Jack Britton Discussion

Britton was one of the great "old" fighters, although he isn't usually mentioned in that category. He fought well into his 40's and was still champ at 37 until surrendering his title to a younger and stronger opponent in Mickey Walker.

I think he's just an overlooked fighter, likely because no film seems to exist of his fights.

 

What a shame,that Jack Britton is virtuallyforgotten today...Boxing fans just think about this amazing fact,in about THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR bouts or more,Jack Britton was stopped just ONCE...Britton fought bthe bhest welters of his time in a 26 year career,relying on great boxing skills and acumen,,,He couldn't punch hard,making almost all his fights going the full distance...As there are no availably films of him I envision,I much better version of the master boxer Billy Graham,of the 1940s who I saw fight often...

 

I don't see how you'd come to the conclusion that he was "much better" than Graham, if at all.

 

Folks who saw both Graham and Britton were among the highest boxing IQ folk who ever lived. What do you suppose they thought?

 

This.


As it is, he's almost certainly an all time top 10 welter. Among his many achievements:
-He's generally credited with getting the better of his rivalry with Ted "Kid" Lewis, including a win by KO.
-He scored multiple "wins" (in no-decisions) over future MW champ Mike O'Dowd.
-He is credited with winning a no-decision fight with Mickey Walker prior to their title match.
-He was reportedly only stopped once in his long career (in his second recorded fight) despite fighting well into his 40s.

Perhaps his biggest achievement was fending off a title challenge from Benny Leonard. Leonard was at his peak then and the hot favorite to beat Britton (who was around 37 at the time). However, according to reports, Britton managed to keep Leonard at bay and frustrate him throughout the fight, and Leonard apparently became frustrated enough to get himself DQ'd. That was probably Britton's "last hurrah."

 

A true ATG, though admittedly I'm still delving into the 'facts' of his resume.

 

Sweat Pea, I saw Billy Graham often ,and he was a great boxer ,infighter and had an IRON chin..I never once saw him in trouble..Highly rated, but never seen as a threat to Ray Robinson...Jack Britton had three times as much bouts as Graham, was ALWAYS considered by all his peers as in the best FIVE welter of all time.Any fighter who had about 19 fights with the great Ted Kid Lewis, and more then held his own,was special...Incidentally watching the few clips of Lewis,leads me to believe that Lewis would always lick Billy Graham...One final thought an old Jack Britton at the age of 37,still lasted FIFTEEN tough rounds with the youg and great Mickey Walker...Quite a feat I say...Matter of fact Britton boxed SEVEN more years after that, never being stopped...Tough old bird I say....

 

He had the upper hand in possibly the greatest welterweight rivalry of all time. I usually remember him for that mostly, it's probably the footage thing that hurts him most, not good.

 

I wish there were some footage of him. Always have time for the master boxers of the past.

 

I did a Welterweight ranking once and I had him just above Kid lewis at about 9 with Lewis at 10.

However, I need to research more fo Britton.

 

The footage issue is massive. We have footage of Kid Lewis, Walker, Benny Leonard, Lew Tendler, Gans, Langford, Driscoll, the Gibbons brothers, Freddie Welsh and Packey McFarland, and at least some training footage of Greb. Britton is a mystery in this respect. The fact he didn't jump up in weight, but hung around 147 may also have an effect on his recognition.

Charter member of the IBHOF, as he should be. Walker's account of facing Britton left no impression on me, while his descriptions of taking on Greb were vivid and colorful. (I'd have to haul my copy of Mickey's book out of storage to review what he said about winning the WW Title.)

For me, his greatest win was the ninth round knockout of Lewis to regain the WW title when he was 34 years old. (At that time, the 25 year old Kid had been stopped once in 176 fights, when he was still a teenager.) Continuing until he was 45, Britton seems to have been the Archie Moore of his day. Jack did not begin professional boxing until he turned 20, and I've always believed a mature start facilitates a longer career, while an earlier start leads to earlier burn out. Lewis actually retired before Britton did.

Knocking out Lewis and dropping Walker suggests that he had more power than his knockout ratio would indicate. Boxwreck indicates that he fought 17 times in 1929, although my 1957 Ring Record Book only lists 13 outings. (Either way, that's a sick schedule for a man in his middle 40s to adhere to.) He certainly wasn't afraid to take on both Benny Leonard and Packey McFarland repeatedly.