Colin Powers, the former British light welterweight champion, died on September 18, 2026. He was 70.
Powers, born in London in 1956, turned professional in June 1975. He beat Kevin Quinn in his first fight, then built a record in the light welterweight division that earned him a shot at national honors.
His career took a turn in 1976 when he suffered his first professional defeat against Des Morrison. Powers responded with wins over Joey Singleton, Clinton McKenzie, and Efisio Pinna. Those victories set up a rematch with Morrison, this time with the vacant British light welterweight title on the line.
The pair met at York Hall in October 1977. Powers stopped Morrison in the tenth round to claim the championship. He held the British title from 1977 to 1979. In 1978, he added the European championship to his resume.
Powers' reign as British champion covered a period when the light welterweight division in Britain was crowded with talent. His wins over Singleton and McKenzie, both established names, marked him as a fighter who could beat the best domestically. The victory over Pinna, an Italian, showed his ability to compete beyond British shores.
The European title win in 1978 placed Powers among the top fighters in his weight class on the continent. Boxing records from the era list him as a former champion in both the British and European organizations, a distinction that carried weight in the late 1970s.
Powers was an Aquarius, born in February 1956. He came up through the London boxing scene at a time when the city produced a steady stream of contenders. His professional career spanned the mid-1970s into the early 1980s, a period of transition for British boxing as the sport moved toward the pay-per-view era that would define the following decade.
The British light welterweight title he won in 1977 had been vacated, and his victory over Morrison at York Hall put him in a lineage of champions that stretched back through the division's history. York Hall, a venue in Bethnal Green, has hosted more boxing shows than any other arena in Britain. Powers' name is attached to one of its more significant nights.
His death was confirmed on September 18, 2026. The cause of death was not stated in the announcement.
Powers' record in the ring, built on wins over Morrison, Singleton, McKenzie, and Pinna, places him among the notable British light welterweights of his generation. He fought in an era when British boxing was producing fighters who would go on to international fame, and his own achievements in the domestic and European ranks earned him a place in the sport's record books.
The boxing community in Britain has a history of honoring its former champions. Powers' career, which included a British title and a European title, will be remembered in the record books of both organizations.
He is survived by the legacy of a career that included 18 rounds of fighting against Morrison alone, two bouts that defined the peak of his time in the sport. The second of those, the tenth-round stoppage at York Hall, gave him the championship he held for two years.
According to Dead-People.