Andrew Jeptha

[572380]

Hi,
South African born Andrew Jeptha became the first black man to win a British title at Whitechapel in 1907. Does anybody know why his reign was not counted as official by the BBBofc?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance,

Des

[prewarboxing]

I will try to answer this question definitively if I can, Des.

Firstly, and most importantly, Andrew Jeptha never was the British welterweight champion. I shall explain why in detail.

You have asked why the BBBofC do not count his 'championship' victory as official. The BBBofC was formed in 1918 and then reconstituted in 1929. It was not in existence at the time that Jeptha was active. From 1918 to 1929 the BBBofC board was largely made up of the same people who were running the National Sporting Club, and the BBBofC recognised the same champions as did the NSC. Since 1929 they have been the sole regulatory body within the UK and have been responsible for formally recognising British champions. They have never made any attempt to retrospectively recognise any British champion before 1909.

In 1909 the NSC recognised the fact that there was no definitive champion at any of the weights in Britain. There were a large number of claimants for various British titles at a multitude of weights, but none of them had a categoric, unequivocal claim to being the 'official' champion. To put this right the NSC introduced eight weight classes in 1909 and, thanks to the generosity of Lord Lonsdale, put up a belt for each weight that was to be presented to the official champion. From 1909 onwards it is almost always quite clear who the champions were.

Prior to 1909 it is very murky.

The Boxing News Annual used to regularly publish the list of British champions going back well before 1909 and they did show Jeptha as being the welterweight champion from Mar 25 1907 until Aug 8 1907. This is, I suspect, where the claim for Jeptha being a British champion has originated.

Jeptha beat Curley Watson on Mar 25 1907 and this is the title contest that the Boxing News annual listed. However, the contest, which took place at Wonderland, was not advertised as being a title contest and none of the reports for the bout mention anything about it being for a title. The match was made at 10st 4lbs, three pounds under the welterweight limit, and was, I am almost certain, fought over 20 two minute rounds, which was not the championship distance. At that time 'championship' matches were contested over three minute rounds.

The Boxing News annual then states that Jeptha lost his 'title' on Aug 8 at Merthyr, against Joe White. This contest was also a two minute round affair, but was fought over ten rounds only, and it was certainly not a championship contest of any sort.

At the time that Jeptha was active there were no recognised champions under the auspices of a control body. The National Sporting Club tended to have the most say in the matter and a number of bouts fought at the club in the period prior to 1909 could probably be retrospectively considered as being 'championship' contests today, but I do not believe that any such claim could be made for either of Jeptha's bouts.

When Watson supposedly won his 'title' in 1906, he did so by defeating Charlie Knock. This contest was another two-minute round affair and was not advertised, or reported upon, as being for any title whatsoever. Watson may have had a claim to be the best welterweight in Britain, but he was not the recognised champion when Jeptha fought him.

Boxing News, and in particular, Gilbert Odd, were probably doing their best to identify the most likely title claimants when they published their list of champions, but their research was shoddy at best. The Boxing book of records for 1914, published by Boxing News in that year, includes the detailed record for Jeptha and it makes no mention of him being champion, or of either of his two 1907 contests being for the title.

That said, Andrew Jeptha was a very fine fighter indeed, but he was not a British champion.

I am happy to supply fight reports for any of these contests should you wish to see them.

Miles Templeton

[prewarboxing]

A quick correction. The August 1907 contest between Jeptha and White was fought over fifteen two-minute rounds, not ten. The championship distance at that time was twenty three-minute rounds.

Miles Templeton

[572380]

Dear Miles,

Thank you for your reply. I am currently writing a presentation on black British athletes for my PhD research. I came across Jeptha after looking at the BBB of Control colour bar from 1911-1948. I had been working on the assumption that Dick Turpin had been the first Black fighter to win a British title and as I'm dealing with postwar Britain I'm happy that you have clarified this issue for me, and I'll make sure to cite you and BoxRec in any bibliography. I'd be happy to take you up on your offer of fight reports etc as I intend to make contact with boxing historians and you were one of the scholars I'd intended to reach out to.

Do you have an email that I can contact you on? Or would you prefer correspondence through this website?

Best wishes,

Desmond Felix

[prewarboxing]

Desmond

I would be delighted to help you. I know a great deal about the subject that you are writing about. You are most welcome to call me on 07872 578596. My email address is [email protected]

Regards

Miles

[572380]

Thank you, Miles,

I'll send you a text this evening from 07908263235 to confirm receipt of your message.

Des