The birth of the ward in the circuitous weight at the turn of the seventies and 80s were a benefit for the boxers too vast, but too miniature to get to the world stage as a massive weight. However, save the thought of countless “Inbetweeners” who overtook the creation of the division and were often forced to face larger, stronger people.

There are many miniature weights from boxing annals that could be argued, it would be world -class if there were a cruiser’s weight in their time. The one whose current weight limit 14. 4lb (200 pounds) would fit into the shirt, was Joe Erskine Cardiff. At 5 feet 11 inches and usually scaling below 200 pounds, Joe was simply too miniature and did not hit demanding enough to take the best in the world in the boxes of beef. But he was good enough to win British and Empire Honors, which was not a mean feat in the era of a competitive age in the country of the 1950s and 60s.

Erskine was born in January 1934 at Cardiff’s Dockland District in Tiger Bay, in Welsh mother and Jamaican. The area had a spirited multicultural community that produced several sports and music stars (the most celebrated singer Shirley Bassey), but was known from her district of red featherlight and gambling.

As a boxer student, Joe won various titles from Victoria Park ABC and was a heavyweight champion by ABA in 1953. He ended a professional in 1954 as a member of the celebrated stable Benny Jacobs and underwent 30 competitions without defeat.

In November 1955 he defeated Henry Cooper in the Eliminator of the British Crown heavyweight and was appointed the best adolescent boxer this year by the boxing writers. In May 1956, Erskine defeated a colleague from Welsh and the future European heavyweight champion Dick Richardson before he faced another Welsh, Johnny Williams, for the British title released by Don Cockella. Joe overtook Williams during an exhausting meeting at the main Cardiff stadium in August 1956 – for the first time the heavyweight crown was questioned by two Welsh.

The sky seemed to be the border of the talented invincible Cardiff boxer, but in his next fight Joe returned to the ground, figuratively and literally. The world Cuban Cuban Nino Valdes was a scourge for our best weights. He finished Cockell, Richardson and Brian London in a schedule, and did the same with Erskine when they met at the Earl court in February 1957 with a stunning knockout in the first round.

His undefeated album disappeared, but his intact faith, Joe again defeated Cooper in the title defense in September and did the same with Joe Bygraves in November to add the crown of the Empire to his title.

Of course, his monuments were now on the European belt kept by the undefeated Swede Inggemar Johansson. They met in February 1958 and Joe fought bravely for 13 rounds before they were pulled out by his corner. Three fights later Johansson took over the world crown of Floyd Patterson, but for Erskine the national control of the championship was to end soon. In the next fight he lost both titles to London.

Joe fought for the next six years and submitted three unsuccessful offers of recovery of titles, losing each time with Cooper’s rival, who took the titles from London and kept them in possession long enough to become the first and only winner of the three lanes Lonsdale straight.

Nevertheless, Erskine has established some great wins in the last few years, defeating Jacek Bodell, Johnny Prescott, Richardson (again), George Chuvalo (though due to disqualification), Up-to-date York Freddie Mack and the future world of the Delicate King Willie Pastano. Joe’s victory over Pastrano will lead manager Willi, Angelo Dundee, to write in his book, I’m just talking about victoryThat the British would be a global download if he had a larger frame and more challenging digging.

Don Cockell was never the same after losing to Rocky Marciano one night in the dusk California day in May 1955. Marciano helped that night, he helped in his legal attack through the comical book of the California Commission and it is a boxing office office. It is to be a barrier separating boxers from the killers. The fight took place after the equally wild trail of the American press in the days before the first bell. We hope that men and women at the Touring Cockella party at their witty isolated isolation, the Bermuda Palms hotel in San Rafael, managed to hide the papers every morning to save Cockella’s blush.

Boss Scribes of American Boxing Press called him “fats”, which was slightly respected compared to other descriptions: “Tubby Target”, “Hiting Lighting Plodder”, “Poradiged Tub of Fat” and “Resourte Fat Man”. Cockell had no chance and had no chance, but this is not a struggle story.

Before the fight at the Kazar stadium in San Francisco, and then at home 49ers, a well -known but unnamed man visited Marciano in the locker room and disturbed the master. “He told me that Cockell would be simple, too simple,” Marciano remembered. “I would like him to never come to the room and I would like it to never hear about him [Cockell]. “Marciano decided to be mercilessly cruel.

“I knew he could fight, he looked like a bathtub, but he had a bad look. He beat good fighters, I knew about it, but this guy thought me – I just had to do the job,” added Marciano.

During the prime ministerial acts there were many faces of boxing mothers, gathered in rooms filled with smoke during the week of fighting, and the great Peter Wilson, Daily Mirror’s The demanding drinking icon wrote: “hardness with banana noses and ears like nuts” were in the ring.

It is unlikely that men at the best places with fruit hooters ever see the CBC 265 principle: “No participant can receive a competition for a low foul claim, nor can he lose his decision because of a low foul.” They were not really scientific types – that’s for sure. However, men in Marciano’s life knew the book, and knew the principle.

By the way, the ring was described by the manager Cockell, John Simpson, as initially the size of the “postage stamp”, followed by a “telephone cabin”. It was a diminutive illuminated stage for slaughter, and before the sun immersed behind the slopes of Kazar’s seats, the men entered the fight. Cockell, which weighed only 14.9 stone, was not as “fat” as the writers suggested. By the way, Cockell later sued Daily Mail for calling him “overweight and flabby.” Henry Cooper was a witness in defense of Cockella, and the boxer won 7500 pounds compensation plus costs. This is a significant sum in the slow 1950s.

There is an unusual version of the fight for people brave enough to watch it. It is in color and is as suggestive as disturbing. Marciano talks about brutality, sometimes honestly for guilt, and at other times unaware of her excesses. It is doubtful that Don Cockell would ever watch and hear this version of the fight, which is a great, great pity. The praise of Marciano during rounds Cockell goes far beyond the widespread acceptance of the Battesea boy’s courage. This is the bravest performance of the British boxer in the fight for the title of master.

However, Marciano also talks about other Cockella resources: his skills, his speed, ability to miss the lack of blows, and then a counterattack. Cockell goes to Marciano, even tries to adapt to pollution. “I fell, but he was very good in it,” said Cockell in the sixties.

“He knows what he is doing,” said Marciano at the end of the first round. This is a real praise and Cockell, having 79, he knew what he was doing. He just never had power.

Unfortunately, for Cockella Marciano also knew what he was doing.

The list of fouls is long and specific, connected by witnesses at night, developed for the hope of full hope of the complaint documentation: renal shots, low blows, heads of the head, elbows, arm, arrows on the bell, a clear blow when Cocell was collapsed. Fouls are numbered, cataloged, saddened, but Cockell never said a word through swollen lips at night. He just shook his head when he asked if he thought Marciano would be thrown to the British ring. Incidentally.

In the seventh round there is a glorious moment when Marciano says that her “combinations”. At this point, it connects with the left hook, the perfect left elbow, and then the perfect ass. Yes, this combination. This is classic. Cockell takes all three, turns to the referee and half-males. Cockell did not have protection that night, and the violation lasted through the sunset.

Marciano hits Cockell from the initial minute to the end in fifty -four seconds of round 9. Cockell has been dropped, he was ailing in a corner of low shots, is cut, is badly stunned, he is stunning, but is still trying to fight. I still sway. “What is a man, what a heart,” says Marciano when his hand is raised.

A few minutes after it was, there was a promise from Promoter Jacek Solomon to provide a rematch in London. One British newspaper said that Cockella’s resistance was “really victory.” It was demanding to endure the fight without this madness.

Cockell lost twice as much and gave up. As I said, he was never the same.

Recently, I was thinking a lot about the hall in Great Britain, which has been taking place in boxing tournaments for the longest time. There are many immense rooms organizing professional boxing for almost 100 years – Royal Albert Hall is an obvious example. The first tournament, which I can trace in this iconic place, took place on December 11, 1918, when a competition between services between services took place. Among the many competitors from the top shelf from the Aliant Services who took part, were Harry Greb, Eddie McGorta, Auggie Ratner, Mike O’don, Pal Moore, Johnny Basham, Joe Beckett, Bombardier Billy Wells, Ted Kid Lewis and Jimmy Wilde. Star composition, if he has ever been. In the latest event, September 27, 2019, they chose Daniel Dubois and Nicola Adams.

SSE Arena in Wembley, guests of the last month of the Anthony Joshua-Kubrata Puleva competition, for the first time a professional boxing performed in 1934, when Len Harvey drew with the German heavyweight Walter Neusel. There are many similar examples of this type of immense -scale rooms. Miniature rooms are more interested for me. If you asked most of the contemporary fans, I am sure that York Hall would be high on their letters. However, the first professional show in the most famed current place in London took place in 1967. There are multiple rooms with a much longer pedigree throughout the country.

For example, The Borough Hall in Hartlepool has been organizing events since 1929 and is regularly used in the 1930s. Boxing was revived there in 1980, when the local George and John Feeney and Stuart Lithgo waved. Neil Fannan had many of his early duels on the spot and since then he took some of his current stars to this wonderful elderly room as one of the leading north-eastern trainers.

Two places that in my opinion have the longest pedigree is Walsall Town Hall [Eric Skidmore, pictured above, was a Walsall Town Hall stalwart] and Ulster Hall in Belfast. The first tournament that I can trace in Walsall took place on February 5, 1920, and in the 1920s there were many regular events in which Jack Kirby, drummer Hall and Len Tiger Smith. At the end of this decade, this place was not favorable when two places, the Hatherton Street and Navigation Road Arena ice rink became the location of weekly shows in the city.

In 1942, boxing returned to the town hall and since then it has been taking place regularly. Among the many high -class performers who bothering there were Joe Erskine and Wally Swift. In 1962, like many other similar types, the hall was closed for almost 30 years. In 1991, he opened again, covering Richie Woodhall in his fourth competition, and since then this place was regularly used for boxing, the latest program in September 2019.

Ulster Hall reaches even more. Jack Harrison from Staford fitted a local man Billy Maguire in 15 rounds on November 20, 1912, and this place became a robust boxing Miniature Hall in the city since the tardy 1930s, and especially in the 1950s. Some great fighters, including, in a particularly opulent period of their history in the 1980s, Barry McGuigan, Hugh Russell, Dave Mcauley and Eamonn Loughran. The last program took place in February 2020, almost 108 years after the first.

There are many other places throughout the country that have a long and opulent tradition and are still used, even if sometimes, including a tower circus in Blackpool, Hall of King Jerzy in Blackburn and Leeds Town Hall. However, I am not aware of the longer heritage than both presented in Walsall and Belfast, and because I did not examine this matter deeply, some readers can take care of me about others I missed. This is the most captivating topic.