Booth Boxers

[AL BUNDY 45]

Tent fighting is still a big thing in Queensland. Wayne McLennan travelled with them and wrote a book, imaginatively called Tent Boxing. Hard lives for some of the fighters and a lot come from pretty crappy backgrounds. They have woman fighters in a lot of the tents too. Pretty wild nights.

 

I've just finished a book called "All in my corner" by Tony Lee and that's got a lot of the old booth fighting in there, but it's predominantly a history of Welsh fighters. Very good book if you're into the history of the sport.

seen a doc few years ago about carnys in australia they had a few lurchers in tow .part of the programe was about one of them that took on all comers somtimes two at a time.

[Tomm Parr 30]

I don't know much about booth boxing but here is something you might find interesting: Boxers with a bucketload of bouts in a single year.

 

58…Ted “Kid†Lewis……………1911

58…Len Wickwar…………….…1934

53…Joe Grim……………………1902

51…Len Wickwar……….………1935

50…Len Wickwar………….……1932

49…Len Wickwar………….……1933

48…Len Wickwar………….……1936

46…John “Unk†Russell……...…1905

44…Len Wickwar…………….…1930

44…Harry Greb…………………1919

43…Young Erne…………………1902

42…Young Griffo………….……1890

41…Len Wickwar………….……1931

40…Len Wickwar………….……1937

39…Young Stribling……….……1928

39…Young Stribling……….……1924

38…Wildcat Monte………..……1924

37…Battling Levinsky….………1914

37…Harry Greb…………………1917

37…Young Ahearn………..……1910

37…Knockout Brown…….……1908

37…Cuddy DeMarco……………1923

36…“Wild†Bill McDowell……1935

36…Young Griffo………..……1899

36…Wildcat Monte……………1923

36…Wildcat Monte……………1933

35…Freddie Miller……………1935

35…Cuddy DeMarco…………1926

35…Jack White……….………1908

34…Dave Holly………………1902

34…Duke Tramel……….……1925

34…Johnny Fitzpatrick……………1933

34…Wildcat Monte……………1929

33…Jimmy Wilde………..……1913

33…Joey DeJohn………..……1947

33…Freddie Miller……………1928

33…Young Stribling……………1925

33…Young Griffo……………1888

33…Duke Tramel……….……1924

33…John “KO†Eggers……………1913

33…Walter Mohr……….……1916

32…Lamar Clark………..……1958

32…Matty Baldwin……………1903

32…Ralph Brady……….……1919

31…James “Tut†Jackson……………1922

31…Dutch Brandt……….……1912

31…“Philadelphia†Jack O’Brien……………1902

31…Len Wickwar……………1938

31…Willie Russell………………1945

31…Willie Houck………………1909

31…Tommy Feltz………………1900

31…Charley Johnson……………1896

31…Willard “Big Boy†Hogue……………1939

31…Otto “Young†Wallace……………1919

30…Knockout Brown……………1910

30…Ernie Maurer……….………1932

30…Johnny Lamar………………1922

30…Johnny Ray…………………1913

30…Cuddy DeMarco……………1924

30…Battling Murray……………1916

30…Wildcat Monte………..……1926

30…Wildcat Monte………..……1931

 

And we talk about today's boxers being 'great'..... In those days, blokes fought to put food on the table, not chase glory or titles. They didn't often spar/train, as no-one paid them for it, so they just fought again and again. The one chap, Wickwar, had 465 bouts in 19 years! Oh and he had 5 years off inbetween to fight for us in WW2...!

 

http://boxrec.com/search.php

[Attack Fell Terrier 864]

My Granddad told me about when he was in a Boxing Booth just as a youngster watching the action, when Randolph Turpin walked in with a Bird on each arm looking Dapper in his expensive clothes. Everyone cheered him and was trying to get him into the ring with the Booth Boxer, and after some persuasion he reluctantly jumped into the Ring. The Booth Boxer come out guns blazing trying to put something on Randy, but Turpin slipped and dipped away out of every punch, He completely outclassed the guy without having to put a glove on him lol .

 

It's a shame how he ended up and what he done too himself -

 

[gnasher16 30,121]

My Granddad told me about when he was in a Boxing Booth just as a youngster watching the action, when Randolph Turpin walked in with a Bird on each arm looking Dapper in his expensive clothes. Everyone cheered him and was trying to get him into the ring with the Booth Boxer, and after some persuasion he reluctantly jumped into the Ring. The Booth Boxer come out guns blazing trying to put something on Randy, but Turpin slipped and dipped away out of every punch, He completely outclassed the guy without having to put a glove on him lol .

 

It's a shame how he ended up and what he done too himself -

 

 

 

People today moan about agents in sport.....but if ever there was a perfect example of the need for them,Randy Turpin was it !......In todays times he would have been a multi millionaire who could secure his familes and their familes futures....Sadly he made bad investments through lack of knowledge and a less than great education and went the way he did.

[the_stig 6,614]

My Granddad told me about when he was in a Boxing Booth just as a youngster watching the action, when Randolph Turpin walked in with a Bird on each arm looking Dapper in his expensive clothes. Everyone cheered him and was trying to get him into the ring with the Booth Boxer, and after some persuasion he reluctantly jumped into the Ring. The Booth Boxer come out guns blazing trying to put something on Randy, but Turpin slipped and dipped away out of every punch, He completely outclassed the guy without having to put a glove on him lol .

 

It's a shame how he ended up and what he done too himself -

 

 

 

People today moan about agents in sport.....but if ever there was a perfect example of the need for them,Randy Turpin was it !......In todays times he would have been a multi millionaire who could secure his familes and their familes futures....Sadly he made bad investments through lack of knowledge and a less than great education and went the way he did.

was it randolph turpin owned a cafe or pub on the orme in rhyl ?

[gnasher16 30,121]

was it randolph turpin owned a cafe or pub on the orme in rhyl ?

 

 

Thats it....not sure exactly where but i know it was in the Welsh outback somewhere.....he felt it was a pretty picturesque place so where better to have a truckstop ......shouldnt laugh really its a sad story for sure.

[scothunter 12,609]

used to be an old booth boxer who lived in our town,he didnt have a home and was an alcoholic wullie carson was his name.i used to run greyhounds with his brother.as a youngster we always were annoying him,he was a huge man and hands like shovels.actually we paid him 30bob to batter a polish guy for us lol.when we grew up we always used to give him a cpl quid and the older guys and wifes bought him a 1/4bottle or a few cans at xmas.a story about him we heard was 6 cops came to arrest him from a pub and he laid them all out and then jumped in the back of thier van and fell asleep.he was found dead over the brickworks where he slept at night a good few year back now.his brother did say he fought down in england and ireland aswell as up here.

[willow 53]

so realy the modern day boxing shows such as when lenny mcclain roy shaw keith fileds were very simular

[gnasher16 30,121]

so realy the modern day boxing shows such as when lenny mcclain roy shaw keith fileds were very simular

 

 

Not really mate....for a start the booths were not 10 or 12 round fights....the unlicensed shows of the Mclean/Shaw times were proper organised bouts with a purse at the end you couldnt just queue up and get a fight.....infact the only similarity really was that they both went under the queensbury rules.

[rocket ronnie 243]

Great read fellas some good informative information

[Attack Fell Terrier 864]

My Granddad told me about when he was in a Boxing Booth just as a youngster watching the action, when Randolph Turpin walked in with a Bird on each arm looking Dapper in his expensive clothes. Everyone cheered him and was trying to get him into the ring with the Booth Boxer, and after some persuasion he reluctantly jumped into the Ring. The Booth Boxer come out guns blazing trying to put something on Randy, but Turpin slipped and dipped away out of every punch, He completely outclassed the guy without having to put a glove on him lol .

 

It's a shame how he ended up and what he done too himself -

 

 

 

People today moan about agents in sport.....but if ever there was a perfect example of the need for them,Randy Turpin was it !......In todays times he would have been a multi millionaire who could secure his familes and their familes futures....Sadly he made bad investments through lack of knowledge and a less than great education and went the way he did.

was it randolph turpin owned a cafe or pub on the orme in rhyl ?

 

I'm not 100% sure mate, but I think he was found dead in his Cafe. Blew his brains out after shooting his daughter or something along those lines? I could be wrong but I think he was valeting cars around the time of his death.

 

Apparently, he bought a Castle at one time . He must've been nuts lol.

Edited May 29, 2011 by Attack Fell Terrier

[Mars 42]

Buried my Uncle last week " Derek Bowen "

as a lad i used to help him out now and then with his Greyhounds and pigeons

And he would tell me tales of the odd times that he used to box in these booths

to raise a bit of cash,

he apparently was quite handy in his day, and used to box for the army

 

Mars...

[goldfinch2007 2,332]

good thread lads

[the_stig 6,614]

heres one for ya gnash who was the boxer that was shot in the back of a jag in an alley behind a london ? night club whr`t it a supposed suicide ?

Edited May 29, 2011 by the_stig

[the_stig 6,614]

cant do links but have a look at item no--180624146998 .. on ebay