WELL DONE, JOHN
A tribute to the recently retired Colbourne
I WAS delighted to receive an email from Rees Hopcraft, paying tribute to fellowbrighton EBA member John Colbourne. “Everyone in Sussex amateur boxing knows John,” Rees says, “and if they don’t, then they should.
“This quiet and unassuming man has dedicated his life to the sport as a boxer, coach and official, and has a fantastic story to tell – holding the prestigious title of Britain’s oldest referee when he finally decided to hang up the bow tie at the age of 82, more than 10 years ago.
“When I was sick with nerves as an 11-year-old debutant at Cranleigh Village Hall, Surrey, in 1982, John was the referee – the friendly face I grew to see as the man in the middle dozens of times over the years. That reassuring hand on the back as you were brought to the middle for the final time to ‘touch gloves.’ And while John names fellow-beba attendee Ritchie Davies as his idol and inspiration as a top-class arbiter – John was mine. It was a great honour, 30 years after that amateur debut, to be John’s refereeing colleague at the Brighton Metropole Hotel in 2011 when he took to the ring for the final time and earned a deserved standing ovation from the capacity crowd.”
Rees goes on to say that, despite having retired from active officiating, John is still involved in the sport as President of Hillcrest ABC, Newhaven, and Life-president of the Sussex ABA. He is also Honorary Vice-president of Brighton EBA, regularly attending meetings. For his part, Rees is Chairman of Crawley ABC.
I really enjoyed reading Rees’ email (unfortunately too long to reproduce in full). This column is mainly about
Association activities, but it’s good to get stories of individual members too. If you’d like to drop me a line about your career, or, like Rees, want to pay tribute to a fellow-member – please don’t hesitate!
Horrendous problems with public transport meant several members couldn’t make London EBA’S monthly meeting on April 3 – but the atmosphere was still good, as always.
President Stephen Powell drew the meeting’s attention to three important dates. On Friday, May 27, former British super-welter champion Jimmy Batten is staging an evening at the Rowing Club, Isle of Dogs, in aid of the Ringside Charitable Trust. Jimmy is a tireless worker for charity, frequently organising events like this for good causes – and this of course is an excellent cause, supported
by virtually everybody connected with boxing. Well done, Jimmy, and I hope it’s a success.
James Cook, MBE, is putting on an amateur show at The Pedro Club on June 4. These events are always good - James has done so much for his local community, and the Pedro Club, to quote their website, “offers all children and young adults within the borough [of Hackney] a safe haven where they can enjoy sport and progress amongst their peers.”
And on July 31 there is the evening with Michael Watson and Spencer Oliver at The Circus Tavern, Purfleet, in aid of the Sporting Brain Injuries Charity.
The current Seconds Out, LEBA’S monthly newsletter, has plenty about its highly successful 50th Anniversary Lunch, with lots of photographs.
As I reported, one person who sadly couldn’t make it was former WBU lightweight champion Colin Dunne, who came down from Liverpool the day before but suffered a heart attack and was admitted to hospital. The good news is that in his “Round and About” feature, LEBA Chairman Bob Cheeseman reports putting in a call to Colin, who was sounding “fantastic.” Having had a stent put in, he was “feeling like Robocop” – and, after only a short stay in hospital he is now back at work and loving it, doing specialist electrical work at a local hospital.
I remember Colin as a tremendous, all-action fighter – his nickname was “Dynamo” – and I’m delighted to hear that he’s overcome his latest opponent too. Keep punching, Colin!
EMAIL simonoldtimers@googlemail.com with your ex-boxer association news.