LAND OF THE GIANTS
Investigating which world heavyweight champions boxed in the UK
THE saddest change to boxing that has occurred in my lifetime is that we no longer have one world heavyweight champion. Between 1892 and 1978 there was a direct line, with a few irrelevant exceptions, between one champion and the next. Since then it has been chaos, and although there have been some outstanding heavyweight champions since 1978, for every Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield or Lennox Lewis, there is always a Francesco Damiani, Bruce Seldon or Lamon Brewster to muck things up.
There were 25 men who held the lineal title over the aforementioned prechaos period and I wondered how many of these boxed in the United Kingdom. There are some unfortunate omissions as standouts such as James J. Jeffries, Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis and Sonny Liston never boxed here. Of the remaining twenty exactly half did. There are also some surprising exclusions. Bob Fitzsimmons, born in Cornwall, left as a boy and was brought up in New Zealand and boxed mainly in the States but never here. Neither did the Swede, Ingemar Johansson, who held the European heavyweight title and boxed four British fighters. Max Schmeling boxed exclusively in Europe for his first 45 contests, meeting UK opponents five times, including a oneround knockout loss to Newport’s Gipsy Daniels, but, at a time when most leading fighters from Northern Europe came to our shores, Max didn’t, he went to America instead and made his fortune.
The first lineal champion to box over here was Tommy Burns. Tommy, a Canadian, defended his title here twice, beating Gunner Moir and Jack Palmer easily at the National Sporting Club. King Edward VII was so interested in the progress of these contests that he had the results wired to him, at the Palace, directly after they ended. Burns’ successor, Jack Johnson boxed in Plymouth in 1908, easily beating the “Woolwich Infant”, Ben Taylor. At the time Plymouth was the leading British fight centre outside London.
Primo Carnera boxed in London seven times between 1929 and 1932. He despatched Jack Stanley and Reggie Meen, who was to become British champion, in one round when he met them in 1929 and 1930 respectively. Carnera also boxed the American, Young Stribling, at the Royal Albert Hall in 1929 and he lost to the Canadian Larry Gains, rather surprisingly, at the White City Stadium three years later.
Max Baer fought against Tommy Farr at Harringay Arena in 1937. Four months later Tommy went the distance with Joe Louis for the world title. It was a great surprise that Tommy defeated Baer over 12 rounds. Boxing News reported of the Welshman, “cool and confident when he entered the ring Farr set about his job in the style of a real workman. Right from the start he outspeeded and outmanoeuvred Baer.” Baer defeated the South African, Ben Foord, at the same arena the following month.
Both Ezzard Charles and Floyd Patterson boxed here once. Charles lost rather disgracefully by disqualification against Dick Richardson at Harringay Arena in 1956. He had been warned four times for holding within the first four minutes and referee Frank Wilson threw him out early in the second. Patterson, on the other hand, showed what an underrated puncher he was by bombing out Henry Cooper in four rounds at Wembley in 1966. Cooper’s previous bout had been against Muhammad Ali in the second of three contests that Ali boxed here.
Joe Frazier beat Joe Bugner at Earl’s Court in 1973 and George Foreman dumped countryman Terry Anderson in one round at Millwall Arena in 1990. The final lineal champ to box here was the one who did so under the least fanfare. Leon Spinks, in only his second bout, knocked out Bolton’s Peter Freeman, a substitute for Eddie Fenton of Leicester, at Liverpool Stadium on the Contehhutchins undercard in March 1977. Eleven months after this and after just five more bouts he beat Ali in Las Vegas, to become champion, in a huge upset.