Empire title was up for grabs in Edinburgh

History will be made at Meadowbank tomorrow when, for the first time, the British heavyweight title and Lonsdale belt will be disputed in Scotland by Inverness’s Gary Cornish and England’s Sam Sexton.

But it is not the first time that a major British heavyweight title has been up for grabs in Edinburgh.

In 1926, former London fireman Phil Scott fought Australian George Cook for the British Empire title. The bout was held in front of 12,000 fight fans at the Industrial Hall in Annandale Street in a building that now houses a bus garage.

Scott had strong ties with Edinburgh having made his pro debut in the capital while serving as a Royal Marine at Port Edgar.

The fight was scheduled for 20 rounds but Scott won in the 17th when Cook was disqualified. It may have been a historic bout but it wasn’t a classic, with the Edinburgh Evenng News reporting that the fight was a “dreadful bore”.