Tyrone Crawley facts for kids

Tyrone "Butterfly" Crawley (born November 2, 1958 – died January 15, 2021) was a professional boxer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was known for his amazing speed and how easily he could switch his boxing style.

Boxing Career Highlights

Tyrone Crawley was famous for his fast hands and feet. He could also switch between boxing stances very smoothly. This meant he could fight as an orthodox boxer (usually right-handed) or a southpaw (left-handed) boxer. This unique style often confused his opponents. Some boxing experts even said he might have been the best "switch hitter" of his time, like the famous middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

Amateur and Early Professional Fights

As a young boxer, Tyrone had a great amateur record, winning 56 fights and losing only 6. He became a Golden Gloves champion and an All Army champion in the late 1970s.

Tyrone became a professional boxer in October 1980. In only his ninth professional fight, he won the ESPN lightweight title. This happened in September 1982 when he beat Al "Earthquake" Carter. In his very next fight, in October 1982, Crawley won against Gene Hatcher, who would later become a junior welterweight champion. He defended his ESPN title in December 1982 by stopping Anthony Murray in the tenth round. However, he lost his ESPN title in February 1983 to Melvin Paul in a close fight. Tyrone had been fighting with a broken knuckle and a broken finger in that match.

Big Wins and Title Opportunities

In 1983, Crawley made a big comeback. He scored a huge upset win against Robin Blake, who was the number one lightweight contender. Many people expected Blake to win easily, especially since he had knocked out Melvin Paul in his previous fight. Blake was hoping to fight Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini for a title. But Blake had trouble with Crawley's unique style and lost the fight.

In 1984, Livingstone Bramble won the WBA lightweight title from Ray Mancini. Tyrone Crawley was the top contender for the title. He agreed to step aside for $150,000, allowing Bramble and Mancini to have a rematch. Bramble won that rematch in February 1985.

Crawley then won the USBA lightweight title in June 1985. He beat Charlie "Choo Choo" Brown, another boxer from Philadelphia. Tyrone was supposed to challenge Bramble for the WBA lightweight title several times in 1985, but the fights were delayed because both boxers got injured.

Challenging for the WBA Title

Bramble and Crawley finally fought for Bramble's WBA title in February 1986 in Reno, Nevada. Tyrone was knocked down for the first time in his career during the second round of that fight. But he fought back strongly in the next few rounds, making the scorecards even after eight rounds. However, Crawley eventually got tired later in the fight and was knocked out in the 13th round.

Life After Boxing

After his fight with Bramble, Tyrone Crawley joined the Philadelphia Police Department in the summer of 1986. He continued his boxing career in June 1987 while also working as a police officer. He won three more fights and then retired from professional boxing in early 1988. His final record was 22 wins and 2 losses.

In the same year he retired from boxing, Tyrone became the Director of the North Philadelphia Police Athletic League. This organization helps young people through sports and activities. He held this important position until he passed away.

Tyrone Crawley attended Temple University. He was honored for his boxing career by being inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003. He was also inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.

Tyrone had three children: Ageenah, Tyrone Crawley Jr. (who is also a professional boxer), and Kevin Crawley.

Tyrone Crawley passed away on January 15, 2021, after being ill for some time.