BATTLING BARBARA
Buttrick blazed her way to a world title when female boxers were widely frowned upon
BARBARA BUTTRICK was born in Hessle, East Yorkshire, in December 1929, and grew up in nearby Cottingham. As a child she loved sport and was inspired to take up boxing by an article she read about female boothfighter Polly Burns. In 1948, she moved to London and in ’49 hit the headlines over a proposed exhibition bout with a man at the Kilburn Empire theatre. The exhibition was called off amid pressure from the Variety Artists’ Federation, which labelled it “degrading”. Unperturbed, Barbara boxed on the booths before moving to America in 1952. There she fulfilled her dream of competing with other women in sanctioned bouts, winning a world title. At 4ft 11ins and 98lbs, she invariably conceded height and weight, yet she boasts a 30-1-1 record.
How were you received in the UK gyms of the late ’40s and early ’50s?
No girl would be welcome in any of the boxing gyms; you couldn’t get into them. So I trained at Mickey Wood’s Mayfair gym in the West End of London. It was a gym that all kinds of people used for all kinds of reasons; it wasn’t just a boxing gym. They had film stars going there and working out, and a strong girl called Joan Rhodes, who used to tear phonebooks in half and things like that.
Who helped you train and spar there?
Len Smith [Barbara’s future husband] trained me for a while, and Wally May, who trained Len Harvey, the great British champion, used to give me a lot of pointers and help. I used to spar with a couple of fellas that were down there and a boy, and I sparred with Wally May’s son. But I couldn’t get on the shows at all, so I went on the boxing booths, like Polly Burns did. If any women challenged me, I’d take them on. And if they didn’t, I would give a boxing exhibition with one of the booth boxers. But quite a few women came up. Travelling with the booths was good – I enjoyed the life.
Tell me about your move to America in 1952.
A fellow from South Bend, Indiana, called Johnny Nate, was training girls – he had a little gym – and he sponsored us in. There were a few other girls boxing in the States, and some promoters would put them on their shows. They were more open-minded about it. Which fights stand out from your time in the US?
The one with Phyllis Kugler, when I beat her in San Antonio, Texas, for the world bantamweight title in 1957. I weighed about 98lbs, but she was much heavier. I lost one fight to a girl Johnny Nate trained called Joann Hagan, but she was 5ft 7ins and about 130lbs. I lost a points decision to her in Canada. Do you have any career regrets?
No, not really. I wish I was young these days when a girl can just walk into a gym and work out. They’ve got a sport to operate in now. You’ve got the amateurs, international fights and a lot more opposition to learn from.