Notting Hill is best known today for its annual carnival, the trendy Portobello Road market, and the 1999 Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts romantic comedy that borrows its name. It's an area synonymous with trendiness and wealth; the place to be seen and to be from. But in the inter-war years Notting Hill was utterly different: a poor, crowded working-class district set in the shadows of the aristocratic mansions of Kensington. It was just the sort of socio-economic setting, however, to produce quality boxers.
It produced an abundance of them during 1920s and '30s, with at least 79 pro fighters representing the district within that 20-year period. By contrast, in the three decades after World War 2 (1945-75) only eight pro boxers fought out of Notting Hill. Hardship really does develop hard fighting men.
And there were few harder than George Davis, who was born in Notting Hill's Crescent Street in July 1918. One of 15 brothers and sisters, he was a nephew of the one-time British and world bantamweight champion Digger Stanley. Like most '20s schoolboys of the area, George's idol was the Anglo-Italian Notting Hill fighter Alf Mancini: one of the best men, at any weight, never to win a British title. Davis, along with many other west London lads, lingered outside of fight halls wherever Mancini boxed, eager to get a glimpse of his hero and find out how he had fared that night.
From bowling to boxing
Despite his passion for boxing, George initially excelled at another sport, cricket. As a schoolboy he played for London against public schools at Lord's and other notable grounds, and earned a reputation as a fast bowler. His team mates, interestingly enough, included Denis Compton, who was later famous as a Middlesex cricketer and Arsenal footballer. Boxing, though, was to be George's greatest talent, as he proved when he captured the 9 stone 7 lb junior title at the Working Boys' Federation Championships, at the Royal Albert Hall, at age 15.
In those days, for working-class lads, providing for the family overruled any amateur sporting ambitions, and accordingly George was still just 15 when he had his first paid bout, in March 1934. Initially fighting at around 10 stone, he soon established himself as a star attraction in local arenas. The crowds instantly took to his aggressive style, which was complimented by a sound boxing brain and a fearsome punch.
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