It seems that this is currently the accepted part of the game for two boxers, in a great competition, to get involved in oral and sometimes physical, quarrels during weighing or during a press conference. This is often condemned by traditionalists who remember the so -called antique days when two players usually exchanged courtesy during the spinning of their hands. There is no doubt that things have deteriorated, but were things always brought up so well?

The first huge dispute that I clearly remember, and to this day I think that the most noteworthy in Great Britain took place in 1985, when Mark Kaylor and Errol Christie got involved in their notorious street fight after a press conference before the fight for their epic battle in the last eliminator for the last eliminator for The for the British Wweight. And who can forget about Shenanigans that took place when David Haye and Dereck Chisora ​​met at a press conference in Munich in 2012?

In 1930, Ernie Rice from Hounslow and Harry Mason from Leeds met in a routine 15-year-old in the ring, Blackfriars. Both men were ex-British masters of lightweight and did not like each other. A few days before the competition, together with their managers and promoter, they met at the Savoy Grill, a prestigious restaurant in Centrum London to agree who should referee the competition. After about 10 minutes, the situation became nasty, and the three tables were overturned, wine, food and cutlery were scattered over the floor, and the waiters and colleagues had to enter to separate them.

The benefit of this event was the wife of the Treasury Chancellor. It took 20 minutes to return the order, when you can see that Mason’s mouth was bleeding and Rice’s clothes were in the shreds. The Control Council met three days later, and after the fight could go on. The place was full of rafters and rice, London, was cheered in the ring. He was booed from it within a minute. After the Mason’s hit at the beginning of the fight and the postpone of his man, he ignored the instructions of judge Matt Wells to stop the box and fired at Mason when he was on the floor, completely losing control. The rice was disqualified after about thirty seconds of boxing.

Another incident, which I was not aware of recently, took place in 1921 between two very well -known boxers. Joe Beckett of Southampton was the prevailing British heavyweight champion at the time. Two years earlier, he suffered a shameful defeat at the hands of Georges Carpentier when he was knocked out in the first round. In 1923, he would suffer from the same fate later, this time in just 15 seconds, and for this he is largely remembered. However, he was not a bad master with a murderous left hook. In 1920 he gained his most significant victory, defeating the older former world champion in hefty weight in Tommy Burns, a Canadian who was notable for Jacek Johnson in 1908. Beckett coped with relative ease, stopping him in seven rounds in the Royal Albert Hall.

In the next competition against the American Frank Moran, Beckett was sensational flattened in just two rounds. The following year, Burns publicly stated that Beckett seemed scared of Moran and his notable blow, and that he remained on the floor.

Beckett and Burns, together with Carpentier and Jimmy Wilde, were honorary guests during the rugby league match with Bradford Northern, and with the admission at the Leeds hotel after the match Beckett fired at his former rival, and two men came to the blows in what was a fierce fight than in Kensington a year.

Fortunately, when words and blows were mentioned, two men put their differences behind them and moved on because I am ecstatic to say that Kaylor and Christie in 2010.

Everyone who tries to promote at a miniature boxing event in the 1960s, just like today, had to be prepared for a lot of money.

The 1950s was the last decade in which such undertakings could prove to be profitable for regular programs. As this decade passed, and television began to enter the life of working families, and people stopped looking for entertainment, professional boxing hit slipping, and the number of tournaments dropped rapidly.

George Merritt has been an oldschool professional since the 1930s. With Silvertown, a strenuous area next to the docks on the north side of the Thames, George took part in almost 150 competitions in a strenuous career, which lasted in 1932–1945. One of the three sides, George was the best, in 1934. In 1934 he took part in 34 competitions, of which there were 12 rounds. After the end of his career, George remained in boxing, in 1962, at the age of 48, he decided to try his hand as a promoter.

The best in miniature London rooms were in the hands of rivals. There were several good in the area, including West Ham Bath, Seymour Hall in Marylebone, Shoreditch Town Hall and Majestic Ballroom at Finsbury Park. George had to find his own place and tried the winter bath in East Ham for his first show. It was the only one and only the show he had ever taken there, but George was encouraged enough to try again.

Then he found another novel place, a miniature Art-Deco pub built in 1936, known as Roundhouse and located in Dagenham, the perfect place from which he attracts fans of fighting. George also found a good man who bases these concerts; Local warrior Tommy Rix has only recently become a professional and in six months he won six competitions. Master of national schools and London finalist, Tommy was an elegant performer with a good amateur rhodium and could sell tickets.

In January 1963 he won the seventh fight in Roundhouse, on the account on the sovereignty by another local boy, Danny Wells of Basildon. A good crowd appeared, and George decided to choose monthly concerts on the spot. With Matchmaker, Jacek Hopwood, another 100-year-old veteran from the 1930s, George lured Johnny Caiger, another best amateur from Dagenham, to the place to debut. With Rix on the account, Merritt again won another hit and everything looked good.

His third program took place in October, and Rix won again. Caiger suffered a defeat at the hands of Joe Sommerville, losing due to disqualification in the third. Tommy looked good, winning the octa -ła decision about Tommy Icke from Wolverhampton to register his 13th victory in a row. On Monday, November 25^thTommy received victory number 14 when he was again at the top of George’s account, this time beating Nigerians, Tommy Atkins.

It seemed that Merritt managed to set up, with a good miniature place and decent cards filled with local boys, some of whom looked promising. But because the margins of the profit were so tense, it was not straightforward to justify the time and effort needed to organize these programs, and George was a busy man away from sport.

Both Merritt, as a promoter and Rix, as a warrior, were inactive throughout 1964. Rix returned in February 1965 in Nottingham, and fought again in March, this time for the competing promoter Harry Grossmith in Shoreditch Town Hall.

In June 1965, Merritt, without his star, held his last concert in Roundhouse, and then packed it, deciding that he was not worth effort, and London lost another miniature room. Rix retired the following year, after his first loss.

Roundhouse in the seventies better in the 1970s, when as a musical place he visited Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd and the personal favorite of Rory Gallagher. He is still there and serves a decent mug.

Controversial decisions seem quite common today in boxing. This is not surprising, considering the way virtually every high -level competition can be seen live, and its result debated on any number of social media platforms. Judges and judges have never been more examined than today.

Fifty years ago, much less boxing was available on television, and what was often shown edited boxing events that took place at night or even a week earlier. Some decisions, however, caused confusion and no more than the Henry Cooper V Joe Bugner competition in 1971. Another one, which stands out in this era, was the Olympic semi -final between Alan and Western German, Dieter Kottysch. The fight was shown live in Great Britain, and the verdict in favor of Kottysch caused absolute smelly, both here as in Germany.

I remember these games well, unfortunately overshadowed, like them, killing Israeli athletes. Athletics events were unique, like the performance of the US swimmer, Mark Spitz. Great Britain won 18 medals at matches, but three of them, all bronze, were won by boxers. In addition to Minter, both George Turpin and Ralph Evans were eliminated in the semi -finals, but brought a medal home. There was no dispute with two of these losses, but the verdict of the mintera was bad.

Alan was one of three hopes for medals identified by Bn In their preview a week before the start of the matches. Together with Maurice Hope and Neville Cole, Minter was awarded because he was “an aged hand in the international circuit. Good banger, and has the right forecast. He respects his command of commands even at the highest level. If he is not marked, he can reach the semi -finals.” Other members of the nine team are Billy Knight, Billy Taylor and Great Graham Moughton. . Bn The reporter got this place with a slight weight of delicate based on Crawley, but Minter did not deserve to go out when he did.

Alan started the event exceptionally well, stopping the Guyana warrior, Reginald Ford, in two rounds. Bn He informed that “with professionals on the wings of Southpaw Minter gave one of his most impressive shows to completely outclass and finally crush Ford with pure knockout.” This is the same Reggie Ford, which defeated both Dave Boy Green and Kirkland Laing in duels at Royal Albert Hall in the early 1980s.

In the next round Minter was combined with Russian Valery Tregubov, a man nine years older than Minter and with a lot of experience. Alan did not show him respect and won the streets. His next fights were against Algeria, Louucif Hanmani, and once again Alan dominated his opponent in a complex competition, pushing into the decision 4-1 in “one of the growing, hardly striking performances that we expect from the 21-year-old.” The stage was now prepared in half, and Alan was drawn against Kottysch from the host nation.

The German was another Southpaw and he also looked impressive in his transition to the last four. He was well known to fans of the fight in Great Britain because he defeated Tom Imrie and Johnny Whitehorn in international matches and was a very experienced amateur who never went to a professional. He was born in Poland, but settled in Hamburg. BN described the competition as a “criminal, stimulating battle”, in which Kottysch roared through the guerrilla crowd.

Minter had to withstand bulky, exact shots all the time, but he gave more than he got, and when at the end each boxer counted two votes from four judges, he went to the fifth man to decide on the result. He even won the fight, but he gave the voice of the casting of Kottysch with one advantage.

Alan could not get closer to the Olympic final, but more than compensated for his disappointment as a professional.