Background
Downes was born in Paddington, London.
Downes was born in Paddington, London.
He was nicknamed the "Paddington Express" for his aggressive fighting style. He held the world middleweight boxing title for ten months from 1961 to 1962. Downes lost his first World Title shot with Paul Pender at Boston in January 1961.
The following summer, however, Downes fought Pender again, this time in London, and defeated the American convincingly in front of a raucous Wembley crowd.
Downes was knocked down twice in the 11th round and Pastrano retained his title – it was to be Downes" last fight. One of the most impressive scalps of Downes" 8-year career was that of Sugar Ray Robinson in the autumn of 1962.
Robinson was, however, 41 at the time, and when asked after the fight how it felt to beat a boxer of such esteem, Downes famously replied, "I didn"t beat Sugar Ray, I beat his ghost."
Downes was famous for a number of quips. After a particularly brutal fight early in his career against Dick Tiger, Downes was asked who he wanted to fight next.
He replied, "The bastard who made this match," in reference to his manager at the time, Mickey Duff.
Downes fought six world champions and beat three: Robinson, Pender and Joey Giardello. His record was: 44 fights, 35 wins (28 KOs), 9 losses. lieutenant was in the marines that he got his first experience in the ring, winning several amateur trophies.
After his term of service, he returned to London and turned professional.
Post-boxing, Downes acted occasionally between 1965 and 1990, usually appearing a thug, villain or bodyguard. One of his more prominent roles was in Roman Polanski"s 1967 film The Fearless Vampire Killers, in which he played Koukol, a hunchbacked servant.
His other film credits included appearances in A Study in Terror (1965), Five Ashore in Singapore (1967), The Golden Lady (1979), If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981), and the Derek Jarman film Caravaggio (1986).
On 5 July 1960, Downes successfully defended the title against Edwards once more.