Clyde Gray facts for kids

Clyde Gray (born March 10, 1947) is a famous Canadian professional boxer. He was active in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Clyde Gray competed in different weight classes, including welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight.

He won the Canadian welterweight title and the Commonwealth welterweight title. He also challenged for major world titles. These included the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) welterweight title, the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title, and the World Boxing Association (WBA) World welterweight title. His managers and trainers helped him become a top boxer.

Clyde Gray's Big Fights

Clyde Gray had many exciting fights during his career. He faced some of the best boxers in the world. These matches showed his skill and determination in the ring.

Challenging José Nápoles for the World Title

On September 22, 1973, Clyde Gray fought José Nápoles for the undisputed world welterweight title. This big fight happened at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. It was shown on TV in both Canada and the United States. Famous commentators like Howard Cosell and Muhammad Ali talked about the match.

Clyde Gray was ranked second in the WBC at the time. He fought very well for all 15 rounds. However, Nápoles was a very skilled boxer and won the fight by a unanimous decision. This means all three judges agreed that Nápoles was the winner.

New Judging System in the Nápoles Fight

Something special happened in this fight. The judges' scores were shown to the TV audience after each round. This meant that Clyde Gray and his team knew how the fight was going. They knew he was behind and needed to fight harder in the last rounds. Clyde's manager, Irving Ungerman, hoped this open scoring system would become normal in boxing. Howard Cosell also thought it was a good idea, but it did not become a regular practice.

Fighting José "Pipino" Cuevas

On August 6, 1977, Clyde Gray had another world title fight. He challenged José "Pipino" Cuevas for the WBA world welterweight title. This match took place at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

By 1977, Clyde Gray was nearing the end of his boxing career. Even so, he started the fight well against Cuevas, who was known for hitting very hard. In the second round, Cuevas began to take control. He landed several strong punches. Gray was knocked down by a left hand punch. The referee, Chuck Hassett, counted him out at 1 minute and 28 seconds into the round. Cuevas later said it was an easier fight than he expected.

Family Connections

Clyde Gray is not the only boxer in his family. His younger brother, Stewart Gray, was also a boxer. Stewart Gray passed away on February 22, 1972.

External Links

• Professional boxing record for Clyde Gray from BoxRec

Images for kids

• ClydeGray.jpg

  Clyde Gray, a Canadian boxing legend.