Fighters who should of become world champion but never did?

Tony Ayala

 

I didnt know they originally accepted to fight Bennett. Such a shame i reckon he would have whipped Toweel too. Thx for the info.

 

Gimme an hour and I'll post the entire report. Trying to find it in the magazine now.

 

'Australin Ring Digest' April 1951.

"They haven't hurt my feelings; I'll just have to try meet him somewhere else"....
....this was how, with a philosophical shrug, Elley Bennett, Australian Bantamweight boxing champion, reacted to the news that South Africa had 'drawn the colour line' against him.

Queensland Senator Gordon Brown has been trying to arrange a match for the world bantam title for Elley against the South African title-holder, Vic Toweel. The fight would have been staged in South Africa.

Brisbane boxing fans have once again began clamouring for Elley Bennett to be given a world title fight. His quick knock out win over the highly rated English bantamweight, Jimmy Webster, is the best performance Elley has turned in for some time.

As a bantam, Elley is tops, but as a featherweightit is a different story. Bennett, so far as importations are concerned, should keep to the bantamweight class. Last month, Senator Brown was cabled by Mr. M Marshall, acting High Commissioner in South Africa who said that "contests between Europeans and non- Europeans were not allowed in South Africa".

Elley Bennett is a Queensland Aboriginal. Senator Brown is now trying to stage the fight in Australia. He cabled Mr Marshall last month to explore the prospects of Toweel coming to Australia.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. I always thought Elley was hard done by in those circumstances, esp with the benifets Jimmy got from becoming champion. It actually makes me wonder if the S.Africans had any genuine prospects of their own they resticted due to being "non-european". Guess we'll never know.

Once again thank you for the post.

 

Z Gorres

 

Bugger, I spoke with Toweels nephew last year about the proposed fight. He mentioned an agreement being made to settle the situation. Stadiums Ltd were 'said' to have been offered a title bout to the next best thing.

Jimmy Carruthers was that man. He'd beaten Pares in the Olympics, the Argentinian who'd beaten Toweel in Helsinki in '48 Olympics, and became matched with Elley for the National crown in his 9th pro bout. Elley had been fighting at Featherweight, taking the feather crown in '51 and made his first defence of the bantam crown also the same year. Bennett had not defended the bantam crown since beating Micky Francis in 1948 in Melbourne.
Stadiums Ltd had been pressured for a long time to have Elley defend his bantam crown, yet they obviously held hopes for a match with Toweel over the second half of Elley's bantam reign. By the time Bennett was matched with Carruthers, he'd already been made aware of 'the colour line' drama, and Carruthers took the national bantam crown, and later a shot at Toweel.

The agreement Toweel's nephew suggested does make sense. Yet Carruthers was to wait a while for the shot at Toweel. Jimmy's record is not exactly brilliant by the time he was to fight Toweel, so I believe the story. Yes, Carruthers was undefeated, but Bennetts own performances were over and above all Carruthers had done to earn a title shot.

 

which fight was carruthers in where both fighters fought barefoot ??

 

In his last bout before relinquishing the title.. against Chameron Songitrat... (Spelling?)... in Thailand in '54??

 

cheers.i didn't know which book i'd seen it in.good trivia question ??

 

A better trivia question being "What was the name of the 30 foot tape worm Carruthers carried into that fight"???

 

whats the answer

 

Charlie.. Why the hell the bothered to give it a name is beyond me. lol.

 

thats a new one on me.

 

Howard Davis and David Tua.