Chris Finnegan boxer

Chris Finnegan MBE (5 June 1944 – 2 March 2009) was a British professional boxer of Irish descent born in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England.Finnegan was one of eight children; his father was from Liverpool and his mother from Newry, Northern Ireland. Finnegan always wore a Union Flag and a Shamrock on his boxing trunks to signify his joint heritage. Finnegan was introduced to boxing at a young age by his elder brother Terence. His younger brother Kevin also boxed professionally, winning the British and European middleweight titles, and fighting such opponents as Marvin Hagler and Alan Minter.Juggling his amateur boxing career with his work as a hod carrier, Finnegan was the 1966 ABA middleweight champion, but he considered retiring from the sport after John Turpin, the man he had beaten in the ABA finals, was chosen ahead of him to represent England at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica. Finnegan competed at the 1967 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Rome, where he lost on points to Jan Hejduk of Czechoslovakia.Finnegan almost missed out on making the 1968 Summer Olympics team after sustaining an eye injury which prevented him taking the ABA championships. His disappointment about not making the team resulted in a two-week drinking binge. Finnegan's trainer at his Hayes boxing club, Dick Gunn, rescued the boxer from his binge by securing a box-off which Finnegan won.One final obstacle almost prevented Finnegan's participation in the games: £70 owed in National Insurance Stamps, for which he had to appear before a magistrate. When the presiding magistrate heard that Finnegan was due to represent Britain at the Olympics he was given a reprieve, and wished luck in his bid to win a gold medal. When the Games were over, the debt was eventually paid by the British boxing promoter Harry Levene.