On Tuesday, July 10, 1951, Pete Price watched his childhood friend became the most celebrated warrior in the world. “It is from time to time
A fight that comes out of blue and shakes the world. ” Boxing news“Gilbert Odda described the night that Randolph Turpin took over the world weight of Sugar Ray Robinson before 18,000 fans in the exhibition hall at the Earl court.

Only Jake Lamotta defeated Robinson in 132 previous fights, the only victory of Lamotta in their six competitions, while the 23-year-old Turpin has not yet exceeded eight rounds in winning 40 of 43 fights (two losses and one draw) at the national and European level.

Price remembered: “You heard a heel fall in every round. Everyone was waiting for Randolph to be knocked out. For me, no one could beat Randolph. It was simply impossible.”

The price was this opinion as a boy. “When I was four years ancient, Randolph and I ran down the street and he fell over,” he remembered the price in the memories written before his death, at the age of 79, in 2010. “His knee was bleeding, but he didn’t cry. It wasn’t right. There was something wrong with this boy. Why didn’t he circulate?

Price grew up from Turpins, Leamington SPA – Randolph was known as “Leamington Licker” – and wrote: “As the first, who ever put on randolphem gloves. It was on a compact square yard.

Turpins were fighters. Older Dick and Jackie brothers were professionals, and the price counted Kathy’s sister “would be the best warrior of the whole family if she were a boy.”

Price was about “five or six years ancient” – a randolph at a similar age – when he went to Dick’s support in the fight on Leamington Ice Rink.

“When it ended, Jackie and Randolph entered and lit the exhibition as Alexander and Moses,” Price reminded, “and stuck money.”
Turpin debuted in an amateur three months before his 14th birthday and was beaten in points, but many of his early fights ended in quick victories, courtesy of his right hand.

His interest in boxing was fueled by reading the story of Harry Greb, Roughhouse “Pittsburgh Windmill”, which took all-comers in his 298-Walka career and won the title of world middle Wweight.

Price wrote: “He read it in bed, laughed and said:” Listen to it “, and then read a fragment from a book in which his manager begged him to leave the sauce to fight for the title of world medium weight and has two women there.

“That’s why he was the hero of Randolph.”

Turpin had similar appetites. Price remembered the story since his friend boxed as an amateur in France. “There was a pencil scale from Coventry, I don’t remember his name,” he wrote – “And he had a date with this girl. Randolph found out about it, locked him in the toilet and met this girl himself.”

Turpin said that he had finished boxing after meeting his future wife Mary Stack, but he was convinced to continue and in the age of 17 he won both junior and seniors in the same season.

He joined Dick in the professional stable of George Middleton and brought the British weight of medium weight back to his family in October 1950, defeating Albert Finch, who six months earlier removed the belt from Dick.

Turpin took only 48 seconds to add a free European belt, and his demolition Luca van Dama sent a message to Robinson. It took him four rounds to defeat the Dutchman four months earlier.

Robinson was more than the best pound boxer for a pound in the world. He was a celebrity known to those who were interested in sport.

During his seven -week, seven fighting European concert tour, which ended in the fight against Turpin, Robinson took with him a hairdresser, chauffeur, his personal golf and dwarf to keep him amused. They went with Robinson in his pink Cadillac to France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy and, finally in London.

Eamonn Andrews, earlier a good amateur boxer, asked Robinson about his tight schedule when he prepared to defend his title against Turpin. “My manager and I do it for so long, it’s nothing modern,” said Robinson. “I will make this forecast – I usually don’t forecast fights – but in this case I think I should predict. I predict that the fight will not pass over 15 rounds.”

Robinson was not alone in thinking about it. Bookmakers have become a 1/7 favorite with a win in Turpin points, seen as a 20/1 shot. Len Harvey gave Turpin a few words of consolation, telling him: “Nobody is invincible” and showed his sparring partners without mercy in the Gwry Castle in North Wales.

“We all received regular beating,” Jackie Turpin remembered before his death at the age of 84 in 2010. “It wasn’t great for us and wasn’t good for Randa because he was too far in front of him, too competent, too quickly, and I felt that I had to do something.”

So Jackie bought women underwear. “I took off my bathrobe and climbed the ring,” he remembered the next Spar. “I had a bra, flowering and garters and on my stomach I wrote in lipstick:” Don’t hit here. ” On my forehead I wrote: “abroad.”

“This time he couldn’t hit me for laughter. Later I told him that it was for his own good, that he was far away with a month.”

Fight tickets were stopped within three days.

The price was one of the elated. “My brother asked if I could get a Sugar Ray fight ticket, so I got two,” he wrote. “There were only 10 bob in the rear row in those days.”

From his seat, Price decided that Turpin won the early rounds with a stab, which Robinson tried to read. Others were not sure what they were watching.

There were stories of Robinson “carrying” opponents and considering that he was such an overwhelming favorite to defeat Turpin, which seemed to be an possible explanation of what happened.

Robinson fought the real intention in the seventh round. “I saw Sugar Ray hit him with his right hand and I thought that I saw his legs went for a split second,” Price remembered, but at the end of the round Robinson was bleeding from a bad wound on his left eyebrow.

Reporter Daily Express, Peter Wilson, wrote: “Two men’s heads gathered – no wine – with a disgusting click like two billiard balls.
Robinson’s year was able to control the bleeding from the wound, but the crowd sensed that the fight was going in Turpin, and during the 13th round they began to sing because he is a cheerful good guy.

Peter Mcinnis remembered the sense of euphoria when the last round began. “The crowd was on their feet, and the men attacked the naves, hugging the total strangers and squeezing their hands from others,” wrote Turpin in his biography, entitled “Randy”. “The women screamed, cried and fainted.”
20 million listeners of Raymond Glendenning, a appetite commentary on the radio, heard an electrifying climax point.

“Ray Robinson is chased by Turpin around the ring. He holds and certainly looks more anguish … in Turpin, right under the heart, left, right face. Robinson’s head falls on his shoulders … The English boy has a hail.

“Robinson leaves, exceeds him with his left and right face. He has a champion in trouble. The master is fighting back, and they are grinding as much as possible. Robinson’s eye is now a bad picture, and Turpin is still relatively undeniable. Turpin wins the last blow of the round … And who won?”

A moment later Glendenning conveyed the message: “Turpin won! Turpin won! Randolph Turpin, 23 years with Leamington Spa, is the modern world champion in medium weight.”

After hearing that King Jerzy VI reportedly returned to dinner guests and told them: “Turpin won.”

Fans tear around the hotel in London, where Turpin stayed, forcing him to go through the entrance to the staff, but the good times did not last.
The rematch took place before 61,370 in the Fresh York Polo area only 64 days later and was close to the results pages after nine rounds.

In the tenth there was a collision of heads, which made Robinson cut his forehead, and he remembered: “I noticed a judge staring at my face on my face. His concern made me think that cutting could be unsafe enough to stop the fight.”

Robinson found arrows to drop Turpin, and then released a desperate 31-fucked dam in just 25 seconds to force stop.

Jackie said: “When we were children, he[Randolph)alwayshadagoodtimehewasabletohaveagoodtimeyouwouldhaveagoodtimeyouneedtohaveagoodtimeofthetime[Randolph)AlwaysaidhewuldbethebestintheWorldandhehadachievedthehadnotoretorechforandtrandrobinsonfightcamoMeI’m[Randolph)zawszepowiedziałżebędzienajlepszynaświecieiosiągnąłtoNiemiałnicwięcejdoosiągnięciaadrugawalkaRobinsonaprzyszładlaniegozbytwcześnieRandolphmusiałosiągnąćszczytzejśćnadółapotemwspiąćsięnainny”[Randolph)alwayssaidhewouldbethebestintheworldandhehadachievedthatHehadnothingmoretoreachforandthesecondRobinsonfightcamemuchtoosoonforhimRandolphneededtoreachapeakcomedownandthenclimbanother”

According to Price, Turpin actually squeezed another fight between Robinson’s two battles. He went with Turpin to the local boxing cabin. Price, who himself had 11 professional fights, wrote: “This girl said:” You are not Randolph Turpin. As if Randolph Turpin came to the boxing stand, the world champion. We have PTI, who tomorrow comes to the box. “

“The next night we are in the first row and we ask:” Are there any pretenders in the crowd? “” Yes, “said this guy in RAF uniform.

“Bell went, and Randolph hit him once with his left hook, and on the way he caught him with the same blow and it was over. He had to be 10 minutes. We started to worry. He got up and said,” Come on, what a problem is. I wasn’t knocked down. ” He wanted to continue. “

Turpin remained in touch with his childhood friend until his death in 1966, and Gary Price, son of Pete, has memories of him. “Even when Randolph had nothing, he was still generous,” he said. “I remember my dad told him:” Don’t give out your money, “but every time he came to us, he left something under my pillow.”

Pete remembered the last time he talked to Turpin. “I repaired his record,” he wrote – “About a week later he called me again. I said:” Lick, this one is packed, you may as well overthrow a bloody thing and I will get you low-cost. ” He said, “Pete, I don’t have bleeding.”
It is estimated that 300,000 pounds were earned during his ring career, some of them invested in a Welsh guesthouse who fell and inland revenues wanted Turpin not to have.

On May 17, 1966, Turpin shot himself. “The Leamington Licker” is dead at the age of 37.

Reading the recent death of Brian London, I was reminded of his father, Jacek, and I was struck by how special achievement was for my father and son to keep the British heavyweight title only 13 years. However, their career paths could not be more different. Brian took three years to win the British crown in his 24th fight. After losing the title, he had the opportunity to recover it, two European title and two shots in the world crown. For his father there was only one shot in British Honors and it took 13 years and 121 fights for his achievement.

Jack turned to Pro in July 1931, at the age of 18, to complement his work as a truck driver. It was the era of a great crisis, when 20 percent of the insured labor force was unemployed, and the men in the queue and literally fought for tickets for their daily work to aid feed their families. But pro boxing developed. The fights were staged with stunning frequencies in combat halls, public baths, ice rinks and other improvised stages throughout the country. It is not surprising that these boxers fought as often as possible, many of them in a low time against more experienced men.

Carefully selected entries simply did not exist, and this is reflected in Jacek’s fight. In the first month he had four fights as a professional, and in his eyes 29 in the first year. There were many losses in his early book, but he studied fighting through the fight. He went down to second place with experienced performers, such as Daniels, Jack Casey, Charlie Smith, Len Johnson, Ben Foord and the world -class Larry Bains. But he benefited from these experiences and avenged losses in Casey, Smith and profits.

At the end of the 1930s, London was a very improved warrior and most of the time. In 1936 he defeated two good Americans in Roy Lazer (who defeated Jersey Joe Walcott the following year) and very involved in both Walker. Jack also went on a distance with the former world king Tommy Loughran, who was too clever for him. But Jack put up the game and did it similarly in the following year, when he lost points with a immense future double contender to the title of the world, Buddha Baer, ​​brother of the world leaves Max.

Jack fought towards a crack in the British heavyweight title, but the outbreak of war seriously hindered his ring activity and only September 1944 had a chance. London [inset]Until then, a veteran 31 from Łyse, 31 years, faced the 25-year-old star of Rising Freddie Mills (the master’s featherlight) for a free crown of heavyweight. Despite the fact that he is 36 pounds lighter than London, Mills overtook him three years earlier. In the fight, the return divergence was even greater – stunning 43 pounds!

Watching a pair that devotes himself to the Newsreel clip on YouTube, a huge difference in weight is not obvious, because phenomenally powerful Freddie looks like he learns Jacek almost on equal conditions. It was not a fight for lovers of sweet science, but the crowd got money that is worth watching how these two gladiators went to the skin for 15 rounds, after which London won the decision, and the British titles and the Empire, just to lose them 10 months later, 10 months later, 10 months later. Bruce Woodcock.

Fight the fans whose memories, dating back to 1960, will probably meet Jacek best for his role in the infamous fight in Porthcawl, when tension after the ugly fight between Brian London and Dick Richardson caused that even uglier scenes when a massive fight broke out, and his older brother (and colleague professional) Jack Jnr and Jack Snr proved that he could aid in Samowners as a sanction. The material of this is also available on YouTube and is worth seeing.

Shortly before the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, I was on the phone with Muhammad Ali.

“Will you go to the Olympic Games?” I asked.

“I can’t tell anyone,” Ali answered. “It’s a great secret.”

From this I thought that Muhammad was actually going to Atlanta and most likely lit the Olympic Kauldron.

The boiler lighting is the most essential event of the opening ceremony at every Olympics. The torch is illuminated in Olympia, Greece. The flame is transported in the relay to the country hosting the upcoming games. The journey ends at the main stadium in games where the boiler is fiery and burns until the fire expired during the closing ceremony.

Traditionally, someone from the host country ignites the boiler. At the 1984 Olympic Games Decathlete Johnson Rafer ” In 1992, in Barcelona, ​​a Spanish archer shot a Caldron arrow, waking up the flame.

Ali was an ideal choice for the lighting of the Olympic Kauldron in Atlanta. At the age of eighteen, fighting under the name Cassius Clay, he won a gold medal in Rome. Then he achieved glorious highlands as a boxer and traveled the globe, spreading joy and much more. Atlanta was particularly essential to him. There, after three years of exile from boxing, he returned to the ring to defeat Jerry Quarry. He supplemented the Olympic spirit and was probably the most essential citizen of the world.

But the organizational committee in Atlanta wanted Evander Holyfield (resident of Atlanta) to be the last carrier of the torch. The NBC sports president took Dick Ebersol (whose network was television matches) five months to convince local Olympic officials that Ali should be honor.
The identity of the final torch carrier was a closely guarded secret. The moment of consideration took place on July 19, 1996.

Discus Thrower Al Oerter (former US gold medalist) wore a torch with a flame at the last stage of the trip to the stadium. Holyfield flame passed, who moved the torch through the maze of tunnels to the track, to which the winner of the gold medal of Voula Patoulidou from Greece joined. Holdfield and Patoulidou circled the track and handed over the flame “Od to ​​Joy”.

Evans took the torch towards California. Ali, his own torch in hand, appeared.

Tens of thousands of people began to chant: “Ali! Ali!”

Evans reached out and lit Muhammad’s torch with her own.

Ali was in less than good health at that time. The ignition device designed to rise to the boiler above was ponderous to lightweight when Muhammad touched it. His body was shaking.

Over a billion people around the world look at the flames of the torches, Ali licked his hands and shoulders. But he wouldn’t give up. He did not refuse to release the torch until the work was done. And he won. The flame moved from its torch to the boiler.

It was one of the most memorable Olympic moments in history. No one who noticed that night will forget about it.

For many years I was asked what I consider to be the heritage of Ali, except for its size as a warrior. Each time I point to his example of black pride and his refusal to accept the introduction to the United States Army.

“He became a lighthouse of hope for oppressed people around the world,” I explain. “The experience of being black changed to tens of millions of people because of Ali. Every time he looked in the mirror and said,” I’m so pretty “, he said that black is lovely before becoming fashionable. And when he refused to introduce the United States to the army, he stood in the army around the world, supporting the proposal that unless you have a very good reason to kill people, he is bad. “

But I also started to believe that there is an equally essential element of Ali’s heritage. He was the embodiment of love.

The boiler lighting at the Olympic Games in 1996 was the last main element of the composition for the legend of Ali. Muhammad lived for another twenty years later. But on July 19, 1996, it was a great blessing for the hero’s life.

People who witnessed Ali’s fight in Atlanta were united and look after one man. Hundreds of millions of people around the world, even for a moment, removed all hatred and prejudice from their heart.

Thomas Hauser is the author of Muhammad Ali: His life and times and Muhammad Ali: Hold for the greatest. His e -mail address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. In 2004, the boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the NatLeischer Award for career perfection in boxing journalism. In 2019, he was elected the highest honor of boxing – an introduction to the International Gallery of Fame.