Hall of Fame promoter Jarvis Astaire, who was a member of the group of promoters that has a stranglehold over British boxing from the 1960s until the 1990s, has died at the age of 97. 

Astaire was the silent partner in the group that became known as “The Cartel”, along with Mickey Duff, Mike Barrett and Terry Lawless. Between them they had sole rights to promote at the two biggest venues of the time – Wembley Arena and the Royal Albert Hall – and had an exclusive deal to show boxing on the BBC. It was not until Frank Warren made his breakthrough in the 1980s that The Cartel’s grip over the sport in Britain was loosened. 

While Barrett and Duff were the promoters – with Harry Levine at Wembley – and Lawless managed the boxers, Astaire never had his name on any posters. But he was the man who built the Wembley contact, both at the arena and the stadium, which staged its share of big fights, including the famous first fight between Henry Cooper and the then-named Cassius Clay. He went on to be a major shareholder and deputy chairman at Wembley, playing a leading role in bringing the WWE’s Summerslam there as well as the 1996 European Football Championships. As well as boxing, wrestling and greyhound racing, he also produced West End shows. 

The son of a hatmaker, his first involvement in the sport was staging charity boxing matches during the Second World War. 

He also managed boxers, including Olympic champion Terry Spinks, world middleweight champion Terry Downes, Evan Armstrong, Billy Thompson, Peter Waterman and Bobby Neill, as well as being associated with Ken Buchanan and Frank Bruno. 

Astaire also played a leading role in getting Muhammad Ali to Europe in 1966, when he boxed Cooper and Brian London in London and Karl Mildenberger in Germany.  

He was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006. 

Astaire was also heavily involved in the children’s charity, the Variety Club, for whom he was appointed life president in 2013, and it was because of services to children that he was appointed OBE by the Queen in 2004. 

Warren, his former rival, was among those who paid their respects, posting on Twitter that he was “saddened to hear” of his passing and sending condolences to his family. 

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.