BoxRec

I'd like to apologize in advance if this question ends up sounding like gibberish, but i'm missing a few facts as you'll see

About a year ago i was rushing around in my car, trying to get some personal things done during my lunch break. On the radio is a sports broadcast show, they were interviewing a sports journalist who began reminiscing on a story about Jimmy Carruthers.

He told how towards the end of his career Jimmy had been publicly challenged on numerous occasions by a certain Sydney boxer. Jimmy never fought the guy, i can only assume at the time he had bigger fish to fry. After he retired Jimmy bought and ran the Bells Hotel at Woolloomooloo. One day while he was working behind the bar, the Sydney boxer walks into the hotel and starts pestering Carruthers on why he never gave him the chance to fight him. An argument ensues and Jimmy finally accepts the challenge. The story goes that both men then walked down to Hyde Park where they proceeded to have a bare-knuckle fight that attracted a crowd so large it wouldnt have fitted into Sydney Stadium DD

It was a nice little story

Anyone know anything about what i'm gibbering about?




Oh and i like this picture of Carruthers & Frank Flannery

No more info to add I'm afraid, but thanks for posting it. Jimmy didn't seem the sort to get into fistfights so it's a bit surprising he did that. I hope he gave the guy a lesson in why he never bothered fighting him

Hi bollox,

Yea mate i have herd that he did just what the radio bloke said.

It was a ko win to jimmy ! not sure where i herd it, but maybe in that video 100 years of australian boxing ! It was a long fight pretty sure the bloke say's onlookers described the fight as a 8th round ko to jimmy !

Shirt sleeves would of been rolled up shoes would of been taken off and then a toe to toe battle would of been on , not like today, Its come from behind glass the bloke spit on him and run like a dog!

I bet ya Jimmy shouted him a beer afterwards.

Im a 81 model and i so wish i was born back in the day !

RIP Jimmy carruthers....

Thanks Champ!

Like i said it was a great story but i had no idea if there was any truth to it. Glad to hear someone else knows of this. Jimmy was a class act, so as Bollox said it does seem a little surprising, guy must have pissed him off something royal.
It truly would have been a sight to see. If you happen to remember the other fellows name could you give us a yell?

I may have to track down this video of which you speak...

Thanks again mate.

My father told me the same story except that the fight took place in the nearby Sydney Domain and that Jimmy won by KO.

Beltane wrote:My father told me the same story except that the fight took place in the nearby Sydney Domain and that Jimmy won by KO.

the fight was in the domain. his opponent was ray{mustard} coleman, a very good fighter both in and out of the ring,mustard used to sledge curruthers over the bar, you know the story about waking the sleeping tiger ,all the best

patron wrote:

Beltane wrote:My father told me the same story except that the fight took place in the nearby Sydney Domain and that Jimmy won by KO.

the fight was in the domain. his opponent was ray{mustard} coleman, a very good fighter both in and out of the ring,mustard used to sledge curruthers over the bar, you know the story about waking the sleeping tiger ,all the best

Ray was Australian featherweight champion. He finished up living at Canley Vale making a living as a thief. Bad drunk.

The fight at the Domain started at The Bells when he called Jimmy's wife a slut. Jimmy finished up knocking him out. From what I have heard it was a big crowd, including the Police sent to break it up. They dispersed the crowd after the fight.

Brute wrote:

patron wrote:

Beltane wrote:My father told me the same story except that the fight took place in the nearby Sydney Domain and that Jimmy won by KO.

the fight was in the domain. his opponent was ray{mustard} coleman, a very good fighter both in and out of the ring,mustard used to sledge curruthers over the bar, you know the story about waking the sleeping tiger ,all the best

Ray was Australian featherweight champion. He finished up living at Canley Vale making a living as a thief. Bad drunk.

The fight at the Domain started at The Bells when he called Jimmy's wife a slut. Jimmy finished up knocking him out. From what I have heard it was a big crowd, including the Police sent to break it up. They dispersed the crowd after the fight.

coleman could not accept the fact that curruthers beat him over 12 at the old stadium,insulting his wife was the only way he could get jimmy out,coleman did go downhill, he was barred from most pubs and clubs around newtown and erko in the sixties,he didn,t ammount to much as a thief, not like the lowlife the tv is glorifying these days. he had great fights with elly bennet, who would have beaten toweel , only black v white wasn,t allowed in those days in south africa, we had some great bantams and feathers around that time,all the best

I was stationed at Cabramatta towards the end of Mustard's life. His sons were a lot more trouble than he was. Ray and his sons never arced up against me, I had no trouble talking to young Ray (who was about a foot taller than his father) in spite of his form as an armed robber and heroin user.

Mrs Coleman would put up an argument about how her boys did a lot for the neighbours (like reducing the amount of stuff they had to insure, I suppose). If you mentioned something one of the old blokes from Green Valley said about Ray she would smile and calm down.

Brute wrote:I was stationed at Cabramatta towards the end of Mustard's life. His sons were a lot more trouble than he was. Ray and his sons never arced up against me, I had no trouble talking to young Ray (who was about a foot taller than his father) in spite of his form as an armed robber and heroin user.

Mrs Coleman would put up an argument about how her boys did a lot for the neighbours (like reducing the amount of stuff they had to insure, I suppose). If you mentioned something one of the old blokes from Green Valley said about Ray she would smile and calm down.

Brute wrote:I was stationed at Cabramatta towards the end of Mustard's life. His sons were a lot more trouble than he was. Ray and his sons never arced up against me, I had no trouble talking to young Ray (who was about a foot taller than his father) in spite of his form as an armed robber and heroin user.

Mrs Coleman would put up an argument about how her boys did a lot for the neighbours (like reducing the amount of stuff they had to insure, I suppose). If you mentioned something one of the old blokes from Green Valley said about Ray she would smile and calm down.

did his boys ever take up fighting, ringwise i mean.dodge city was the place to learn,it was bad in the early days,old bluey jones allways said ,your best friend is your [s]mother all the best

To the best of my knowledge Young Ray and Kingsley did all their fighting in streets and pubs.

I was a little shocked and taken a back tonight, when i came across the comments about members of my family.


Danny Coleman.

[email protected]

Got any more stories to add?

i think i read about the colemans in chopper reads book,he spoke well of them and said they were right game and tough.

It has been exactly 11 yrs,since I last posted a comment on this topic.

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Brute wrote: ↑16 Mar 2010, 23:28 I was stationed at Cabramatta towards the end of Mustard's life. His sons were a lot more trouble than he was. Ray and his sons never arced up against me, I had no trouble talking to young Ray (who was about a foot taller than his father) in spite of his form as an armed robber and heroin user.

Mrs Coleman would put up an argument about how her boys did a lot for the neighbours (like reducing the amount of stuff they had to insure, I suppose). If you mentioned something one of the old blokes from Green Valley said about Ray she would smile and calm down.

patron wrote: ↑16 Mar 2010, 06:49

Brute wrote:

patron wrote: the fight was in the domain. his opponent was ray{mustard} coleman, a very good fighter both in and out of the ring,mustard used to sledge curruthers over the bar, you know the story about waking the sleeping tiger ,all the best

Ray was Australian featherweight champion. He finished up living at Canley Vale making a living as a thief. Bad drunk.

The fight at the Domain started at The Bells when he called Jimmy's wife a slut. Jimmy finished up knocking him out. From what I have heard it was a big crowd, including the Police sent to break it up. They dispersed the crowd after the fight.

coleman could not accept the fact that curruthers beat him over 12 at the old stadium,insulting his wife was the only way he could get jimmy out,coleman did go downhill, he was barred from most pubs and clubs around newtown and erko in the sixties,he didn,t ammount to much as a thief, not like the lowlife the tv is glorifying these days. he had great fights with elly bennet, who would have beaten toweel , only black v white wasn,t allowed in those days in south africa, we had some great bantams and feathers around that time,all the best

patron wrote: ↑17 Mar 2010, 01:14

Brute wrote:I was stationed at Cabramatta towards the end of Mustard's life. His sons were a lot more trouble than he was. Ray and his sons never arced up against me, I had no trouble talking to young Ray (who was about a foot taller than his father) in spite of his form as an armed robber and heroin user.

Mrs Coleman would put up an argument about how her boys did a lot for the neighbours (like reducing the amount of stuff they had to insure, I suppose). If you mentioned something one of the old blokes from Green Valley said about Ray she would smile and calm down.

did his boys ever take up fighting, ringwise i mean.dodge city was the place to learn,it was bad in the early days,old bluey jones allways said ,your best friend is your [s]mother all the best