DREAMS (ALMOST) COME TRUE
THE front of the Scottish EBA’S current newsletter has a photo of Davy Mooney, SEBA’S President for 2024.
Davy boxed professionally from 1956 to 1958, winning 12 of his 16 bouts – eight inside-schedule. His final outing, in October 1958, saw him lose in five rounds to Chic Calderwood, who is also featured in the newsletter, in an article from the 1962 Boxing News Annual.
At the time, Calderwood was British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion, and the article (by leading historian and one-time BN editor Gilbert Odd) ends with the words: “1962 should be [Calderwood’s] bonanza year, and I share his and his manager’s confidence that nothing can stop him from going to the very top.”
Sadly, this wouldn’t be the case. Calderwood was never beaten for either title, but a 1962 bid for the vacant European championship in Rome resulted in a hotly-disputed points defeat by Giulio Rinaldi (who had challenged Archie Moore for the world title the previous year).
Another trip to Italy, in August 1966, also ended in disappointment
– his outdoor challenge to European champion Piero Del Papa was declared a no-contest in the sixth round when the bout had to be halted because of torrential rain. In October, Calderwood challenged world champion Jose Torres in San Juan but was KO’D in two rounds – and less than a month later he was tragically killed in a road crash, aged just 29.
Elsewhere, there are memories of two thrilling world middleweight title bouts – Marvin Hagler’s 1986 11th-round KO of Ugandan John Mugabi and Sugar Ray Robinson’s 13th-round win over old rival Jake Lamotta in 1951, to become world 160lbs champion for the first time. And a piece on Scotland’s Vernon Sollas, who won the British featherweight title in the 1970s and today is a regular at London EBA meetings.
I was pleased to see a report of a recent pro show at Alloa Town Hall.
As I keep stressing, it’s vital that EBAS show that they’re in touch with today’s scene, and are not simply about reminiscing about “the good old days.”
And I was also pleased to see a plug for the Northern Boxing Federation Gala at the Sheraton Hotel, Blackpool, June 28-30. It’s great that this is happening again, and it deserves to be wellattended.
There’s also a mention of the Gala in
the current Manchester EBA newsletter – which opens with the sad news that boxing scribe Lawrence Yearsley is in hospital and very poorly. Everyone sends “Lol” best wishes, and hopes he makes a full and speedy recovery.
Lol’s articles on yesteryear are a regular feature of the MEBA newsletter. This month’s is a little bit different – instead of concentrating on one specific fighter, Lol looks at fighters with a connection with bulls! – some had “bullish” nicknames (Luis Angel Firpo, the ‘Wild Bull of the Pampas’: Juan Diaz, the ‘Baby Bull’), while some actually fought with bulls! Lol cites the case of Welshman Tom Thomas, British middleweight champion 1906-09, who “didn’t believe in paying for sparringpartners – so he sparred with a bull instead”. Fascinating.
The current Central (Midlands) EBA newsletter, has a detailed feature on recently retired John Ryder, who won 32 of 39 contests and met some of the best – including two challenges for versions of the ‘world’ super-middleweight crown, against the formidable Callum Smith and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. John had the satisfaction of taking both the distance.
The last two paragraphs are significant. John says: “I’ve put so much into the sport and not always got the rub of the green. I came with a dream [against Canelo] and fell short. But that’s boxing. I’m not the first and won’t be the last.
“Now that it’s all said and done, I can sit back and look at my career and know that I fought the best out there. Hopefully, that’s what people will remember me for.”
We certainly will.