Jack Bodell vs. Bill Drover

Jack Bodell 205 lbs beat Bill Drover 201 lbs by PTS in round 10 of 10

• Date: 1971-04-27
• Location: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, United Kingdom
• Referee: Harry Gibbs

"Heavyweight Bill Drover flies home to Montreal today assured that he can come back to London anytime for a good pay day. Outweighed but aggressive, Drover gave the fans their money's worth and stayed in the upper brackets of British Commonwealth title contenders Tuesday night as he dropped a close decision to Jack Bodell, Britian's No. 2 heavyweight. Drover belted it out with Bodell for 10 rounds, keeping a crowd of 10,000 in an uproar. Drover had no quarrel with the verdict and admitted that, as usual against lefties, he was bothered by the unorthodox style. Drover kept boring in through the later rounds, taking plenty of punches to get his own home. Drover was unmarked except for a small cut on the right eyelid." -Canadian Press

• Harry Gibbs score of 49 1/2 to 48 3/4 for Bodell reflected 5-2-3 in rounds.
• Drover's manager Roger Larivee stated they would be fighting in MSG in New York in 3 weeks time against an unnamed opponent. However, although his next fight was in MSG, it wasn't until July.

Post fight comments

• "The least they could have given Bill was a draw after the way he chased Bodell around the ring. The guy was doing a hit and run act all night." -Roger Larivee, Drover's manager

• "His right isn't dangerous. He never hurt me, but southpaws are awkward for anyone." -Bill Drover