BoxRec

According to his record on BoxRec, Merv "Darky" Blandon passed away during 1939.

According to an obituary in the October 18, 1938 edition of the Canberra Times on the Trove website, Mervyn "Darkie" Blandon died in Sydney on Thursday evening (October 13, 1938). "It is understood that his death was due to injuries received in the boxing ring, and his death at the early age of 26 years is greatly regretted."

Note- Based on his record, Blandon must've been one of the best Australian boxers of the 1930s.

- Chuck Johnston

The "Find a Grave" website has some more details about the short life and meritorious boxing career of Mervyn:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cg ... 9094&df=p&

Beltane wrote:The "Find a Grave" website has some more details about the short life and meritorious boxing career of Mervyn:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cg ... 9094&df=p&

Thank you for the link to Darkie Blandon's page on the Find-A-Grave website. Why is the death date on his grave marker wrong? He died on October 13, 1938, not October 12, 1938. Moreover, Darkie's page on the Find-A-Grave website lists his death date being on October 30, 1938, probably due to a transcription error.

- Chuck Johnston

I seem to remember reading Darkie Blandon retired early due to problems then died quite young, a few years later due to a brain tumour. Personally dont know too much about him, but he did seem to have quite a reputation.

If fate hadn't intervened, It would have been interesting to see how Darkie Blandon would have fared while fighting the very best bantamweights and featherweights. Speedy Dado, an extremely colorful fighter with a clothes horse reputation and a flashy boxing style, probably was the best-known opponent that Darkie faced during his short career. But Dado was an extremely inconsistent fighter, losing quite often before and after beating the best.

- Chuck Johnston