SCOUSE FORTRESS
How the famous old Merseyside venue was briefly revived in the 1970s
Remembering The Stadium in Liverpool
IN the early 1970s, when small hall boxing was in the doldrums and the game was largely being sustained by the ubiquitous sporting clubs, the 4,000-seat Stadium in Liverpool had been closed for four years. Opened in 1932, this purpose-built arena had seen some amazing battles in its illustrious history, but the sport had fallen out of favour with the city’s sporting public and there seemed little chance of The Stadium ever reopening. The success of John Conteh, the finest fighter to come out of Liverpool since the war, changed that.
It was hoped that the newly crowned British, European and Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion would be able to fight at The Stadium, but first it had to be established that the use of the hall was viable from a commercial standpoint. The promoters, the Atkinson family, soon found that it wasn’t, but as they were reasonably affluent and boxing was their primary interest and hobby, they were prepared to lose a few quid on the venture in order to progress the careers of their stable of local fighters. This is as it always has been. Provincial promoters do not get rich from their involvement in the game.
The first two shows, in September and November 1973, were encouraging. In front of a capacity crowd the opening
show produced an excellent contest at the top of the bill when local boy Joey Singleton won the vacant Central Area light-welterweight title by outscoring Manchester’s Jess Harper over 10 rounds. At the time, Singleton was showing clear potential within the newly formed weight class, now termed super-lightweight.
On the undercard, George Turpin, a bronze medallist at the Munich Olympic Games, held the previous year, won his second professional contest by halting the game Nigerian, Karim Young, in the eighth and final round. Mentored by Alan Rudkin, a Liverpool great from the previous decade, Turpin was expected to go far in the game. With good performances by Tony Byrne and Les Mcgowan, there was much for the Atkinsons to enthuse about.
Six weeks later and Dave Davies, from Bangor in North Wales but very much a Merseyside favourite, hammered local tough guy Ronnie Hough in five in a tremendous punch-up. With Singleton again winning on the undercard and the fans turning up in droves, the time was now right to bring Conteh into proceedings. His opponent was Fred “Preacher” Lewis, a veteran heavyweight from Colorado. The Conteh fight would be his 54th contest, and his last. He had been in with some good men, including Henry Clark, Roger Rischer and Boone Kirkman, but he was no match for someone as young and talented as Conteh. He went down ignominiously in three rounds, with the large crowd booing and whistling their disapproval.
Thankfully the undercard was very good and with further victories for Byrne, Davies and Tim Mchugh, the state of the revival on Merseyside looked promising. Turpin also racked up another win, his third as a pro, by decisioning Kirkcaldy’s John Mitchell over eight hard rounds.
The problem the promoters had was that, despite this array of talent, the Conteh scrap might dissuade the pubic from returning. The fourth show, held nine months later, provided the answer. Singleton topped the bill and crushed Jim Melrose in an official eliminator for the British crown before a disappointingly small crowd. Two months later, Joey defeated Pat Mccormack for the British title in the final show held at The Stadium during this first attempt at its revival.
The Atkinsons did not give up easily and in 1976 they tried again, this time with Robbie Davies as a big attraction. Turpin defeated Singleton in an eight-rounder, as the two men upon whom The Stadium’s revival had been based met in the famous ring.
Conteh also returned in 1977 to defend his WBC light-heavyweight title against Len Hutchins, but the venue never became properly established and it staged its last show in 1985, being pulled down shortly thereafter.