The country is in the middle of football. As a nine -year -old, I watched England defeated Western Germans to win the World Cup in 1966. I write it, about 55 years later, we finally defeated the Germans again in the knockout stages of a enormous tournament.
There were not many footballers who also bamped professionally, but in recent years two men broke this form. Curtis Woodhousewho played three times in the Premier League in Birmingham City, he became the champion of the British weight in 2014 after defeating Darren Hamilton in Hull. “The Driffield Destroyer” won 24 out of 31 professional competitions and is the most successful British boxer who also played high -level football.
Leon McKenzie played in all four leagues in 1995–2013, including the spells from Crystal Palace and Norwich City. While playing in Norwich Leon seven times in 37 Premier League performances. Leon is the son of Clinton McKenzie, who in my opinion was one of the best boxers of his generation. I remember well what stimulating he was, never-Say-Die Clinton, and his two wars from Colin Powers in 1979 and Des Morrison in 1981 were included in my last series emphasizing the 50 largest British fights of the 20th century. Leon inherited some of his father’s ring skills and proved it by winning eight of 11 professional competitions in 2013–2017. Favorite in York Hall, Leon Boxing for both English and southern titles Super Middleight, and his boxing career was good.
I managed to find a few examples of professional players who also bothering money, especially in the 1920s and the 1930s, but only two of them played international football. The first of them was Ted Ditchburn, who was a member of the World Cup team in England in 1950. During the long and outstanding career of Tottenham Hotspur, for which Ted kept the goal for 418 times in 1939–1958, he also played in England six times. I recently discovered three competitions for teenage Eddie Ditchburn from Northfleet, boxing in Rochester and around in the early 1930s. Eddie was the son of master Kent, Harry Ditchburn from Chatham, who boxed at a decent level before the great war, winning 19 out of 40 fights. Eddie’s student fights were for salary, and then left the ring and became a home brand on the football field.
Francis “Tom” Hoddinott [pictured above left] He came from the Brecon hills and was a tough man. He learned to box while serving in the army in India, and after returning he became a professional footballer. Tom has been the star of Watford since 1919. He was chosen to represent Wales twice in 1921 in matches with Scotland and England, after which he made a lot of money to Chelsea. He finished his career in the football league in Crystal Palace in 1926. During professional playing football, Tom also had a parallel boxing career in medium weight. In the summer of 1919, just before the league debut, volume twice in Maesteg in 10 and 12-Runder, winning both points.
After establishing an international footballer, then he again lit up in 1922, losing points to Sonna Bird from Chelsea in Fulham Baths. Bird was one of the best British medium weight of the 20th century and Tom gave him a challenging fight. Tom buckled three more times in Wales in the 1920s, winning twice before he bowed from the ring in 1930, when he retired in the 10th round of the 15th round against Jimmy McMurray in Victoria Hall in Southend. In total, he won four out of eight competitions, and died at the age of 85 in 1980. The photo on the directed page shows how sparring with Andrew Newton from Marylebone, another highest average weight of this period.
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