{{Short description|Canadian boxer (1918–1979)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox boxer |name =Harry Hurst |image = |realname =Harry Hurst |nickname = |weight = Lightweight |nationality = {{flagicon|CAN}} Canadian |birth_date = May 26, 1918 |birth_place =Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |death_date=May 15, 1979 |death_place=Montreal, Quebec, Canada |height =5 ft 6 in (168cm) |reach = |style = |home = |total = 68 |wins =47 |losses = 15 |draws =6 |no contests = |KO = 29 | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's Boxing}} {{MedalCountry | {{CAN}} }} {{MedalCompetition|British Empire Games}} {{MedalSilver| 1938 Sydney | Lightweight}} }} '''Harry Hurst''' (May 26, 1918{{snd}}May 15, 1979) was a Canadian boxer who competed in the 1938 British Empire Games.
==Early life== Harry Hurst was born in Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.<ref name="The Montreal Star. (1961)"/>
When he was three years old, his parents moved to Notre-Dame-de-Grâce with him.<ref name="The Montreal Star. (1961)"/>
==Amateur boxing career== He started boxing in 1932 in a class taught by Tommy Sullivan at Tremholme Park ({{langx|fr|Parc Trenholme}}).<ref name="The Montreal Star. (1961)"/>
He failed to qualify at the 1936 Olympic trials. After moving to St. Catharines, he won the Southwestern Ontario and provincial lightweight titles in 1938, securing a place on Canada's Empire Games team in Vancouver.<ref name="The Montreal Star. (1961)"/>
At the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, he won the silver medal in the lightweight class after losing the final to Harry Groves.<ref name="Amateur Boxing Results">{{cite web|url=http://amateur-boxing.strefa.pl/Championships/CommonwealthGames1938.pdf|title=3.British Empire Games - February 5-12 1938|website=amateur-boxing.strefa.pl|access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref>
Hurst began boxing out of Montreal athletic clubs. In 1939, he won the Quebec Golden Gloves title at 135 pounds.<ref name="The Montreal Star. (1939)">{{cite news |author=|date=April 14, 1939 |title=1939 Golden Gloves' Kings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/740402096/?match=10&terms=harry%20hurst%20golden%20gloves |access-date=2025-11-05 |newspaper=The Montreal Star |page=29}}</ref> At the Canadian Amateur Boxing Championships on April 28, 1939, he captured the 135-pound lightweight crown.<ref name="The Montreal Star. (1939) 2">{{cite news |author=|date=April 29, 1939 |title=Three Montreal Boxers Win National Crowns |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/740405257/?match=1&terms=harry%20hurst |access-date=2025-11-05 |newspaper=The Montreal Star |page=12}}</ref>
==Professional career== Hurst transitioned to professional boxing under Maurice Foreman in late 1939 as the reigning national amateur lightweight champion.<ref name="BoxRec"/> Hurst opened 1940 with three knockouts at the Maple Leaf Gardens in the first two months before making his U.S. debut. He recorded two knockout victories in Washington, D.C., before moving on to fight at New York's famed Ridgewood Grove Arena.<ref name="The Montreal Star. (1961)">{{cite news |author=Al Parsley|date=March 7, 1961 |title=Meteoric Rise to Boxing Fame Featured Career of Harry Hurst |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/743612988/?terms=Harry%20Hurst&match=1 |access-date=2025-11-05 |newspaper=The Montreal Star |page=20}}</ref>
===Title match with Dave Castilloux, April 1941=== In 1941, he returned to his hometown to compete for the Canadian lightweight boxing championship.<ref name="The Hamilton Spectator. (1941)">{{cite news |author=|date=April 23, 1941 |title=Harry Hurst Surprises in Bout With Champion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1006630917/?match=1&terms=harry%20hurst |access-date=2025-11-05 |newspaper=The Hamilton Spectator |page=24}}</ref> On April 22, 1941, Hurst and Canadian welterweight champion Dave Castilloux fought to a 10-round draw in their first Canadian lightweight title bout.<ref name="BoxRec"/>
===Loss against reigning NBA world lightweight champion Sammy Angott, June 1941=== Hurst entered his June 1941 bout with NBA lightweight champion Sammy Angott with 23 professional fights. Though he dropped a ten-round decision in the non-title bout, his competitive showing against the world champion significantly elevated his standing in the division.<ref name="The Hamilton Spectator. (1941) 2">{{cite news |author=|date=June 25, 1941 |title=Hurst Loses Verdict |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1006620818/?match=1&terms=harry%20hurst |access-date=2025-11-05 |newspaper=The Hamilton Spectator |page=24}}</ref> By September, he entered the National Boxing Association's lightweight ratings.<ref name="The Gazette. (1941)">{{cite news |author=|date=September 10, 1941 |title=N.B.A. Rates Castilloux Highly; Harry Hurst Is Also Outstanding |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/419304271/?match=1&terms=harry%20hurst |access-date=2025-11-05 |newspaper=The Gazette |page=17}}</ref>
===Second title match with Dave Castilloux, September 1941=== In the Castilloux-Hurst rematch for the lightweight title on September 25, 1941, Hurst lost the 10-round bout at the Montreal Forum by unanimous decision.<ref name="BoxRec1">{{cite web|url=https://boxrec.com/en/event/97901/167535|title=Dave Castilloux vs Harry Hurst|website=boxrec.com|access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref>
He held the ninth position among lightweights in ''The Ring'' magazine's 1941 annual ratings.<ref name="BoxRecTheRing">{{cite web|url=https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine%27s_Annual_Ratings:_1941|title=The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: 1941|website=boxrec.com|access-date=2025-12-01}}</ref>
When he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in March 1942, Hurst held the number four lightweight ranking globally during World War II. The air force's disapproval of boxing prevented him from fighting throughout his three-and-a-half-year stint as a PT instructor in England, unlike navy or army personnel who could continue developing through service bouts.<ref name="The Gazette. (1979)"/>
Over the span of a month in 1946, Hurst recorded back-to-back wins against Lenny Mancini.<ref name="BoxRec">{{cite web|url=https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/45539|title=Harry Hurst|website=boxrec.com|access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref>
===Title matches with Johnny Greco, 1947-1948=== Hurst competed in two title bouts against defending champion Johnny Greco for the Canadian welterweight championship between 1947 and 1948.<ref name="BoxRec"/>
His final ring appearance as a professional came in November 1948 when he faced Peter Zaduk.<ref name="BoxRec"/>
Well into his retirement, Hurst accepted an invitation to meet former world champion Tony Zale in an exhibition contest held in Montreal.<ref name="Los Angeles Times. (1997)">{{cite news |author=Steve Springer|date=March 29, 1997 |title=BOXING |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-29-sp-43209-story.html |access-date=2025-11-05 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |page=}}</ref>
==Professional boxing record== {{BoxingRecordSummary |draws=6 |nc= |ko-wins=29 |ko-losses=1 |dec-wins=18 |dec-losses=20 |dq-losses=14 }}
==Death== Harry Hurst died on May 15, 1979, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery.<ref name="The Gazette. (1979)">{{cite news |author=Steve Springer|date=May 17, 1979 |title=Hurst reached peak as boxer, gentleman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/422092238/?match=1&terms=harry%20hurst |access-date=2025-11-05 |newspaper=The Gazette |page=17}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Boxrec|45539}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, Harry}} Category:1918 births Category:1979 deaths Category:Boxers from Manchester Category:Boxers from Montreal Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:British emigrants to Canada Category:Lightweight boxers Category:Welterweight boxers Category:Boxers at the 1938 British Empire Games Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Category:Canadian male boxers Category:English male boxers Category:Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen Category:20th-century English sportsmen Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in boxing
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