Joe Louis at the Albert Hall
BRIGHTON EBA member Rob Benson contacted me to say that their Summer Barbecue takes place on Sunday, August 11 at their HQ – The Romans Pub, 35 Manor Hall Rd, Southwick. Start time’s 12 noon, and, says Rob, “All welcome, of course.”
This is always a good afternoon, and I hope it’s well-attended.
Rob kindly said he enjoyed my piece on Justin Murphy in a recent column. Well, if Rob (or someone else from Brighton EBA) hadn’t taken the trouble to let me know Justin was at their meeting, I wouldn’t have known and couldn’t have written the piece. This column has always been reader-driven, and I’m so grateful to the EBA Secretaries who send me newsletters – and the members who contact me with stories and/or queries they want answered. Everybody, please keep it up!
I recently raised a query concerning a show at the Poplar Hippodrome on July 14, 1929 – and was very pleased to get a response from Essex EBA Secretary Ray Lee. “Only two bouts for this show,” Ray said. “Alec Thake w pts 15 Bert Cannons, and Alec Broom w pts 12 George Booker (Bethnal Green). Booker was a substitute for Charlie East.”
Ray, along with his wife Teresa (EEBA Treasurer), and Chairman Tom Burling, came to London EBA’s July meeting – and as it was Teresa’s birthday we all sang Happy Birthday to You. Essex, incidentally, are organising another charity cricket match in aid of the Ringside Charitable Trust (RCT), following last year’s very successful event. The date is Sunday, September 8, and I’ll publish more details as I get them.
The question came up, again, of major promoters not supporting the RCT. In his President’s Report, Stephen Powell recalled the generosity of past promoters. The late Mickey Duff, he said, gave LEBA £50 whenever he attended a meeting – and he also put on a show at the Anglo-American Sporting Club in 1973, to raise money for ailing ex-British lightweight champion (and LEBA Vice-President) Dave Crowley. Stars of boxing, stage and screen attended – and the evening raised a magnificent £18,000.
Stephen also recalled how, on a visit to America, Mickey met the great Joe Louis acting as a greeter at a hotel. He paid for Louis to come to London, and had him introduced at ringside at an Albert Hall show. That was in my pre-reporting days, so I was “up in the gods” – no chance to meet the great man, or get his autograph. But to be in the same building, and see him in the flesh, was still a thrill.
The current Central (Midlands) EBA newsletter has a comprehensive article, by Craig Birch, on Scotland’s former two-weight Commonwealth champion Willie Limond – whose recent death, at just 45, shocked everyone in boxing.
I was lucky enough to see Willie’s only bout in England, at the London O2 – his 2007 Commonwealth lightweight title defence against Olympic silver medallist (and future world champion) Amir Khan. The fight was full of drama – Khan, then unbeaten in 12, was floored heavily in the sixth round, but rallied to drop Willie in the seventh and force him to retire after the eighth with a suspected broken jaw.
The article quotes Willie’s anger at the way his knockdown of Khan was handled. “Thirteen seconds – that was the time it took the referee to count Khan to his feet. Not nine. Not even 10.”
Willie later stepped up to super-light, winning both Commonwealth and British belts.
The newsletter also records that CEBA have recently supported two fundraising activities. One was for the Midland Freewheelers, whose volunteers deliver blood and other essential supplies to local hospitals free of charge. The other was a donation to North Staffs EBA, raising funds for a library to be installed for youngsters unable to attend mainstream schools.
The article finishes: “Being part of an EBA isn’t just about socialising and attending good time events – we also like to do good work where possible.” That’s so true.
