King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Don Cockell

British boxer (1928–1983)

Born
22 September 1928, London Borough of Wandsworth
Died
18 July 1983, Tooting
Citizenship
United Kingdom
Sport
boxing
Discipline
heavyweight, light heavyweight
Occupation
boxer

Donald John Cockell (22 September 1928 – 18 July 1983) was an English boxer who competed from 1946 to 1956. One of the most well known boxers from the UK during the era, Cockell held the British and European light heavyweight titles, and later moved up in weight to become the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion. He is most famous for fighting Rocky Marciano for the world heavyweight championship.

Over the course of Cockell's career he defeated a number of the top heavyweights of the time, including Roland La Starza, Harry Matthews (three times), Tommy Farr, Freddie Beshore, Johnny Arthur, Johnny Williams and Uber Bacilieri. In his earlier incarnation as a Light Heavyweight he defeated top contenders such as Nick Barone, Albert Yvel, Lloyd Marshall and Albert Finch, holding regional titles in both weight incarnations.

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q1239064 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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