OZ boxers of the past - Discussion

[AntonS]

Given comments in New ANBF Ratings thread, I thought I'd start this thread & make it a sticky.
I'm sure some interesting stuff will come out of it.
Unlike "Boxers Of The Past" forum, try not to get up each others nose
Cheers

[patron]

Given comments in New ANBF Ratings thread, I thought I'd start this thread & make it a sticky.
I'm sure some interesting stuff will come out of it.
Unlike "Boxers Of The Past" forum, try not to get up each others nose
Cheers

i,m not sure how far back you want to go,but i will throw in a couple of newcastle fighters who would be up with the best in any era, dave sands and hector thompson, all the best

[Brute]

Given comments in New ANBF Ratings thread, I thought I'd start this thread & make it a sticky.
I'm sure some interesting stuff will come out of it.
Unlike "Boxers Of The Past" forum, try not to get up each others nose
Cheers

i,m not sure how far back you want to go,but i will throw in a couple of newcastle fighters who would be up with the best in any era, dave sands and hector thompson, all the best

Didn't Sands come from Kempsey?

[patron]

Given comments in New ANBF Ratings thread, I thought I'd start this thread & make it a sticky.
I'm sure some interesting stuff will come out of it.
Unlike "Boxers Of The Past" forum, try not to get up each others nose
Cheers

i,m not sure how far back you want to go,but i will throw in a couple of newcastle fighters who would be up with the best in any era, dave sands and hector thompson, all the best

Didn't Sands come from Kempsey?

burnt ridge to be exact ,your slipping brute, be fair ,i think we can claim him as a newcastle product.anyway i will add mickey tollis to the list

[Brute]

I heard about Archie Kemp dying after fighting Tollis. That could not have done Mickey any good.

[patron]

I heard about Archie Kemp dying after fighting Tollis. That could not have done Mickey any good.

get rid of that book brute, kemp died after fighting jack hassen, i am pretty sure he didn,t fight tollis.all the best

[Brute]

I heard about Archie Kemp dying after fighting Tollis. That could not have done Mickey any good.

get rid of that book brute, kemp died after fighting jack hassen, i am pretty sure he didn,t fight tollis.all the best

Sorry, you are right. The connection was that Hassen fell in a heap after the fight. Tollis beat Hassen twice after that. My mistake.

[birchy]

As a kid I remember my father taking me to watch Tony Mundine training & being in awe of him. Ken Salisbury was one of my idols as a kid, when Ken Pedler was promoting his fights he would let me go into the dressing rooms after the fights & I was rapped that Ken Salisbury would always have time for me, have a chat & sign an autograph when he had just fought a tough 10 or 12 round fight.
I also loved to watch Wally Carr fight, he had so much natural ability, could've been anything if he trained seriously? I was also a big fan of Barry Michael & Paul Ferreri but only got to watch them on TV.
Once Fenech, Harding, Ellis, Waters, etc came along I, like most people at the time were fans?
I'm not that old (getting too close for comfort to 40) but have heard a lot of the stories about many of the great Aussie Boxers & was lucky to have become mates with Taffy Hancock (Australian Flyweight Champion in the 40's & 50's).
Birchy

[Tinnie]

Are you able to share any of Taffy's stories with us birchy?

What was he like?

I have a book that that talks about him. It says in 1951 Hancock, Gleeson and Laffin were ranked 6,7 & 8 in the flyweight division by ring magazine, a feat that has never been repeated in australian boxing. All three were written about with high regard.

[Brute]

Give you some idea of how hard it was to win any title years ago.

Trevor King was one of the best featherweights this country produced, but he had over 40 fights, losing only one, when he won the NSW featherweight title. The loss was to Sigi Tannenbaum, the man he took the title from.

[AntonS]

Anyone recognizes this bloke & his trainer, without checking properties ??

[Brute]

Going by the haircuts it was probably in the '60s.

[AntonS]

Going by the haircuts it was probably in the '60s.

http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:1252020

[Brute]

I thought this was about fighters who achieved something.

[billybob29]

a fly weight of the late 70's early 80's Steve Bell?

[patron]

I thought this was about fighters who achieved something.

Tony Mundine would fit into that category,

[Beltane]

We all think Big Bob is pretty old but he is just a youngster compared to Edward Starlight Rollins, who was Australia's oldest fighter.

Edward was born in 01-01-1852 and first stepped into the ring on 01-06-1885 at the age of 33 and continued on fighting to the age of almost 60 when in his last fight on 10-11-1911, he won a 3 round KO in a scheduled 20 rounder.

They bred them tough in those days!

[Brute]

We all think Big Bob is pretty old but he is just a youngster compared to Edward Starlight Rollins, who was Australia's oldest fighter.

Edward was born in 01-01-1852 and first stepped into the ring on 01-06-1885 at the age of 33 and continued on fighting to the age of almost 60 when in his last fight on 10-11-1911, he won a 3 round KO in a scheduled 20 rounder.

They bred them tough in those days!

Sounds like Dexter Dunworth.

[Brute]

Bernie Hall had a middleweight in the 1960s by the name of Ron Beekin. In 1967 he stopped Kahu Mahanga in 8 rounds in Wellington.

Mahanga made a few trips to Australia, KOing a lot of well regarded fighter, including Tony Mundine. Later in New Zealand an Australian journalist got ino a conversation with a hard-head from Wellington ät a Mahanga fight and put to him "Mahanga must have improved a lot since Beekin beat him."

The succinct answer was "Nah!"

[Beltane]

I remember Ron Beekin having a lot of trouble gaining fights at the time and attempts were made to get him to meet Tony Mundine but nothing eventuated.

Mahanga traded off his KO win over Tony (Tony was well ahead on points late into the fight but was king hit and counted out) for years on TV Ringside and anyone with good boxing skills ran rings around Kahu.

[Grant]

Whilst remembering Kahu, i started thinking about Manny Santos. Manny was one of the most technically sound boxers I have ever seen, he would have feasted on a few light- junior welters today I think. And we got to see him on 'free to air' two or three times per year. His fights with Hector Thompson were classic.
Hope Manny is doing OK.

[Brute]

I remember Ron Beekin having a lot of trouble gaining fights at the time and attempts were made to get him to meet Tony Mundine but nothing eventuated.

Mahanga traded off his KO win over Tony (Tony was well ahead on points late into the fight but was king hit and counted out) for years on TV Ringside and anyone with good boxing skills ran rings around Kahu.

There is a rumor that Harry Miller who ran Stadiums Limited in Sydney had a gay crush on Ern McQuillan (no, Ern was not gay, Harry just wished he was.) harry went along with anything Ern said and Ern did not want any of Bernie Hall's fighters to fight any of his fighters. Once a McQuillan fighter got a title Bernie's fighters were shut out.

[Beltane]

One always enjoyed the skills of Manny Santos, a very skilled fighter and a tough nut who fought the best at the time, mainly at Melbourne's Festival Hall and became a star of the old TV Ringside.

His wars with Hector Thompson and Hillary Connelly will long be remembered for the all out action and skill on show by all.

The NZ authorities banned him for fighting locally due to an eye injury (he later did fight his 2nd last fight back home), so he fought across the ditch, much to the delight of the TV Ringside audience.

[Beltane]

Brute may on track about Harry Miller's sexual leanings as his Australian Biography notes in part:

Opinions on Miller's professional integrity and character differed sharply. Those associated with McQuillan thought Miller shrewd, but fair; the wrestling champion Len Holt noted his over-fondness for drink and women, but believed that he combined brilliance as a promoter with honesty and loyalty. On the other hand, those who felt excluded from the favoured circle criticized Miller for showing bias against trainers (other than McQuillan) and for exploiting raw fighters, and accused him of sexual deviance. Portly, immaculately dressed and speaking in a high voice with an English accent which sounded affected to Australian ears, Miller conveyed to many people a suggestion of sexual ambivalence.

[Brute]

One always enjoyed the skills of Manny Santos, a very skilled fighter and a tough nut who fought the best at the time, mainly at Melbourne's Festival Hall and became a star of the old TV Ringside.

His wars with Hector Thompson and Hillary Connelly will long be remembered for the all out action and skill on show by all.

The NZ authorities banned him for fighting locally due to an eye injury (he later did fight his 2nd last fight back home), so he fought across the ditch, much to the delight of the TV Ringside audience.

Santos had two ten round fights with Scot Johnny O'Brien, who had earlier lost his Empire Featherweight title to Johnny Famechon, then later decide to move out here. In the first fight O'Brien shot across the ring at the bell to start the first round and hit Santos with a wicked left hook. Manny's knees buckled but he survived the round and went on to win on points. The decision was not well received so there was a rematch which Manny won by KO in the tenth and final round. Santos and O'Brien were two very good lightweights.

Manny's young brother Joey was a good boxer too.