Copley, Clara (d. 1949)

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Copley, Clara (d. 1949)

Irish entrepreneur who ran a prize-fighting ring. Name variations: Ma Copley. Died in 1949.

Called a "woman in a man's world—the world of prize fighting," Clara Copley, who came from a circus family, made her home in a Romany caravan. Known as Ma Copley, she embarked on her career in the world of prize fighting in the 1930s. With the shortage of work during these years, young men were lured to fighting with hopes of winning money. Copley started with a boxing booth and later held boxing matches in a large, wooden building in Belfast. Among those who fought in her tournaments were fly-weight champion of 1948 Rinty Monaghan; Irish champion Bunty Doran; Tommy Armour, who knocked out British champion Eric Boon; and Jimmy Warnock who triumphed over world fly-weight champion Benny Lynch. Copley died in 1949.

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