MY FIGHT WITH BRUCE WELLS
I HAVE just finished reading the Bruce Wells Story, written by Ivan Berenyi. Bruce was a very good amateur boxer – possibly one of the greats. In the unpaid ranks, he eclipsed future top pros such as Joe Erskine, Chic Calderwood, Pat Mcateer and Randy Sandy, and beat amateur legends like László Papp, Gennadiy Shatkov and Zbigniew Pietrzykowski.
In 1956, a year before he retired at the age of just 23, I fought Bruce while I was serving in the RAF in Paris. Three days prior to the encounter, I was instructed to box our heavyweight and throw overarm rights to his head. This was in preparation to fight Bruce, who was a tall fighter. This seemed to be a good idea at the time, but sadly, the first blow I connected with resulted in terrific pain, which was later diagnosed as a dislocated scapula and shoulder.
There was no way I should have fought Bruce given my injury. I should have been withdrawn by the officer in charge. I had just won the Allied Air Forces in Europe. Prior to this, I had beaten the British Armies of the Rhine champion. This was followed by a win over John “Cowboy” Mccormack. At this time my prospects were looking good. Although I ended up losing on points to Bruce, I really regret that I could not have boxed him while injury-free, with two functioning arms. I never recovered from the injury and was unable to box again.
I came from a boxing family and two of my relatives fought Randolph Turpin. Additionally, I’ve been told that I am a descendant of the famous bare-knuckle fighter, Bendigo (William Abednego Thompson), although I do not have proof of this. As a Junior and Senior, I had about 60 fights and am proud of the fact that I was never put down and won most of my Senior fights via KO. Pat Leighton
THE BARROW BOY
I WANT to wish Liam Conroy all the best in his bid to become the British lightheavyweight champion when he faces Joshua Buatsi on March 23 in London. I live in the USA, yet I originate from the coastal town of Barrow-in-furness. Barrow is more famous for its hard-graft shipbuilding and rugby league than boxing. Liam will be Barrow’s first-ever British champion if he wins. The town is buzzing at this prospect. No one can deny Liam’s dedication. He works a full shift on the docks then makes the three-plus-hour round trip to Preston for training. On top of this, he’s a brandnew father, too. Liam is taking on one of the best prospects in world boxing in Buatsi, yet I feel Liam’s developed into a highly competent and explosive fighter. I’ve been to many fights in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Denver, Virginia and more, yet when I was back home attending a Conroy fight, the atmosphere generated by his adoring fans was something new to me.
Liam may be the away fighter at the Copper Box Arena, but I’m sure that the Cumbrians in the crowd will make him feel right at home. This is a must-attend event. Mike Hills
‘ONE TIME’ ONLY
AFTER being out of the ring for nearly two years due to injuries, some people have seemingly written Keith Thurman off. His less-than-brilliant performance in his comeback bout against Josesito Lopez certainly did little to quieten the critics. However, I believe that he still has the potential to mark himself out as the best welterweight in the world. Don’t sleep on “One Time”! Josh White