David Paley remembered

Welsh Boxing remember David ‘The Champ’ Paley 

Welsh Boxing were saddened to hear of the passing of David Paley in January. 

He will be fondly remembered by the many friends and family around him, as recounted by his daughter Isobel Brown.  

“Dad will be remembered by many as a great, larger than life character with a huge life force and presence, who lived a long and very full life, never with a dull moment. He will be greatly missed, but we are grateful and happy to have had him for so long.” 

A huge figure in the boxing community in Wales, Dave ‘The Champ’ also leaves behind a notable legacy having held three Welsh titles in Light Heavy and Heavyweight classes. 

“Dad was a natural athlete, and supremely physically strong and fit. He travelled all over Europe representing Wales.  

“Apart from trips to the boxing gym in Brynmawr for sparring sessions, Dad’s training tools were pretty simple. While he had a coach, he had no specialist teams of physiotherapists, nutritionists and psychologists attending him, but he did have a punch bag and weights in the barn up the lane from our cottage near Usk! 

“Famously, in one fight in Paris, the mainly French spectators got behind Dad as he literally got the upper hand on his opponent and they began chanting ‘Spartacus, Spartacus’; back then Dad did have a strong-ish resemblance to actor Kirk Douglas who starred in the film of that name!  

“In 1962, he was very proud to be chosen to represent Wales in the Empire Games in Perth, Western Australia. He narrowly missed a medal as the fight was stopped due to a cut over his eye. We are very proud to still have his red Welsh blazer and tie.”