UNUSUAL DISTANCES
Looking back at ghts that were scheduled for an obscure number of rounds
IWAS scanning an old copy of Boxing News last week when I came across the report of a contest at Preston Guildhall on May 5, 1992 between Manchester’s Noel Carroll and Kevin Jenkins of Ammanford. It resulted in a clear points victory for Carroll, but what was strange about the bout is that it was scheduled for seven rounds. It got me thinking about other contests that have taken place in the UK over an unusual number of rounds.
My records database goes back to 1905 and since that date I can only find two instances of a match being agreed for more than 20 rounds. These were both 25-rounders and they took place in the Edwardian era. The last one, at Birkenhead Drill Hall on Feb 7, 1910, was between the American, Bart Connelly, and Seaman Broadbent of the Royal Navy. Connelly disposed of his rival by third-round knockout.
At the time, the usual distance for British title fights was 20 rounds, and this remained the case until 1928 when the final such title bout took place. Alf Kid Pattenden put the second notch on his Lonsdale Belt when he stopped London rival Young Johnny Brown in 12 at the old National Sporting Club in Covent Garden. There were only 20 more bouts over the long distance after this, and six of them were for the Scottish title.
Tommy Kirk and Bert Ison, both of Leicester, contested the last two 20-rounders in Britain, and both fights took place at the Spinney Hill Club in their hometown. The second bout between the two, and therefore that last 20-rounder to be fought in Britain, occurred on September 13, 1932. The previous month the two had fought to a 20-round draw. The referee for this contest was Larry Gains, famous himself for holding victories over Max Schmeling and Primo Carnera as a fighter. His decision was well received as both lads fought their hearts out.
The return was eagerly anticipated and once again the club was packed. Kirk and Ison were bantamweights and between them they took part in 532 professional bouts, with 213 victories. They were very well known in their native town. Ison entered the ring for the rematch while suffering from boils and with his left arm heavily bandaged from a previous injury. He had Kirk down early in the second, but Kirk recovered to take the verdict after a close and clean contest. The report of the bout stated that the action was so good that it made “the rafters ring”. The two men met 12 times in all, with Kirk winning seven and Ison four.
There have been three 18-rounders in British history, the last of these taking place in Middlesbrough in 1928. It is not generally known that the great majority of contests before 1939 were twominute-rounders. The most important bouts were always contested over three minutes, but a man might go through his whole career, as a bottom and middle-ofthe-bill fighter, and never have to do so.
In 1936, the Board of Control issued an instruction that no boxer be allowed to take part in two bouts of 30-minutes duration within four days of each other. To get around this the promoter simply fixed the second contest for nine rounds rather than 10. Many nine-rounders took place between 1936 and the outbreak of war in 1939, after which the ruling seems to have been largely ignored. An early example is the bout between the Scottish great, Benny Lynch, at the time the world flyweight champion, and Pat Warburton of Ebbw Vale. Benny stopped his man in three at the Stadium Club, Holborn.
The last British nine-rounder that I can find took place in March 1976 when British bantamweight champion Paddy Maguire defeated John Kellie of Livingstone by fifth-round knockout at the Anglo-american Sporting Club in Mayfair. Kellie was Scottish champ for six years between 1970 and 1976. He also fought for the Commonwealth bantamweight belt and in his last contest he was beaten by the late Johnny Owen in a British title eliminator.