British legends and former World champions Alan Minter and John Conteh plus Pat Cowdell RARE Amateur Boxing Association Championship Finals official on-site 10 page programme, 7th May 1971, Wembley Empire Pool, London.

Condition very good (scorecard has been marked by an enthusiastic fight fan also light crease top right front cover corner).

Alan Minter vs A. Byrne (11st. 11lb.)
John Conteh vs A. Roberts (12st.10lb.)
Pat Cowdell vs P. Wakefield (8st.)

Price: £ SOLD

Minter won the bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Soon after, Minter began his career in London on Halloween night of the same year by knocking out Maurice Thomas in six rounds.

Minter won five fights in a row by knockout, and in 1973, Pat Dwyer became the first boxer to go the distance with him, over eight rounds in London. Minter won his next five fights, three by knockout, before tasting defeat for the first time after the refree stopped the fight in the eighth round to King George Aido due to bad cuts suffered by Minter. Two more wins followed before facing Jan Magziarz, who beat him twice in a row (once in the eighth and once in the sixth) again due to cuts.

1974 was a mixed year for Minter, beating Tony Byrne by a decision in eight, losing in two to Ricky Torres (again on cuts), having a third fight with Magziarz result in a no contest in four rounds, and closing the year with a win in eight rounds by decision in his first international fight, against Shako Mamba in Hamburg, Germany.

1975 was the year that saw Minter shine. He won four fights in a row, including another bout in Hamburg, and by the end of the year, he challenged Kevin Finnegan for the British Middleweight title, winning it by a 15 round decision. In 1976 he won six fights, to make it ten wins in a row. Among the boxers he beat were Billy Knight by a knockout in two and Finnegan once again, by decision in 15, both in defence of his British title, along with former world title challenger Tony Licata, knocked out in six, and American Olympic Games Gold medal winner Ray Seales, beaten in five. These wins gave Minter a ranking among the top ten Middleweight challengers of the time.

In 1977, he won the European Middleweight title by beating Germano Valsecchi by a knockout in five in Italy. But in his next fight his winning streak ended when he lost to former world title challenger Ronnie Harris by a knockout in eight. Minter returned to top ten challenger status by upsetting the former Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight world champion Emile Griffith with a ten round decision win in Monte Carlo, but then, he lost his European title to Gratien Tonna by a knockout in eight at Milan. He closed '77 with a third 15 round decision win over Finnegan to retain his British title.

1978 was a sad year for Minter, although he won all three of his bouts. On February 15, at the Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks I undercard in Las Vegas, he won his first bout in the United States by knocking out Sandy Torres in five. Then, he went to Italy once again, to regain his European Middleweight title by knocking out Angelo Jaccopucciy in twelve rounds. Jacopucciy died a few days after the bout, in another boxing tragedy. Minter finished his year by avenging his loss to Tonna with a six round knockout.

In 1979, Minter won all four of his fights, two of them by knockout, and in 1980, he was finally given the opportunity all fighters dream of: On March 16 of that year, in Las Vegas, Nevada, he was given a shot at champion Vito Antuofermo's world Middleweight title at the Caesars Palace. He won the title by a 15 round decision, and in a rematch, he retained the world title by a knockout in eight rounds. Minter's run as world champion came to an end on September 27 of that year, when he lost by a knockout in three to Marvin Hagler at Wembley Arena in London. After the fight was stopped, Minter's supporters caused a riot, throwing beer cans and glass into the ring and both boxers had to be ushered away by the police.

Minter beat fringe contender Ernie Singletary in London, in 1981, but after losses to future Hagler challengers Mustafa Hamsho and Tony Sibson, both also in London, he retired for good.

He left boxing with a record of 39 wins, 9 losses and 1 no contest, with 23 wins by knockout.












John Conteh (born 27 May 1951 in Toxteth, Liverpool, England). Former world light-heavyweight champion.

Conteh is one of Britain's most successful boxing champions. At his peak in the mid to late 1970s he was considered good enough that he was touted as a possible opponent of Muhammad Ali. He enjoyed great fame in Britain and was often on the front as well as the back pages of the leading dailies due to his love of partying and women. Conteh said that his excessive lifestyle brought about a premature decline in his talents. He started boxing at age 10 at the Kirkby club that was a training ground for some of the best amateur boxers, Joey Singleton, Tucker Hethering and Stuart Morton were only a few. At 19, he won the middleweight gold medal at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. He won the WBC Light Heavyweight crown in October 1974 and held the title until 1978 when he was stripped for not going through with a mandated defence. He was the loser on points over fifteen rounds to the Croatian fighter Mate Parlov in an attempt to regain the title. He failed twice in further efforts to win back his old crown in 1979 and then again seven months later in 1980 - both against the American Matthew Saad Muhammad.

He retired from professional boxing in 1980. His professional record is 34 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses.

In 1973, Conteh was one of the celebrities featured dressed in prison gear on the cover of the Wings album Band On The Run.

Conteh also has the distinction of being British Superstars competition champion in 1974, the second year of the televised sporting event. Conteh is now an after dinner speaker and speaks at venues all across the country.

Conteh appeared on the BBC television program Sporting Legends which was presented by Eamonn Holmes. On the show Conteh spoke at length at how he started out in the fight game and how Ali persuaded him to fight at Light-Heavyweight instead of Heavyweight as Ali believed that Conteh was too small to be a heavyweight, and how his lifestyle led to alcoholism and a charge of assault, he stated that at the time he appeared on Sporting Legends he had been dry for 9 years. Conteh also made a starring appearance in the television show "Boon" in 1989, as a washed-up boxer. He more recently appeared on a special episode of The Weakest Link in 2009, where he came in third place.










Patrick ("Pat") Cowdell (born 18 August 1953 in Smethwick, Staffordshire). Cowdell now lives just over the border from Smethwick in Oldbury.

Amateur Career
Cowdell won the bronze medal in the bantamweight division (– 54 kg) at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. In the semi-finals he was beaten by eventual gold medalist Gu Yong-Ju from North Korea.

Two years earlier Cowdell won the gold medal, at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was a bronze medalist at the 1975 European Amateur Boxing Championships held in Katowice, Poland. He was also the 1973 ABA bantamweight champion, lightweight in 1975, and featherweight champion in 1976 and 1977.

Olympic Results
1st round bye
* Defeated Leszek Borkowski (Poland) 5-0
* Defeated Alejandro Silva (Puerto Rico) 5-0
* Defeated Reynaldo Fortaleza (Philippines) 4-1
* Lost to Gu Yong-Ju (North Korea) 1-4

Professional Career
Cowdell turned pro in 1977 and in 1981 took on WBC world featherweight championSalvador Sanchez, losing a close and hard-fought split decision in which Cowdell was dropped in round 15. In 1985 Cowdell challenged Azumah Nelson for the WBC featherweight title, but was caught cold by a bullet of a punch and knocked out in the first round. He fought on but retired in 1988 after being stopped by Welshman Floyd Havard. He finished up with stats of 36-6-0 (18 KOs) that included spells as British, Commonwealth and European Champion.

Life After Boxing
Pat runs four professional dinner shows a year at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham's city centre. He recently (February 2007) returned to putting shows on at the Burlington after a three-year hiatus at the Holiday Inn - also in the centre of Birmingham.

He also trains a band of fighters that include: Bedworth's former Midland Area super-middleweight champion Neil Tidman, Leamington Spa's Richard Mazurek and Coventry foursome Dougie Walton, Sean McKervey, Joe McCluskey and John Ruddock. Cowdell's most famous pupil, Birmingham gypsy Jimmy Vincent, twice challenged for the British title before retiring in 2005.