John Anthony Conteh, (born 27 May 1951) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980. He held the WBC light-heavyweight title from 1974 to 1977, and regionally the European, British and Commonwealth titles between 1973 and 1974. As an amateur, he represented England and won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. In 2017, Conteh was awarded an MBE for services to boxing at the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Professional career Born in Liverpool, Lancashire (now Merseyside), to an Irish mother and Sierra Leonean father, Conteh began boxing at the age of 10 at a boxing club in Kirkby that was a training ground for fellow British amateurs Joey Singleton and Tucker Hetherington. At 19, he won the middleweight gold medal at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. He won the WBC light-heavyweight title in October 1974 by defeating Jorge Ahumada. He held the title until 1977 when he was stripped for not going through with a mandatory defence.Conteh Stripped of Title. United Press International via Star-News. 19 May 1977

Conteh lost a 15-round split decision to the Yugoslavian fighter Mate Parlov when he attempted to regain the title.Parlov Decisions Conteh. Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal. 17 June 1978 He failed twice in further efforts to win back the crown, in 1979 and then again seven months later in 1980, on both occasions fighting the American Matthew Saad Muhammad. Muhammad won both bouts but the first victory was controversial.Controversial ending to cruiserweight fight. The Gazette, Montreal. 10 December 1979

Appearances outside boxing Conteh was one of the celebrities featured dressed in prison gear on the cover of the 1973 Wings album, Band on the Run.Spizer, Bruce (2005). The Beatles Solo on Apple Records. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1974.

Conteh was the British Superstars competition champion in 1974, the second year of the televised sporting event. Conteh is now an after-dinner speaker.

Conteh appeared on the BBC television programme Sporting Legends which was presented by Eamonn Holmes. There he spoke at length at how he started out in boxing and how Ali persuaded him to fight at light-heavyweight instead of heavyweight. Ali believed that Conteh was too small to be a heavyweight. Conteh also spoke of how his lifestyle led to alcoholism and a charge of assault; he stated that at the time he appeared on Sporting Legends he had been dry for nine years.

Conteh appeared in films Man at the Top (1973), The Stud (1978) and Tank Malling (1989), and made a starring appearance in the television show Boon in 1989, as a washed-up boxer. He appeared on a boxing special of The Weakest Link in 2009, where he finished in third place. His most recent TV acting appearance was in the crime drama Justice, in which he again played an ex-boxer.

Conteh was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to boxing.

Conteh appeared in a celebrity episode of The Chase in 2024.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes39Win James DixonTKO5 (10), 31 May 1980 38Loss33–4–1 Matthew Saad MuhammadTKO4 (15), 29 Mar 1980 37Loss33–3–1 Matthew Saad MuhammadUD1518 Aug 1979 36Win33–2–1 Ivy BrownPTS104 Jun 1979 35Draw32–2–1 Jesse Burnett1019 Apr 1979 34Win32–2 Leonardo RodgersKO7 (10), 26 Sep 1978 33Loss31–2 Mate Parlov1517 Jun 1978 32Win31–1 Joe CokesPTS107 Feb 1978 31Win30–1 Len HutchinsTKO3 (15), 5 Mar 1977 30Win29–1 Yaqui LópezUD159 Oct 1976 29Win28–1 Willie Taylor1016 Aug 1975 28Win27–1 Lonnie BennettTKO5 (15), 11 Mar 1975 27Win26–1 Jorge AhumadaPTS151 Oct 1974 26Win25–1 Chris FinneganTKO6 (15)21 May 1974 25Win24–1 Tom Bogs6 (15)12 Mar 1974 24Win23–1 Les StevensPTS1012 Feb 1974 23Win22–1 Fred LewisTKO3 (10)14 Dec 1973 22Win21–1 Baby Boy RollePTS1523 Oct 1973 21Win20–1 Vicente RondónTKO9 (10)10 Sep 1973 20Win19–1 Chris FinneganPTS1522 May 1973 19Win18–1 Rüdiger SchmidtkeTKO12 (15), 13 Mar 1973 18Win17–1 Terry DanielsTKO7 (10)14 Feb 1973 17Win16–1 Dave MatthewsPTS1015 Jan 1973 16Win15–1 Sam McGillTKO9 (10)5 Dec 1972 15Win14–1 John HudginsKO3 (10), 14 Nov 1972 14Win13–1 Bill DroverKO7 (10), 31 Oct 1972 13Win12–1 Ferenc KristofcsakTKO1 (8)10 Oct 1972 12Loss11–1 Eddie DuncanPTS1026 Sep 1972 11Win11–0 Johnny MacTKO2 (8)19 Jul 1972 10Win10–0 Billy AirdTKO8 (8)6 Jun 1972 9Win9–0 Joe GholstonTKO5 (8)25 Apr 1972 8Win8–0 Ruben FigueroaKO2 (8)28 Mar 1972 7Win7–0 Larry SykesKO1 (8)15 Feb 1972 6Win6–0 Wilhelm JancoTKO1 (8)25 Jan 1972 5Win5–0 Emilio OkeeTKO5 (8)7 Dec 1971 4Win4–0 Tony Burwell824 Nov 1971 3Win3–0 Frank BullardTKO2 (10)16 Nov 1971 2Win2–0 Pierre Minier5 (8)8 Nov 1971 1Win1–0 Okacha Boubekeur1 (8)18 Oct 1971

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