Two brothers are unusual, winning the British title, and even more so because they won the same British title.

Dick and Harry Corbett were the first two brothers who won the British title, Dick in Bantam and Harry in Feather, at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s. Dick and Randolph Turpin were the first brothers who won the same title, respectively in the average weight in 1948 and 1950. The first two cousins ​​who won the same British title were Pat and Les Mcaateer, also in medium weight. The Curvis brothers from Swansea, Cliff and Brian also won the title of British welterweight, but their paths were clearly different.

Their actual name is Nancurvis and came from the fighting family. Cliff claimed that the great grandson of their mother, Shamos Warner, was a champion of the Welsh, Welsh hill at the turn of the 20th century and that their father, Dai, was a very good boxer during service in the First World War in the First World War.

Cliff, who was born in 1927, was almost 10 years older and stood Pro for 16 years in the last years of World War II. He had no benefit of a high -level amateur career, but he did a box at a time when the stage was very dynamic in Wales, and the boy could gain experience, fighting with many shows that took place in Pit Villages of South Wales Valleys. After only six competitions and still at the age of 17 Cliff put down the marker, defeating Cliff Anderson in an eight round at the Queensberry Club in Soho. Then he was annihilated by Al Phillips in the British eliminator of the featherweight title at the end of 1946, so he went slight weight in 1947 and 1948, after which he settled as Welter in 1949. The following year he lost his affair with Eddie Thomas. Finally, in 1952, Cliff knocked out Thom in nine rounds in a rematch at the Liverpool stadium to pick up the British crown. Within eight months he left the game for good, at the age of 25, he exhausted the years of generating weight and arduous fights. When approaching his own path, he showed perseverance, immunity and determination.

Brian, also Southpaw, had a shiny amateur career. He won the title of ABA welterweight in 1958, and he was also Welsh and the champion of the army. He took part in the Empire Empire in Cardiff in 1958, where, strangely, he represented England after he was rejected by Welsh selectors. Professional documents were signed in 1959 with Cliff as his trainer, and when he debuted at Empire Pool, Wembley, he did it, wearing an aged cliff’s boxing shorts. There was no stop.

Curvis won the title of the British Empire in his 14th competition, and then, three fights later, the British. Bn He did not make any bones about how good he was and who was responsible for his success: “Cliff is who led Brian through a brilliant initial career to two titles, all within 17 fights. He made his level, how best not to let Brian hurry, but the adolescent Swansea Southpaw attracts titles when the jar jam attracts a fly. “

When Brian defeated Wally Swift to receive the British title, the judge was nothing but Wally Thom, a man whom Cliff defeated for the same title just eight years earlier.

Brian maintained the British title until 1966, won the Lonsdale Pas belt and fought for losing the Battle of the Great Emile Griffith for the title of the World Wale in 1964. Two brothers were heroes in their hometown, and they are not both now, Cliff traveled in 2009 and Brian in 2012.

The first professional boxing tournament that will take place in Finland took place on May 16, 1935 in Messuhalli, Helsinki. British boxing under Queensberry began 64 years earlier, and the United States, Australia and France are becoming significant players in a professional game before the First World War. In the 1920s, the sport was firmly founded in Italy in Spain, in Scandinavia and in part of Latin America. Finland came to the game quite overdue, but when it happened, it depended on one man.

Gunnar Barlund won the European Amateur Championships in 1934 in heavyweight, eliminating the entry of Great Britain, Pat Floyd. He also took part in the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It was natural that he should become a professional, but without the possibility of doing it in his hometown he made his debut in Sweden. His first opponent was a decent British heavyweight with Windsor, Jeff Wilson, a veteran 64 duels. Wilson was a decent journeyman, he used to go full distance, but Barlund blew him up in one round. After three times in boxing in Gothenburg and for the first time he established a good start to his career for the first time. Helsinki fans saw how Arno Koelblin knocked out, a very good German scale in eight rounds.

In the next Gunnar competition for the first time in Great Britain, beating South Africa, Ben Foord, at points at six rounds at the Wembley stadium at Undercard of the second competition between Walter Neusel and Jacek Petersen. Bn He commented that “Barlund was always a painful man of them. He continued the non-stop attack with a immense variety of blows, and Foord held a bit. Foord was a better boxer, but his defense was quite uneven to keep Finn at a distance. “

Foord was a real opportunity, and this win was perfect. The next fight of Barlund, return to Gothenburg, was against another British warrior, Charlie Smith from Deptford, and Finn again founded his knockout to send Smith on the fourth. After another seven wins, Barlund returned to Great Britain to get the Irish Pat Marrinana in two rounds in Royal Albert Hall. Until now, it would be normal for Barlund to look for a European title, but because Finland is not yet associated with EBU, Barlund turned to the United States, where you should earn real money. Arriving in Fresh York in the overdue summer of 1936, Barlund won his first three duels convincingly, all in Fresh York. Before he was re -adapted, both the world champion in ponderous weight, Jimmy Braddock, and number two pretender, Joe Louis, came to see what this confusion is about.

. Ring The magazine stated that his opponent, Tom Beaupre, gave him several problems and quickly put on the name of Barlund directly under the name of Max Schmeling and Joe Louis, as three charges for the title of world heavyweight. In retrospect, this was underestimated.

Barlund did not defeat anyone from a real note and as electrifying as he might seem, he soon found out. There were losses for Nathan Mann and Bob Olin, and when Barlund returned to Great Britain to face the Fresh Zealander, Maurice Strickland at the Earls Court, he lost again, this time due to disqualification. . Bn The “Strickland Bursrs the Barlund Bubble” reader and it was true, because Barlund has never regained his fists heights to which he was used to. It took place until 1948, winning 56 of his 87 competitions, but he managed to put his native country on the fist map and paved the way with another Finnish great, including Elis Ask, Risto Lukkonen, Olla Maki and Erkka Meronen. Recently, Robert Helenius and Eva Wahlstrom maintained the flag.

Gunnar died in 1982, and Helsinki honored him with a statue.

In England in the summer months of 1939 it was clear that a storm was coming. Just over two decades from the end of the First World War in Europe, another terrible conflict approached. However, the danger also approached the West, in the shape of a hurricane. Leaving a trace of destruction, he showed no signs of a slowdown. This storm will hit London on May 25, and his name was Huragan Henry Armstrong.

Armstrong is certainly the second greatest warrior for Sugar Ray Robinson, who took part in a professional boxing match in Great Britain. However, in 1951 it was an unlimited and underestimated Robinson, who lost to Randy Turpin. The Henry Armstrong version from 1939, which came to London, was removed from the largest year of his career and a series of victories, which are one of the most amazing achievements in the history of boxing.

Henry’s grandfather was a white owner of slaves. His grandmother was a slave. There were 11 out of 15 children and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Despite the usually modest beginnings, his place in the history of boxing is forever protected as the first man who organized the world championship in three weight divisions at the same time: featherweight, lightweight and half -weight. He won his first crown in October 1937, attracting a featherweight title from Petey Sarron. He won Barney Ross’s welterweight title in May 1938, and then released Lou Ambers from the airy championship championship three months later.

When he arrived in London in 1939, he was still a champion in two divisions, abandoning the title of a featherweight without losing him in the ring. That he would sit after the imagination of havoc, in 1937 he won all 27 fights, 26 after detention.

The man he was about to face the ring at the Harringay Arena in May 1939 was Ernie Roderick from Liverpool. Boxing fans like to talk about who is the greatest British warrior who has never won the title of world champion. Ernie deserves his place in this conversation. Armstrong has come to defend his world welterweight title. Roderick was then a British champion. He would have this title for almost 10 years. Later in his career he was also the European champion of the same weight and briefly had the title of British medium. He was a worthy claimant to the crown of Armstrong and took two places in the world according to the Ring magazine as the fight was approaching.

Ernie was a generation where life had a great impact on both world wars. He was born on the eve of the First World War, and his chance to success the title of the world took place just before the second. Entering Armstrong, he was never knocked out in 98 competitions in his career starting in 1931. From 1935 he experienced only two defeats and one draw with 58 wins.

He was in a series of 23 consecutive wins, whose culmination is the British title, defeating Jake Kilrain just two months before the armestrong shot.

Armstrong usually had a busy year, with a defense against Roderick the fifth competition in 1939. He has already undo the challenges in Los Angeles, Havana, St. Louis and Novel York. His latest competition is 12^th Victory for round will stop with Davey Day in Madison Square Garden on March 31. Press reports described the fight as one of Henry’s most challenging fights, leaving him to need four seams on the left eye. Armstrong also claimed that he had hurt both hands in the fifth round. He had less than two full months to recover and prepare for Ernie.

The BLOKlin Christmas camp in Clacton-on-SEA had an additional attraction for vacationers in the behind schedule spring 1939, because it was a base chosen for Armstrong, when he came to Great Britain, but he was here in business, not pleasure.

Meanwhile, Roderick trained at Swan Inn in Augton, a few kilometers from Liverpool. He decided that he was his lucky camp, using him before a few key victories. Ernie was in a mood when the fight was approaching.

“I am not to brag, but if someone is knocked out on Thursday, it will be Armstrong. He was beaten earlier and I’m sure I can do the trick. “

The difference in weight would be one of the reasons for Roderick’s confidence. Despite the success of Henry in welterweight, until this point he never weighed over 135 pounds, a airy limit and 12 pounds in a maximum of welterweight. On the other hand, Roderick was a fully shown Heelter, who was also successful against heavier men, beating 14 average in medium weight. If a larger size is an advantage, it would be in favor of Ernie.

The place to fight for the title of world champion will be Harringay Arena, which was built only three years earlier. With about 10,000 people, it was built mainly for ice hockey, popular sport in the years before WW2. It had a removable floor, which could be placed above the ice if necessary for other events. Boxing was often staged there during the 22-year existence. The British Master of Weighty Libra, Len Harvey, fought three times on the spot and supported his countryman to win. In the column for Sunday ExpressHarvey expressed concern about Armstrong’s speed, but he felt that Ernie had a “sufficient brain” and a hit to change something.

“Roderick rests a lot on the shoulders. I have a feeling that he intends to do it. “

During the fight, as expected, it was a slight defense of the world welterweight title. Armstrong weighed 135 pounds to 145 ¾ pounds of Roderick. It turned out to be a disappointing crowd of no more than 5,000, but those who were awarded a Donnybrook to remember.

The first round went to Ernie because Henry devoted time to acceleration and evaluating his opponent. From there it was a long and painful battle for the British pretender. He had satisfaction with the survival of full 15 rounds, but the decision was never doubtful. Armstrong, as always, was tenacious with attacks on the body and head. In the ninth round, it seemed that Roderick could wither under pressure, but he was resistance to the stern, even achieving successes at 10 .. There was never any danger that Hank Hank was unable to keep up with the entire duration and entering the last round, in which he was on the fingers like a ballet dancer and still releases two fifth ponderous firewalls.

Boxing news He was full of both the winner and loser. Apparently Roderick was: “Just great. His fighting non -users’ spirit, his granite determination and his courage wonderful. “Respect was devoted to the fact that despite the attack he met, Ernie never seemed to satisfy the loss. He always looked for a way to land his own shots, even though the task turned out to be in vain.

For his part, Armstrong was a “complete miracle of his fist.”

“View in defense – he does not need the fact that his acceptance of the role of a Pugilist in constant motion creates a vortex of coming from every point of view that the other man put a real blow at all.”

Not all press reports were so nice for the British king of welterweight in his defeat. It was reported abroad that Armstrong “hit Roderick around the ring so easily that he almost looked like training a training camp.” It was also thought that if it wasn’t for the fact that Henry had damaged his hands again during the fight, he would win in space.

Regardless of this assumption, Ernie Roderick took a bold fight and went on a distance with probably the best warrior in the world, and a man who would be considered one of the best in history. Both men leave the competition with appreciation, looking back more than 80 years later. Armstrong has again demonstrated his ability to fight at a rate unbalanced for most fighters and the possibilities of it successfully against greater, high -quality opponents. Meanwhile, Roderick proved that he deserved his place in the ring with great all time.

Henry Armstrong returned to the ring less than three months later, losing the airy title of Lou Amber at points at the Yankee stadium. Despite the loss, Henry maintained a tight schedule, creating another 12 defense of the welterweight title, before he lost him with Fritza Zivic in 15 rounds in Madison Square Garden in October 1940. Finally, all the hurricanes blend.

Ernie continued boxing throughout the war, and also dragging himself to the Royal Air Force. In the end he lost his British Crown of the Country in 1948, also at Harringay Arena, Henry Hall at points in 15 rounds. Two years later he hung up the gloves. Roderick ended his career over 100 wins, including 45 by knockout. But in May 1939, when England prepared for the next war, Ernie stood in the face of Hurricane in Harringay. Maybe he did not win, but he did not release anyone and continued the fight, showing the kind of spirit whose country needed for battles.