Anthony Small (also known as Abdul Haq[1]) is a retired professional boxer and Islamic political activist who was born 20 June 1981 in Lewisham, London, England. He held both the British and Commonwealth belts at light middleweight. He was also referred to as 'Sugar Ray Clay Jones Jr.' (SRCJJ), in homage to Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, and Roy Jones Jr. Small converted to Sunni Islam at the age of 24. He is active on his YouTube blog where he advocates for Sharia (Islamic political ideology) to be implemented in Britain and is a follower of Anjem Choudary and a member of Al-Muhajiroun/Islam4UK.[2]

Anthony Small
Born
Anthony Small

(1981-06-20) 20 June 1981 (age 43)
NationalityBritish
Other namesSugar Ray Clay Jones Jr.
Statistics
Weight(s)Light Middleweight
Stanceunorthodox
Boxing record
Total fights25
Wins23
Wins by KO16
Losses2
Draws0
No contests0

Boxing career

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Early professional career

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Small turned professional aged 23 in 2004 with a first-round knockout of Lance Hall. He was managed by boxing promoter Frank Warren, who had seen Small to wins over former Ukrainian Light Middleweight Champion Vladimir Borovski and previously unbeaten prospect Prince Arron. He also scored a win for the UK team in The Contender Challenge: UK vs. USA on 30 March 2007, defeating Walter Wright in the first matchup of the tournament by a close split decision. However, his World Title hopes were given a massive dent when he was beaten by a technical knockout in round seven by Bradley Pryce whilst fighting for the Commonwealth Light-Middleweight title.[3][4]

Small's boxing style was considered to be unorthodox. He kept his gloves low, relying on body movement to avoid punches, rather than blocking. Due to his low hand position, he relied mainly on his natural hand speed to surprise his opponents when punching. Additionally, he shifted from the left-foot-forward orthodox stance to the right-foot-forward southpaw stance throughout the bout.

Route to contention

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His first fight back following his defeat by Pryce was on 12 January 2008 for the Southern Area Title Light-Middleweight title when he defeated Mehrdud Takaloo by TKO after 7 rounds.[5] On 14 June, he made his first defence, beating George Katsimpas by TKO in the 8th, flooring Katsimpas with a bodyshot. He finished a successful year by also defeating ex-contender star Freddy Curiel with a tenth round stoppage as well as former British title challenger Steve Conway.

British and Commonwealth champion

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On 18 July 2009, Small fought for and won both the British and Commonwealth champion with an 8th round stoppage of Manchester's Matthew Hall after overwhelming him with a vicious flurry of hooks in the 8th, which forced the referee to stop the contest.[6] He made his first defence of both titles on 27 November 2009 in a close decision win over Thomas McDonagh over 12 rounds.[7] Small was criticised for his performance with many believing McDonagh had won. Small chose to give up the Commonwealth title and hold on to the British belt, defending it against mandatory challenger Sam Webb on 26 March 2010, who had also beaten McDonagh on points. The fight, which was also close, went the distance with Webb surviving a nasty cut in the fifth round to claim the judges decision on points handing a second career defeat to Small.[8]

Protest controversy

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Small attracted controversy when he took part in a march in Barking, East London, to protest against the British presence in the war in Afghanistan. Small, a Salafi Muslim, had joined with around 50 other demonstrators who called themselves 'Muslims Against Crusades', which is a new front for al-Muhajiroun/Islam4UK, at the march on 15 June 2010.[9]

In 2014, he was arrested after two other men were apprehended at Dover with false documents, and appeared in court at the Old Bailey on 15 June 2015 charged with planning to go to Syria to fight with Islamic State after spreading terrorist material online.[10] He was found not guilty.[11] In January 2018 Small was formally charged with "encouraging acts of terrorism" in a 2016 social media post following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.[12] He was acquitted in June.[13]

Other media appearances

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In 2016, he appeared on the BBC Two documentary Muslims Like Us, in which ten Muslims of diverse beliefs were placed in a house together. His appearance was controversial for being potentially unrepresentative of the views of most Muslims in the UK, although reviewers noted that he was challenged vehemently on his views by the other housemates.[14][15][16]

Professional boxing record

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25 fights 23 wins 2 losses
By knockout 16 1
By decision 7 1
Draws 0
No contests 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
25 Loss 23–2   Sam Webb MD 12 2010-03-26   Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, England Lost BBBofC British Super welterweight title.
24 Win 23–1   Thomas McDonagh UD 12 2009-11-27   Robin Park Centre, Wigan, England Retained BBBofC British Super welterweight title.
Retained Commonwealth (British Empire) Super welterweight title.
23 Win 22–1   Matthew Hall TKO 8 (12), 2:21 2009-07-18   M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, England Won vacant BBBofC British Super welterweight title.
Won Commonwealth (British Empire) Super welterweight title.
22 Win 21–1   Steven Conway TKO 2 (8), 0:28 2008-12-06   ExCeL Arena London, London Docklands, England
21 Win 20–1   Freddy Curiel TKO 10 (12), 1:45 2008-09-12   Grosvenor House Hotel, Mayfair, London, England Won vacant WBA International Super welterweight title.
20 Win 19–1   George Katsimpas TKO 8 (10), 2:58 2008-06-14   York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England Retained BBBofC Southern Area Super welterweight title.
19 Win 18–1   Mehrdud Takaloo TKO 7 (10), 2:57 2008-01-12   York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England Won vacant BBBofC Southern Area Super welterweight title.
18 Loss 17–1   Bradley Pryce TKO 7 (12), 2:14 2007-07-14   The O2 Arena, Greenwich, London, England For Commonwealth (British Empire) Super welterweight title.
17 Win 17–0   Walter Wright SD 8 2007-03-30   Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England
16 Win 16–0   Sergey Starkov TKO 4 (8), 2:16 2007-02-17   Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England
15 Win 15–0   Kevin Phelan TKO 1 (6) 2006-12-09   ExCeL Arena London, London Docklands, England
14 Win 14–0   Ciaran Healy TKO 3 (8), 2:55 2006-11-18   Newport Centre, Newport, Wales
13 Win 13–0   Prince Arron TKO 2 (6), 1:59 2006-10-21   Elephant & Castle Centre, Southwark, London, England
12 Win 12–0   Volodymyr Borovskyy PTS 6 2006-07-21   Leisure Center, Altrincham, England
11 Win 11–0   Oleksandr Matviichuk TKO 6 (8), 2:10 2006-05-30   York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England
10 Win 10–0   Kai Kauramaki KO 3 (6), 0:29 2006-03-24   York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England
9 Win 9–0   Ernie Smith PTS 6 2005-11-23   London Hilton on Park Lane, Mayfair, London, England
8 Win 8–0   Ismael Kerzazi TKO 1 (6), 1:53 2005-10-14   Leisure Center, Huddersfield, England
7 Win 7–0   David LeFranc TKO 1 (6), 2:11 2005-07-20   Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco
6 Win 6–0   Howard Clarke PTS 6 2005-06-16   Millennium Hotel, Mayfair, London, England
5 Win 5–0   Dmitry Donetsky PTS 4 2005-04-24   Equinox Nightclub, Leicester, England
4 Win 4–0   Andrei Sherel TKO 3 (4), 2:09 2005-01-21   Fountain Leisure Centre, Brentwood, Essex, England
3 Win 3–0   Howard Clarke PTS 4 2004-12-10   Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield, England
2 Win 2–0   Emmanuel Marcos TKO 1 (4), 1:08 2004-09-10   Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England
1 Win 1–0   Lance Hall TKO 1 (4), 2:28 2004-05-12   Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, Berkshire, England Professional debut

References

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  1. ^ Interview with Anthony Small on Islam Channel - Part 1. YouTube. 7 February 2008. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. ^ Behead Muggers Says Ex-Champ[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "BoxRec - Anthony Small". Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  4. ^ "BBC SPORT - Boxing - Pryce stops Small to defend title". 15 July 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  5. ^ "BBC SPORT - Boxing - 'Sad' Takaloo ponders retirement". 16 January 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  6. ^ South London Today | Small outclasses Hall [dead link]
  7. ^ Scott Christ (27 November 2009). "Anthony Small narrowly decisions Thomas McDonagh in Wigan". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Webb stands tall to beat Small". SkySports. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  9. ^ Tom Pettifor (15 June 2010). "Muslim militants hurl abuse at military parade in Barking". The Mirror. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  10. ^ "British boxing champion wanted to join IS - court hears", BBC News, 15 June 2015
  11. ^ "Ex-boxer Anthony Small acquitted of terrorism charge". BBC News. 5 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Ex-boxer charged with terror offence". BBC. 18 January 2018.
  13. ^ Jolly, Bradley (5 June 2018). "Former boxing champ Anthony Small cleared of calling for terror attacks". Metro. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  14. ^ Ali, Umbreen (13 December 2016). "TV REVIEW: The best parts of 'Muslims Like Us'". Asian Image. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  15. ^ Ismail, Sarah (14 December 2016). "Review: Muslims Like Us". HuffPost. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  16. ^ Versi, Miqdaad; Aly, Remona; Bano, Alia (14 December 2016). "Was Muslims Like Us a helpful portrayal of Islam in the UK?". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
Preceded by British Light Middleweight Champion
18 July 2009 – 26 March 2010
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commonwealth Light Middleweight Champion
18 July 2009 –
Succeeded by