The Jack ‘Kid’ Berg tapes

[Alex]

A couple of years back, John Harding, author of the Jack ‘Kid’ Berg biography and other books, was kind enough to loan me a set of audio tapes of his interviews with Berg from 1986 for the purpose of digitisation.

With John’s permission, I’ve started to publish extracts from the interviews online.

To me, they’re an invaluable piece of boxing history – a unique window into a long-gone era courtesy of one of British boxing’s all-time greats.

I’m not sure how many people share my interest in the pre-war era, but I thought I’d add the interview clips to this thread as I publish them, as it feels like a suitable place. Here are the first two:

[JC]

I actually listened to both earlier today on YouTube.

Thanks so much for uploading, a really great record.

Berg's mind was still sharp as a tack at the time of the interview.

[Alex]

I actually listened to both earlier today on YouTube.

Thanks so much for uploading, a really great record.

Berg's mind was still sharp as a tack at the time of the interview.

My pleasure. Glad they’re of interest.

Yeah, it’s remarkable how sharp Berg was (he was about 76 when the interviews were recorded) considering the staggering tally of fights he had, and that his style was that of a come-forward, all-action crowd-pleaser.

[Alex]

[JC]

That was brilliant. I always love hearing the ins and outs of what it's really like in pro gyms. Amazing to get an insider account from that era, like a time machine! Nice to hear him discuss his fighting style a little too. To a modern eye, most fighters of that era seem to spend a lot of time wrestling on the inside, so it's interesting to know he specifically thought of himself as an inside fighter.

I read John Harding's book years ago, I'll have to dig it out again.

Slightly off topic, but it would be really interesting to hear anything there is about his early life in the East End. I've been past the building he grew up in many times and always wondered what it was like in those days.

[Alex]

There's definitely some talk of his early life, growing up in the East End, etc, on the tapes. I'll try to find some interesting bits to share.

[Alex]

Jack 'Kid' Berg talks about 1920s cinema and getting into a fight at the cinema: