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.