Freddie Mills

Freddie Mills
Freddie Mills in the 1952 film The Hundred Hour Hunt
Born
Frederick Percival Mills

(1919-06-26)26 June 1919
Died25 July 1965(1965-07-25) (aged 46)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Other names
  • The Bournemouth Bombshell
  • Fearless Freddie
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 10+12 in (179 cm)
Reach72 in (183 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights101
Wins77
Wins by KO55
Losses18
Draws6
No contests0

Frederick Percival Mills (26 June 1919 – 25 July 1965) was an English boxer, and the world light heavyweight champion from 1948 to 1950. Mills was 5 feet 10+12 inches (179 cm) tall and did not have a sophisticated boxing style; he relied on two-fisted aggression, relentless pressure, and the ability to take punishment to carry him through, and in more cases than not these attributes were sufficient.

Mills excelled first as a middleweight, and most successfully as a light-heavyweight boxer, but also fought as a heavyweight. He was described as Britain's biggest boxing idol in the post-war period and remained a popular media personality after his retirement from the ring.[2]

Once he had retired from boxing, Mills moved into boxing management and promotion, and pursued a career in entertainment, working in radio, television (notably as co-presenter of the early BBC TV music show, Six-Five Special between 1957 and 1958), and on the stage, as well as playing roles in a number of films between 1952 and 1965. He opened a Chinese restaurant in Soho before there was an established Chinatown in the area and also ran his own London nightclub until his mysterious death.

  1. ^ before 1 April 1974 Bournemouth was in Hampshire
  2. ^ "Former Boxer is Show Business Hit". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. 29 April 1958. Retrieved 20 May 2012.