, losing fights he shouldn't have. Yet by September 1947, "Fearless Freddie" had put it back together and won the European Light Heavyweight Title, and then defended it by knocking out Spanish contender Paco Bueno in the 2nd. Mills then knocked out heavyweight Ken Shaw in the 1st in a fight that made him the #1 contender for the British Heavyweight Title. Mills had little interest in the British belt, however, as his sights were set firmly on a rematch for the 175 lbs championship.

In July 1948, Gus Lesnevich traveled back to London to give Mills a rematch. Mills opened cuts over both of Lesnevich's eyes in the 1st Round, with left the American unable to stem the Briton's relentless assault. The champion was dropped twice by the challenger and lost on the scorecards, making "Fearless" Freddie Mills the World Light Heavyweight Champion.

The Champ
Initially, Mills did not consolidate his championship by defending his title. In November 1948, he traveled to South Africa to knockout local favorite Johnny Ralph in a non-title bout. He then challenged the formidable, 34-2 Bruce Woodcock, a heavyweight who had already beaten Mills, as well as knocking out Tom Reddington, Jack London and Gus Lesnevich, and by June 1949 Woodcock was the European Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, as well as the British and the Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion. Unsurprisingly, Woodcock beat Mills in their second encounter, knocking him out in the 14th.

In January 1950, Freddie Mills finally defended his World Light Heavyweight Title for the first time, meeting Joey Maxim in London. Maxim was also a volume puncher, but far more skilled than the primitive Mills. The Briton bagged the first three rounds, but Maxim began working his way into the fight from that point forward. Building up momentum with each round, Maxim hurt Mills in the 10th and finished him off in his customary machine gun-like style. Mills retired a few weeks later, at the age of 30 with a record of 76-18-7 (KO 49).

Retirement
Freddie Mills opened a nightclub after his death, and parlayed his popularity in England into appearances in British films and into becoming a presenter on a BBC pop music program. He also became friends with the Kray Twins, the leading gangsters of London during the 1950s and 1960s. On July 24, 1965, Mills was found dead in his car with a gun shot wound to the head and a rifle between his knees. The coroner ruled the death a suicide, but rumors have persisted that his death was foul play. Among the leading theories are that Mills had been caught in the midst of homosexual acts in a washroom and committed suicide in the aftermath, that he was murdered by the serial killer Jack the Stripper, or that the Chinese mob killed Mills to move in on his successful nightclub.