Liverpools Boxing Heritage

By Liverpool Echo Correspondent Nick Peet

SINCE its monotone days as one of the world's leading international ports, Liverpool has always been known as a 'fight town'. 

Boxing runs through the veins of its people, Scousers, and its proud boxing history can be traced back to the very beginning - when the Queensbury Rules were first introduced at the end of the 19th century. 

The city's first boxing hero was Ike Bradley - incidentally the great-grandfather of the modern day city council leader Warren - who was the first Liverpudlian to fight for the world title in the city. 

The 'Battling Bulldog', as he was affectionately known, challenged Digger Stanley for the world bantamweight title in Liverpool in 1911, and although losing after 20 gruelling rounds the city had its first boxing star. The first of many. 

Over the next century Liverpool would be almost torn apart by two World War's, it would rock to the sound of Merseybeat and The Beatles, and celebrate every level of success through it's two high profile football clubs. 

But the passion for its men of the ring never wavered. A working class city with class heroes. 

Legends like Dom Volante, Ernie Roderick, Wally Thom and the great Nel Tarleton dominated British and European boxing during the War years. 

Even the grass roots of the sport, the amateur game, was starting to make its mark nationally - with gym's like the Florence Institute, St Teresa's and Maple Leaf ABC enjoying plenty of successes. 

The sport had also found a permanent home, first in the old Pudsey Street theatre, and then later at the now demolished Liverpool Stadium, which hosted weekly boxing shows from the 1950's onwards. 

In the early days combatants would reap extra rewards for their efforts when supporters would throw pennies into the ring if they liked what they saw. 

And often, for extra entertainment, they would warm the pennies on gas flares used for lighting then flick them red hot into the ring. 

Later the Stadium would become famous for its 'Mugs Alley' where punters would queue up for a chance to take to the ring, and get paid, when an opponent failed to turn up for a fight. 

In the post War years plenty of new names and faces also came through to follow the legacy of their predecessors. 

MIddleweight Harry Scott, welterweight Johnny Cooke and bantamweight Alan Rudkin carried the city's proud fight history into the second part of the 20th century. 

And then came arguably the greatest of them all. 

Light-heavyweight champion John Conteh was born in 1951 and went on to win amateur honours both nationally and internationally before turning professional and going on to be crowned champion of the world. 

Featherweight Paul 'Hoko' Hodkinson soon followed suit and Liverpool's stature as a home of boxing champions had really taken shape. 

While John, Paul, George and Ringo were top of the music charts, the city's boxers were starting to bang out their own big hits and Liverpool quickly became the main focus of the British fight game outside of London. 

The Eighties saw the city introduce it's prestigious Multi-Nations tournament, which since, its insertion, has attracted the cream of world amateur boxing. 

The annual tournament, the only one of its kind in the UK, has gone from strength to strength over the past 20 years, and has proved to the world that Liverpool is more than capable of staging high profile international boxing events. 

A host of internationals have also been staged on the banks of the River Mersey, with the USA, Canadian, Russian and Cuban nations all competing here in recent years. 

The national team is packed with Scouse boxers. 

Liverpool boasts more fighters involved with the current England and Great Britain squads than any other UK city, including London. 

The city has enjoyed a wonderful return from the annual National ABA Championships, with champions dating back over 100 years. 

While local fighters have also enjoyed tons of success in international tournaments too. 

Future world champion Robin Reid captured a bronze medal at the Olympic Games as recently as 1992, while current England skipper Neil Perkins returned from the World Championships in China in 2005 with the same medal. 

Perkins' team-mate Stephen Smith followed up his medal from the European Juniors in 2003 with another in the senior tournament just last year.