John Theophilus Oti Ankrah (25 December 1925 – 28 May 1995), better known as Roy Ankrah, was a Ghanaian featherweight boxing contender during the 1950s. He was given the nicknames "The Black Flash" and "Mr. Perpetual Motion" because of his fast hands and crafty footwork. Ankrah held the Commonwealth featherweight title from 1951 to 1952 and had his biggest fight against then-reigning NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring bantamweight world champion in a non-title fight as both fighters weighed above the limit for a bantamweight fighter.
Early life According to some sources, Roy Ankrah was born in Jamestown, Ghana in 1923; however other sources have listed him as being born in 1925. His aunt raised Ankrah after the death of his mother. He soon became known as a street fighter and won the regional school championship at the age of 12. By this time, Ankrah was already working as a mechanic in his uncle's auto repair shop. He won his first professional fight at the age of 17.
Career After winning the national featherweight title in 1941, he joined the army. During his time with the Armed Forces, he was sent to India during World War II, where he is said to have participated in numerous exhibition fights and championships. After his return from India, the Ghanaian fighter began training for the national featherweight title once again. During this time, he defeated Nigerian stoker Kid Parry, claiming the title of West African champion. He is said to have kept this undefeated status until he moved to the British Isles.
According to reports, Ankrah switched to the professional camp on the Gold Coast in 1941. He was undefeated throughout his 110 fights until 1949. During this period, he became the national champion in five different weight classes; flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight. Following a suggestion by his fellow fighter Freddie Mills, Ankrah made his debut as the first Ghanaian to fight overseas. On February 8, 1950, he joined George Lamont in the ring in Paisley, Scotland. He went on record as having 10 further wins before eventually losing to Jimmy Murray on a foul on May 30, 1950. On April 30, 1951, Ankrah won the Commonwealth featherweight title against Ronnie Clayton. He maintained this title until October 2, 1954, when he lost to Billy Kelly. Shortly thereafter, Ankrah took a break and stopped competing in the British Isles. However, in 1959, he traveled back to his native Ghana, where he competed in three more professional fights, losing two. He later supported the Ghanaian National Team in preparation for the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. He assisted the British trainer Jack Roy at the 1960 Olympic Games when Clement Quartey won the first Olympic medal for the former British colony. After these games, Ankrah was promoted to National Coach and worked directly with the National Sports Council until 1994, in addition to being a judge for the World Boxing Council (WBC).
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes44Win34–7 Ray AkweiPTS6Jun 6, 1959 43Loss33–7 Jomo JacksonPTS6Jun 2, 1959 42Win33–6 Ray AkweiPTS8Apr 11, 1959 41Loss32–6 Robert CohenTKO4 (10)Dec 20, 1954 40Loss32–5 Sammy McCarthyPTS10Dec 7, 1954 39Loss32–4 Billy KellyPTS15Oct 2, 1954 38Win32–3 Billy KellyPTS10Apr 10, 1954 37Win31–3 Juan Oscar ÁlvarezPTS10Oct 6, 1953 36NC30–3 Manolo GarciaNC10 (10)Sep 30, 1953 35Win30–3 Amleto FalcinelliPTS10Aug 26, 1953 34Win29–3 José HernándezPTS10Aug 19, 1953 33Win28–3 Jacques DumesnilPTS10Jun 17, 1953 32Win27–3 Juan Oscar ÁlvarezPTS10May 18, 1953 3126–3 Mohammed ChickaouiNC7 (10)May 11, 1953 30Win26–3 Benny Kid ChocolateTKO2 (10)Jan 12, 1953 29Win25–3 Jesús AguirrePTS10Dec 19, 1952 28Loss24–3 Luis RomeroPTS10Nov 9, 1952 27Loss24–2 Ray FamechonPTS15Jun 9, 1952 26Win24–1 Boudjema Ali RamdanePTS10Apr 22, 1952 25Win23–1 Ronnie ClaytonRTD13 (15)Feb 25, 1952 24Win22–1 Bernard PughRTD6 (10)Dec 17, 1951 23Win21–1 Tommy McGovernPTS10Nov 6, 1951 22Win20–1 Alvaro CerasaniDQ2 (10)Oct 23, 1951 21Win19–1 Jean MachterlinckTKO5 (10)Sep 19, 1951 20Win18–1 Ronnie ClaytonPTS15Apr 30, 1951 19Win17–1 Johnny MolloyRTD4 (8)Apr 3, 1951 18Win16–1 Bernard PughPTS8Mar 28, 1951 1715–1 Speedy TwitchND?Feb 12, 1951 16Win15–1 Speedy BandesPTS12Jan 29, 1951 15Win14–1 Tony LombardRTD8 (10)Nov 7, 1950 14Win13–1 Bernard PughPTS10Sep 19, 1950 13Win12–1 Luis RomeroTKO5 (10)Jul 29, 1950 12Win11–1 Tommy BaileyPTS10Jul 27, 1950 11Loss10–1 Jimmy MurrayDQ3 (8)May 30, 1950 10Win10–0 Francisco LatorreTKO2 (8)May 23, 1950 9Win9–0 Gene CaffreyKO5 (8)Apr 20, 1950 8Win8–0 Jim McCannPTS8Apr 10, 1950 7Win7–0 Denny DennisRTD3 (8)Apr 8, 1950 6Win6–0 Danny NagleKO5 (8)Apr 5, 1950 5Win5–0 Joe KingRTD3 (8)Mar 18, 1950 4Win4–0 Peter MorrisonTKO5 (8)Mar 10, 1950 3Win3–0 Len ShawTKO4 (8)Feb 28, 1950 2Win2–0 Zeke BrownPTS6Feb 14, 1950 1Win1–0 George LamontPTS6Feb 8, 1950
References
External links
Image - Roy Ankrah