Jimmy Revie obit

Jimmy Revie, British Featherweight Champion of the Early 1970s, Dies at 79

 He was not on the list.

Half a point, that was the margin by which Jimmy Revie won 3 separate fights during his British featherweight championship reign, a run so narrow it once earned him boos from an unimpressed Royal Albert Hall crowd despite the victory. Revie died in September 2026, at age 79, following complications from dementia.

Born in Stockwell, London, on July 8, 1947, Revie turned professional in September 1966 with a 5th round stoppage of Brian Gullefer. He won his first 13 fights inside the distance before suffering his first defeat in February 1968, stopped in the 9th round by Jimmy Anderson in a challenge for the British junior lightweight title. Revie dropped to featherweight, won his next 6 fights, and earned a shot at the British title vacated by Howard Winstone, defeating former British Empire champion John O’Brien in March 1969 after the referee stopped the contest in the 5th round due to eye injuries.

Revie was considered a contender for Johnny Famechon’s world title, though he never got the opportunity to fight for it. He kept busy with non-title bouts before his first defence, notably defeating European champion Tommaso Galli by half a point in October 1969, then Ecuadorian champion Miguel Herrera by the same slim margin 12 days later, and Algerian fighter Ould Makloufi by another half point that November. A stoppage loss to Tunisian fighter Tahar Ben Hassen in April 1970 marked his 2nd professional defeat, but Revie rebounded to make his first British title defence that September, beating Alan Rudkin at Wembley’s Empire Pool, again by half a point.

Revie challenged José Legra for the European title in January 1971, losing a unanimous decision after the full 15 rounds. That July, defending his British title against Evan Armstrong at Grosvenor House, Revie was well ahead on points when Armstrong knocked him out in the 12th round to claim the championship. Revie won his next 7 fights and earned another British title eliminator victory over Vernon Sollas in March 1974, setting up a rematch for the vacant title in March 1975 at the Royal Albert Hall, a fight Revie lost controversially when Sollas struck him while he was down near the end of the 4th round. He fought 6 more times, winning only twice, closing out his career with back to back losses to Jim Watt and Charlie Nash in 1976.

Beyond the ring, Revie appeared in Jim Goddard’s 1980 film King Billy, playing the role of Leon Cole.

Jimmy Revie’s British featherweight championship reign, built on razor thin decisions and hard fought battles against some of the era’s toughest contenders, remains a defining chapter of early 1970s British boxing.