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Randy Turpin (June 7,1928 - May 17, 1966) was a
boxing|boxer from United Kingdom|Britain who was
considered by many to be Europe's best
Middleweight boxer of the 1940s and 1950s. Turpin
was also deaf.

Turpin turned professional in London in 1946, a
little after turning 18, and he knocked out Gordon
Griffiths in his first bout. He put together a
string of 16 wins in a row until drawing in 6
rounds versus Mark Hart in his last bout of 1947.
He boxed all over Britain during that streak.

Three wins later, he found himself facing Albert
Finch, who inflicted Turpin his first defeat, an 8
round decision loss. After one more win, he lost
again, knocked out in 5 rounds by Jean Stock, also
in London.

Turpin was determined not to lose again after the
Stock defeat, and put together another string of
wins, which reached 12 (including a 4 round
disqualification win against William Poli), and he
was rematched with Finch, this time with the
United Kingdom|British Middleweight title on the
line. Turpin avenged his first loss and won his
first championship by knocking Finch out in 5
rounds. 

Three more wins followed, including a
disqualification win in 8 rounds against important
challenger Tommy Yarosz, and then he met European
Middleweight champion Luc Van Dam in London, whom
he knocked out in the first round to seize the
European championship. 

Four wins followed after that, including a rematch
with Stock, against whom he avenged his second
defeat, knocking him out in 5 rounds. Then, world
Middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson travelled
to London and on July 10, 1951 risked his title
against Turpin, who won the world title by beating
Robinson on a 15 round decision. 

Turpin became an instant national hero. His win
over Robinson gave him the type of celebrity were
even many people who were not boxing fans knew who
he was, and when he signed a rematch with Robinson
and chose Gwrych Castle near Abergele in North
Wales to train for it, the castle was constantly
hounded by tourists, curious and fans who came to
get a glimpse of the World Middleweight champion.

His days as a world champion didn't last long,
however, and when he made his first trip outside
his homeland for a fight, he lost his crown to
Robinson by a tenth round knockout in New York. 

This turned out to be the beginning of Turpin's
problems, because he would begin to miss the sweet
life that being a world boxing champion gave him.

He tried to regain his former status, and three
fights later, beat Don Cockell in 11 rounds by a
knockout to conquer the British Commonwealth Light
Heavyweight title. Cockell later turned into a
good Heavyweight who once challenged Rocky
Marciano for the World Heavyweight title.

He went back down in weight, and beat Georges
Angelo to regain his British Middleweight title,
and put on another string of wins, leading to his
challenge of Bobo Olson for the World Middleweight
title that Robinson had left vacant after
retiring. His second trip to New York turned into
another 15 round defeat, this time at the hands of
Olson. 

In 1954, he went to Rome where he lost his
European Middleweight title by a knockout in the
first round to Tiberio Mitri. 

He kept trying mightily as he could to regain his
former condition as a world champion and even
retained his British Middleweight title a few
times in his next ten fights, but he lost two of
them to obscure opponents. 

After that, he got another winning streak against
other boxers of obscure quality, but by 1958 it
looked as if his best days in boxing were far
gone. He lost that year to Yolande Pompey, another
future world title challenger, by a knockout in 2
rounds in Birmingham, England|Birmingham, and was
retired from 1959 to 1962.

That year, he began another comeback, but the
comeback only lasted 2 fights, both of which he
won, the last one being held in Malta.

He retired with a record of 66 wins, 8 losses and
1 draw. Of his 66 wins, 48 came by knockout.

According to articles, reports and a book about
his life, Turpin couldn't deal with the fact that
after losing his world title, perhaps he wasn't as
asked for and talked about by his fans as when he
was a world champion, and he committed suicide in
1966. He supposedly tried to kill his daughter
also, on the day he committed suicide.

Turpin is now a member of the International Boxing
Hall Of Fame in Canastota, New York.

Turpin's brother Dick was  a not inconsiderable
boxer and was also British middleweight champion.