Wells was born on July 7, 1933, in Harlesden, Middlesex. After moving to Reading during childhood, he joined the Reading Aero Boxing Club. He began boxing at about fourteen, reportedly on medical advice after a serious illness, and quickly developed into a successful amateur competitor.
No university or formal vocational education is documented. His boxing development took place through the Reading Aero Boxing Club, where he progressed from youth competition into the senior amateur ranks during the postwar expansion of organized British boxing.
Wells began his competitive career in the late 1940s, winning Junior Amateur Boxing Association welterweight titles in 1949 and 1950 and gaining the Gold Star after defeating Joe Erskine. His amateur record was reported as 385 victories and three defeats. In 1951 he made his international debut at Belle Vue against the United States, defeating Randy Sandy.
In 1952 he reached the ABA light-middleweight final, losing to Bernard Foster. He won the title in 1953 and retained it in 1954. At the 1953 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Warsaw, he defeated Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski in the semifinal and West Germany's Max Resch in the final. He also represented the European team in International Golden Gloves matches in the United States, defeating Art Glass in Chicago and Leslie Temple in St. Louis.
Wells served in the Royal Air Force and held the rank of sergeant. He won RAF and inter-services boxing titles and represented England at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, where he reached the semifinal and received a bronze medal. He also competed at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki but did not start his scheduled light-middleweight bout. His final major international victory came in 1955, when he outpointed Olympic and European champion Gennadiy Shatkov in a three-round match at Wembley.
He retired from competitive boxing in 1956 after more than 300 victories and remained in the RAF for a period, helping train servicemen during his final two years of service. From 1958 he worked as a professional boxing trainer. In the 1960s he also managed the Pigalle Club in Nottingham, a venue opened in 1963 that hosted dancing, cabaret and occasional popular-music performances.
Wells later taught physical education at Henry Compton School in Fulham, documented there during the 1968–1969 period. Henry Compton was a community boys' secondary school serving the Fulham area. Alongside teaching and boxing, Wells worked as a stuntman and actor in film and television. His screen appearances included The Servant, Doctor Who and the Daleks, Doctor Who, Romany Jones, Get Some In!, and Minder; he appeared in several Doctor Who episodes in roles including an Ogron, Cyberman, alien guard and union recruit.
In 1977 Wells participated in a charity exhibition bout with Muhammad Ali at South Shields during Ali's visit to northeast England. The bout was presented as an exhibition rather than a conventional professional contest. Wells died on November 14, 2009, in Camberley, Surrey.
Wells won Junior Amateur Boxing Association welterweight titles in 1949 and 1950 and received the Gold Star after defeating Joe Erskine.
He won the Amateur Boxing Association light-middleweight championship in 1953 and 1954, establishing himself as one of the leading British amateur boxers of the period.
He won the light-middleweight gold medal at the 1953 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Warsaw, defeating Zbigniew Pietrzykowski in the semifinal and Max Resch in the final.
He recorded a reported amateur boxing career total of 385 wins and three defeats.
He reached the semifinal of the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games boxing tournament and received the bronze medal.
He defeated Gennadiy Shatkov, the Olympic and European middleweight champion, in an international bout at Wembley in 1955.
After retiring from competition, Wells contributed to boxing as a trainer and later became a stuntman and actor in British film and television.
Wells was a member of Green Room Lodge No. 2957, a London Masonic lodge. The lodge was associated with the London Ex-Boxers Association, a charitable organization established to support former boxers and their families.
Physical Characteristics: He was nearly six feet tall by the age of fourteen and competed primarily in the light-middleweight division.
Quotes from others about the person
Boxing News described Wells as an “ex-amateur star.”
