Former heavyweight boxer Brian London - dies aged 87

[Ruthless-RKO]

Former boxer Brian London, known throughout his career as ‘the Blackpool Rock’, has sadly passed away, The Gazette understands

The last of Blackpool’s sporting royalty from the 1950s and 1960s, a generation that included Jimmy Armfield and Sir Stanley Matthews, London dies aged 87 following a bout of ill health.

His untimely passing comes just four days on from his birthday.

London - born Brian Harper - enjoyed a 15-year boxing career as a heavyweight, fighting 58 times.

He was the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion from 1958 to 1959 and famously battled Muhammad Ali in 1966.

Also known as the British Bulldog, London was one of a quartet of British boxers, with Henry Cooper, Joe Erskine, and Dick Richardson, who dominated the British boxing scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Born in Hartlepool, County Durham in 1934, London moved to Blackpool when he was 16 years old and remained there up until his death.

His father Jack London won the British heavyweight title in 1944 while his brother, Jack Junior, also fought as a light-heavyweight.

London fought as an amateur before turning professional in 1955, going on to win the opening 12 bouts of his career.

He finally lost when he came up against Henry Cooper in May 1956, Cooper stopping him with a technical knockout in the first round.

The Blackpool Rock claimed the British and Commonwealth titles with an eighth-round knockout of Welsh fighter Joe Erskine in June 1958.

In January 1959, London lost his titles in a second fight against Cooper, losing by a points decision after 15 rounds.

He challenged for the world title on the first of two occasions in May 1959, when he challenged title holder Floyd Patterson in Indianapolis.

Unfortunately he returned to the UK empty-handed after being knocked out in the 11th round.

He fought Cooper for the third time in February 1964 when he challenged for his British and Commonwealth titles, as well as the vacant European title.

The fight took place in Manchester and Cooper won on points once again after 15 rounds of boxing.

In August 1966, not long after England’s famous World Cup win, London challenged for the world title for a second time at the age of 32.

The sport’s greatest fighter of all time Muhammad Ali was his opponent in a bout staged at Earl’s Court in London.

Ali, aged just 24 at the time, put on a masterful performance, eventually securing a knockout in the third round.

In a post-career media interview, London said: “He’s big, fast and he could punch, whereas I was smaller, fatter and couldn't punch.

“He stopped me in three rounds and that was it, I don't think I hit him.

“It was good money and I got well paid for it - that's all I fought for. Every fight I ever had I always had a go, but with Muhammad Ali I thought don't get hurt Brian, and I therefore didn't try, which was wrong, totally wrong.”

London enjoyed the last win in his career in 1967 with a points victory against the talented American Zora Folley, who had lost a world title fight with Ali earlier that year.

He competed in a further six fights, his career eventually coming to an end in 1970 following a defeat against up-and-coming young fighter Joe Bugner at Wembley.

He ended with a record of 37 wins (26 by knockout), 20 losses and one draw.

In 2004, the British Boxing website listed London at number eight in a list of the top 10 post Second World War British Heavyweight boxers

Following his retirement, London became a businessman in Blackpool, owning several nightclubs.

[Fray Bentos]

RIP, Brian London - had two shots at the heavyweight title and fought them all. Had a great boxing career and a great life. Though born in Hartlepool he was raised in Blackpool and fought a lot out of Liverpool and Manchester - a true Lancashire icon.

[Steveh583]

a good innings RIP

[coghaugen11]

Household figure RIP

[johnty1888]

RIP Brian London (born Brian Harper)
Brian was also 1980s UK Heavyweight contender Dave Garside’s father in law.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Among the big names London went it with are:

Ali, Patterson, Cooper, Willie Pastrano (one win, one loss), Nino Valdes, Peter Rademacher, Dick Richardson, Eddie Machen, Ingemar Johansson, Johnny Prescott, Billy Walker, Thad Spencer, Jerry Quarry, Zora Folley, Jack Bodell, and Joe Bugner. London beat Folley and Walker, and he went the distance with Johansson and Quarry (in the first of two fights with Jerry, London being KO’d in the return).

[Fray Bentos]

He was an ABA heavyweight champion and an Empire Games gold medalist, in Vancouver I think,..

He fought Quarry twice out in California - the second time might have been on the Rudkin vs Olivares world title fight at the Inglewood Forum and I know no-one is going to care about this except me but he actually fought a future Peruvian heavyweight boxing champion called Roberto Davilia who was a bit of a rough house and stopped him/retired in his corner in the sixth round on cuts - this was at the Liverpool Stadium and London was nearing retirement by then. Televised by the BBC I think...

In his autobiography, Billy Walker said that Brian London gave him the most comprehensive beating of his career and he said London was an excellent, skilled technician.

[JamesPhilips]

Good age. I have to admit I didn’t realise he was alive

[Fray Bentos]

Good age. I have to admit I didn’t realise he was alive

A few years ago, he was on BBC North West Tonight and he was punching a bag which he did daily... he looked in fine fettle but at that age, things go south quick...

[bennie]

Brian was a right hard bastard and his entire family got involved in the infamous Brawl at Porthcawl in August 1960, after Dick Richardson got away with blatant butting.

[stujones]

Sad news - a bit of an end of an era, but had a great innings and nice to read he was in seemingly good health into his 80s.

Obviously he was before my time and speaking to people who remember him - the fight with Ali probably did him no good - a lot of older people who I've spoken to who saw that fight thought London froze, watching the fight it is more of a case of Ali not getting the credit he deserves for that performance - it was Clevland Williams esque and he was right in his prime.

All you need to do is look at his resume and you can see what a hard man he was - he really fought a who's who of domestic fighters of the 1960's - in a great era for the Heavyweights in the UK. Makes a mockery of the current situation where we have some evenly matched Heavyweights who "politics" gets in the way of the fights. As been noted, fought some of the very best, not just in the UK but around the world - probably lost more than he won at the level, but scored a few upsets wins on his way.



RIP Champ.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Brian London obituary

The former British heavyweight champion Brian London, who has died aged 87, twice challenged unsuccessfully for the world heavyweight title: first when he was stopped in 11 rounds by Floyd Patterson in 1959, and seven years later when he was knocked out in the third round by Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, at Earl’s Court in London. Years later, when asked about the fight and Ali’s deteriorating physical condition, London would joke: “Don’t blame me, I never laid a glove on him!”

Although he was outclassed by Ali, London was a tough bruiser of a fighter, with a face that told a thousand stories. His nose was flattened and broken on numerous occasions, but he was good enough to have defeated the talented Joe Erskine in 1958, when he scored an eighth-round knockout victory to claim the British and Commonwealth titles.

Nicknamed the Blackpool Rock and the British Bulldog, he was one of a group of fighters, including Henry Cooper, Erskine and Dick Richardson, who dominated British heavyweight boxing for much of the 1950s and 60s. Although his record shows he fell short at the highest level, and he lost 20 of his 58 paid contests, London will be remembered for fighting with success for more than a decade and for sharing the ring with four world champions.

He rated his performance in defeating the talented Erskine to win the British and Commonwealth titles in 1958 as perhaps the best of his career. That year he had lost and won against Willie Pastrano, an American who would go on to hold the world light heavyweight title, and would lose his title to Cooper in 1959.

The British Boxing Board of Control, reasoning that London’s loss to Cooper meant he was no longer Britain’s No 1, refused to give their formal consent for a fight against Patterson for the world title. London went ahead anyway, meeting the champion in Indianapolis in May 1959; he was knocked out in the 11th round. He was officially rebuked and fined by the board but, unrepentant, responded that he had been paid $75,000 – the highest fee of his career – adding: “That’s more than I have earned in four years of professional boxing in Britain. I’m boxing for security.”

London was also in trouble with boxing’s officialdom the next year, and was again fined by the board for the “brawl in Porthcawl”, a classic piece of after-fight mayhem following his failure to defeat Richardson in a challenge for the European heavyweight title. The fight had been stopped by the referee in the eighth round, with London deemed to have been so badly cut that he was in no state to continue. London’s father and brother, disgusted with the verdict and believing Richardson had fouled his way to victory by opening a cut with a head-butt, invaded the ring, as did Richardson’s trainer. A pitched battle ensued, with punches thrown between rival corners and fighters; order was restored only after the police intervened.

In 1963 London travelled to Stockholm to fight the Swedish former world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson and was denied a famous victory, losing on points, with Johansson literally saved by the bell – he was slumped over the ropes unconscious as the bell sounded to end the 12th and final round.

London fought Cooper for a third time in 1964, when they met in an eagerly anticipated contest at Belle Vue, Manchester, with the European, British and Commonwealth titles at stake. The popular Cooper was awarded a points victory by the referee, Frank Wilson, but London would always argue he had done enough to win.

Showing he was far from finished, London then defeated the crowd-pleasing “Blond Bomber”, Billy Walker, in 1965, and was lined up for his unlikely world title shot against Ali at Earl’s Court in August 1966. Ali was at the peak of his considerable powers; lightning fast and coming into the contest on the back of a victory three months earlier when his accurate punches had ripped Cooper to shreds in front of a huge crowd at Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium. The champion’s customary jibes before their fight seemed to have no effect on London, who said: “Clay insult me …. no way. I’m too ignorant.” He conceded the champion would be the superior boxer but warned: “Clay may cut me, out-box me, or even beat me. But I’ll be there at the end, thumping.”

However, his words had a hollow ring. The fight proved to be a difficult sell and the venue was far from full, with the public sceptical about his chances. Ali stopped his man in less than three rounds with a barrage of unanswered punches, and London would later confess to have, in effect, quit to avoid being hurt. “He [Ali] isn’t a puncher – he just hit me so many times I didn’t know where I was. I knew I couldn’t win. That was a terrible fight. He was just too good. I decided not to get knocked to bits and I turned it in,” he admitted.

London fought on in other bouts but lost five of his last six contests, and retired in 1970 after losing to the improving youngster Joe Bugner. Unlike many fighters, London had been careful with his money, investing wisely in property in Blackpool and for many years owning the town’s 007 nightclub, which became a well-known dance and live music venue.

He had lived in Blackpool since his family moved there when he was 16. Born Brian Harper in west Hartlepool, County Durham, he was the son of John Harper, who, under the name of Jack London, had won the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles by defeating Freddie Mills in 1944. Brian adopted his father’s ring surname when he became a professional fighter in 1955 after completing his national service.

It was while serving with the RAF that Brian had begun to fight. Encouraged to box because of his famous father, he claimed to have lost only twice in 87 unpaid contests and would later say: “Competing had great privileges, such as better food, more time at home and less square bashing. I didn’t need too much encouragement with all those perks being offered.”

After his boxing days were over, his club in Blackpool briefly hit the headlines in 1971 when it was revealed that the England footballers Bobby Moore and Jimmy Greaves were among a group of West Ham players who had been partying there the night before an FA Cup tie, subsequently losing to Blackpool 4-0. West Ham’s directors responded with fines and suspensions for the players concerned.

Despite London’s later line of business, he was teetotal; indeed, he was a fitness fanatic who stayed in impressive physical condition well into his 70s.

He married his childhood sweetheart, Veronica Cliffe, and they had three children, Brian, Melanie and Jack. The marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by his children.

- Brian London (Brian Sidney Harper), boxer, born 19 June 1934; died 23 June 2021

[bennie]

This has already been mentioned in the thread but the end to London's fight with Swedish banger Ingemar Johannson is worth a look. It is a rare example of a fighter saved by the bell.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Family pay tribute to 'humble gentleman' following his death aged 87

Tributes continued to pour in for Blackpool boxer Brian London following his death at the age of 87.

Known as the ‘Blackpool Rock’ and famed for taking on Muhammad Ali in 1966, Mr London – born Brian Harper – enjoyed a 15-year boxing career as a heavyweight, fighting 58 times.

His children Jack, Melanie and Brian paid tribute to their father and thanked people for their stories and messages as well.

They said: “As a family we would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to each and every person who has sent messages of condolence and posted well wishes across social media platforms.

“To most he was Brian London, the boxer, businessman, club owner and gentleman, but to us he was dad and grandad. A man who achieved so much in his lifetime yet stayed humble and grounded.

“Blackpool solidarity knows no bounds and we are sure that the town will grieve with us in losing one of its local legends.

“No words can truly express our loss but we continue to seek some comfort in the form of the many tributes and stories from those who knew and had the pleasure of meeting Brian. Rest well dad.”

Veteran comedian Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown described Brian as a great friend and said the news of his death was “very sad”.

He added: “He always liked a laugh and a joke and had a fantastic personality. He will be sorely missed.

“My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends.”

Blackpool professional wrestler and WWE star William Regal tweeted: “My deepest condolences to Brian’s family and friends.”

Brian's funeral is expected to take place on Tuesday, July 6. The cortege will drive past Stanley Park, close to his former home where he where he was also a regular jogger.


With Brian Rose

[GlobalBox]

God Bless Champ R.I.P.

[margaret thatcher]

This has already been mentioned in the thread but the end to London's fight with Swedish banger Ingemar Johannson is worth a look. It is a rare example of a fighter saved by the bell.

unlucky there, but lol at the previous description of ingy being 'unconscious' ....um, nah

[margaret thatcher]

dick richardson was a menace with that head wasnt he

[bennie]

dick richardson was a menace with that head wasnt he

They called him the King of the Cobbles but he was an absolute gentleman unless, of course, someone looked for it. His fight with London took place at the height of the summer in a volatile couple of weeks known as "miners' fortnight". All the Welsh miners made their way to a seaside town like Porthcawl and lived it up. The atmosphere in the seaside arena would have been petty raucous and I can only imagine that Richardson got caught up in it. The referee is in denial and even the police appear intimidated during the brawl, which appears to be started by one of Dick's seconds.

[john2345]

Original Post Deleted. I realised after I'd posted that I was a week behind everyone else with the news of Brian's death so timing wise my post was totally out of synch with the thread.

I'll just say here he was a serious fighter, and I was a big fan. He had some excellent performances in his career.

John

[margaret thatcher]

he fought ali, every hardcore fan just about should know him

[My Name Is Earl]

A Blackpool legend and another one of the 60's British 'horizontal heavies', as the Yanks called 'em, who
flourished in business. A true gent and as fit as a butchers dog to the end.

Became a household name because of the Bobby Moore scandal, (and his club thrived after it), which even
splashed the front page of The Times. Icon Moore, as the golden boy of English football, was slaughtered by
the press and fans alike but still considered untouchable in certain quarters. The Blackpool FC assistant was
sacked for criticizing Moore's performance.

[Flump]

This has already been mentioned in the thread but the end to London's fight with Swedish banger Ingemar Johannson is worth a look. It is a rare example of a fighter saved by the bell.

Probably my favourite Brian London quote was in Boxing Monthly about 20 years ago. Apparently before the fight, Ingo was very dismissive of the threat posed by London and said in an interview that his sister could beat London.

After the fight London said to Ingo "you should have brought your feckin sister"

[Ruthless-RKO]

Blackpool medal for boxer Brian London who fought Muhammad Ali

Blackpool boxing "legend" Brian London is to be posthumously awarded the Blackpool Medal in recognition of his contribution to the town.

Councillors unanimously backed calls for the honour to be bestowed on the boxer who challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1966.

The Blackpool Rock, as he was known, died in June at the age of 87.

Councillor Tony Williams said he was one of the town's "great sporting heroes and deserved recognition".

Although born in Hartlepool, the Commonwealth heavyweight champion from 1958 to 1959 lived in Blackpool from the age of 16.

London was involved in two world title fights, the 1966 clash with Ali and a match against Floyd Patterson seven years earlier in which he took the American to 11 rounds before losing by a knockout.

Following his retirement from boxing, London owned the 007 nightclub in the resort.

'Real champ'

"I think Brian London has been greatly overlooked in Blackpool in the past for his services to sport and as an entrepreneur," Mr Williams said at a full council meeting.

"In all his interviews he talked about Blackpool and promoted Blackpool."

The Conservative councillor for Anchorsholme ward would like the boxer to get more recognition in the resort, such as a blue plaque outside his house, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Brian had an incredible career; he was a real champ and fun to be around," he said. "He was a legend and a larger than life character."

He added: "It is a shame he didn't get this honour while he was alive. He was Blackpool through and through."

Councillors also agreed to award the medal to former councillors Peter Callow and Lily Henderson, who both died last year.

The honours are due to be bestowed in November.

Only three people have previously received the award - Paralympian Shelly Woods, Blackpool FC and Major Jim Houldsworth, for his services to the armed forces and the veterans community in Blackpool and on the Fylde Coast.

[My Name Is Earl]

Fellow Blackpudlian Brian Rose dedicated his recent fight to London outta respect.

One of London's best stories is when a legendary footballer contacted him to see
if he had 'owt to donate for a kids charity show. London gave him his gloves from the
Ali fight, and told him to auction them off as 'unused'.