THE CALENDAR YEAR
The EBAS’ annual calendars hark back to some memorable times
EBAS are always looking for ways of publicising themselves, and several produce a calendar each year, with plenty of pictures.
London EBA’S calendar focuses on LEBA members. This month, for instance, has a photo of Melanie Lloyd launching her latest book at a LEBA meeting, together with some of the 100-plus members who bought it. January portrays members who are currently active (“LEBA’S ‘Young Guns’, who all did well in 2017 and will go on to greater victories in 2018”). It’s so important that EBAS are seen to support present-day boxers, and London certainly does.
February has pictures of last year’s Award winners: October shows Rocky Kelly receiving his replica Southern Area welterweight title belt, and December has old amateur rivals Larry O’connell and Dick Mctaggart MBE, squaring up to each other more than 50 years after their first contest. And there are plenty of pictures of members enjoying themselves together at LEBA meetings.
Central Midlands EBA takes a different line, with half the photos in their 2018 calendar being of scantily clad young ladies. The rest reproduce posters for big fights of the past, and some of them are fascinating.
June/july, for instance, has a flyer for a heavyweight 10-rounder between future world champions Joe (sic) Maxim and Jersey Joe Walcott, at Los Angeles’ Gilmore Stadium on June 23, 1947. The show was promoted by singing legend Frank Sinatra, and at the top of the flyer are photos of Maxim, Walcott and current world heavyweight champion Joe Louis, with the caption: “Will the three Joes ever meet?”
Walcott beat Maxim on a split decision (it was their third meeting in 10 months, all going the distance – Maxim won the first, Walcott the second). Walcott’s next bout was a challenge to Louis, which he lost on a controversial split verdict, decking Louis twice. He lost the return, too, via 11th-round KO. He would eventually win the world title, beating old rival Ezzard Charles in 1951. The previous year, Maxim beat Britain’s Freddie Mills for the world light-heavyweight crown. But Louis and Maxim never fought.
As well as calendars, several EBAS include interesting articles in their newsletters, about fighters of the past. The current Sussex newsletter has a fascinating piece by Terry Francis, dealing mainly with that fine Jewish-american fighter, Al “Bummy” Davis, who boxed between 1937 and 1945, with 65 wins
(46 inside schedule) and four draws in 79 outings.
Davis never won a world title, or even boxed for one, but he met many world champions, scoring stunning wins over Bob Montgomery (one round) and Tony Canzoneri (three).
But why “Bummy”? Well, his birth name was Albert Abraham Davidoff, and his family called him Avrumelch. His brothers shortened this to Vroomy, which was anglicised to Boomy and finally Bummy. Now you know!
The article mentions several other fine Jewish fighters, from pre-war world champions like Ted “Kid” Lewis, Barney Ross and Jack “Kid” Berg, up to Scotland’s Gary Jacobs, who campaigned in the ‘80s and ‘90s, won European, Commonwealth and British welterweight titles and challenged for the WBC belt.
And the current Scottish EBA newsletter has an article on Tommy Milligan, who boxed as a welter in the 1920s. Tommy beat the aforementioned Ted “Kid” Lewis for the European, British and Commonwealth middleweight belts, and challenged the great Mickey Walker for the world crown.
Possibly Tommy’s finest win came in his penultimate bout, in 1928, when he KO’D future world light-heavyweight champion Maxie Rosenbloom in nine rounds. It was one of only two occasions Rosenbloom was beaten inside the distance.
Going back to the topic of EBAS supporting current boxers, I was pleased to hear from Ipswich EBA Secretary Erik Roper that several Ipswich members recently attended an amateur boxing show at St. Benedicts Catholic College, Colchester, “to support three of our good friends,” Erik said. “Graham Moughton (Holland Shore), Martin Webb (Harwich) and Rory Burke (Patricks) all had fighters on the card, and all 18 bouts were fiercely and evenly contested.”