Freddie Welsh (born Frederick Hall Thomas; 5 March 1886 – 29 July 1927) was a Welsh World boxing champion. The lightweight boxer was born in Pontypridd, Wales, nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard". Brought up in a tough mining community, Welsh left a working-class background to make a name for himself in America. He turned professional as a boxer in Philadelphia in 1905, and spent the best part of his career fighting in the United States. Welsh spent much of his career chasing the world championship title, held in turn by Battling Nelson, Ad Wolgast and Willie Ritchie, failing through a series of events to meet each until a successful encounter with Ritchie in July 1914, when he finally became world lightweight champion. Welsh held the title until 1917 when he lost to Benny Leonard, though he continued to fight sparingly until 1922. During his career, he fought in more than 160 professional bouts, suffering defeat on just 5 occasions. A keen follower of Bernarr Macfadden's physical culture, Welsh believed in exercise and healthy living and was a non-smoker and a vegetarian. In the years following the end of his career, bad business choices cost him his fortune, and after numerous health problems he died in poverty in 1927. Boxing career Early life and amateur career Freddie Welsh was born in Pontypridd on 5 March 1886, to John Thomas and his wife Elizabeth Thomas (née Hall). In the late 19th century, Pontypridd was a growing coal mining town, which attracted not only those wishing to make a living in the mines, but also middle-class professionals who saw an opportunity to make a living in a thriving community. Welsh's father was one such commercial immigrant, setting up a business on Taff Street as an auctioneer. Welsh's parents moved into 17 Morgan Street in the town, where Welsh was born. He had two younger siblings, a brother, Arthur Stanley and a sister, Edith Kate. Unlike most boxers of the period, Welsh had a privileged upbringing, at the age of four he attended Mr Mclune's Grammar School in Pontypridd and was privately educated at Long Ashton College in Clifton, Bristol. A few months after Welsh was born, his mother persuaded her husband to buy the Bridge Inn Hotel on Berw Road, and the family moved there. Welsh's mother was the daughter of a hotelier from Merthyr, and the Bridge Inn was her responsibility, as John