The ESB British Forum Encyclopedia

Cheers, I could talk about the rock all day but I tried to keep it (relatively) short & sweet.
It drives me mad when I hear the "he only fought old men & bums" arguement.

 

was a good read mate, which watch the video's later

 

Joe Bowker

BORN June 12 1881 Salford

DIED october 22 1955 London

HEIGHT 5FT 3 1/2

WEIGHT 114-126lbs

MANAGER Peggy Battinson

RECORD 40-8-1 (14 KO'S & 2 EX)


Joe Bowker, who was to become World Bantamweight Champion and retire rich for his times,times was desperate when the postman arrived at his tiny house in a saltford slum with a letter from the man who was then the most powerful figure in boxing, Mt A F. ‘Peggy’ Bettinson, founder and autocratic ruler of the National Sporting Club in London. It requested a seventeen year old who had already won a string of local fights - and many more in the boxing booths - to come at once to take part in novices competition. This was the boxing equivalent of a Royal Command and the reason for Bowker’s desperation was simple poverty. Trains were too expensive. He could not afford to buy a bicycle. Hitchhiking had not even been heard of at the turn of the century- there were no cars and not all that many roads made up - so he took the advice of Sherlock Holmes: ‘When there is only one alternative left, that is the solution’. He walked almost two hundred miles to London, living and sleeping rough
Ten days later he arrived at Bettinson’s office to be rebuked sharply, ‘I thought I told you to come at once’ Bowker explained meekly, ‘ I walked as quick as I could sir’, and that tickled the man Bowker always referred to later as ‘The Guv’nor’. Bettinson was even more pleased when Bowker showed his enormous potenital by winning five fights in a single night to take first prize in that novices competition in what was for him, in those days, a totally alien environment.
There has never been any boxing venue quite like the National Sporting Club in Covent Garden. The ring was situated in the centre of a basement theatre under a massive chandelier. The more distinguished of the members-only patrons, usually dinner-jacketed, sat on stage, while other spectators took their places in the stalls - after they had all extravagantly eaten and drunkj in the dining room upstairs. A Master of Ceremonies strictly enforced silence during te rounds. Boxers were firmly instructed to ‘try to overcome your adversary in the fair, manly and sporting spirit and bear in mind that there is more honour in losing like a gentlemen than winning like a blackguard’. They took to little Joe Bowker immediately, which is why he remained a favourite for a full nineteen years. They loved the brilliance of his boxing, the way he could keep his handsome head out of an opponent’s reach, sometimes for twenty rounds, all the time collecting points for a connoisseur to savour.
Bowker was still a mouth away from his nineteenth birthday when he did that take the British Bantamweight title from a very capable champion, Harry Ware, in June 1902 - but had a back-to-earth shock when he went round to ‘The Guv’nor’ office next morning. Bettinson himself a former British Amateur Lightweight Champion, told him, ‘You won and did well, deserved it, but you made about fifty mistakes’. He then removed his jacket, told Bowker to do the same, cleared furniture out of the way and showed the new champion gaps he had left in his guard, openings he had failed to take.
It is hard to imagine many modern-day promoters who could do that - though Mickey Duff was a slippery customer in his own boxing day. It is even more difficult to picture the reaction of some of today’s more disdainful champions. Bowker saw it as sound advice and, not for a spell. He found putting on the gloves with any man who fancied his changes an improvement on sparring because he took on challengers of all sizes, shapes and styles - and besides he was getting paid and not getting hurt. He developed into a marvel of quickness and cunning in a series against the best men around until he was pronounced ready for an American who must rate as one of history’s most confident - or overconfident - world champions.
Frankie Neil, almost exactly the same age as Bowker, was a complete contrast. He had tremendous punching power, which Bowker lacked. In both hands and had knocked out the vast majority of his opponent . A built-in swagger that was past of his nature prompted him to suggest a £1,000 side-stakes. Bettinson agreed with a histrionic reluctance that concealed private glee, so Neil pushed the deal one stage further by suggesting the winner should take all the prize money . ‘That’s all right, Guv’nor’. said the unperturbed Bowker.
He was always a conscientious trainer, but the little man had never been in better shaper than he was that night of 17 October 1904 at the NSC. Neil had not come to box; his plan was to smash, batter, overwhelm Bowker and for several rounds it seemed as though this might happen. The Englishman was hurtling around the ring like a leaf in a gale, but it gradually dawned on the enthralled members that not many of the storm of American hailstones were actually landing. Bowker was at his very best, which was magical, as his dazzling skill rendered all that power impotent and by half -way through the fight he was already well in front and drawing away. The artist went on steadily scoring against the strong man until by the twentieth Bowker had won by a mountain of points. Neil’s camp had to cancel the victory dinner they had already booked at the Café Royal and Bettinson is said to have generously chipped in to help pay the fares back San Francisco.
At 21 Joe was growing into the featherweight division with considerable success. In an outstanding fight he virtually ended the career of one of the greats, ‘Pedlar’ Palmer, several inches taller and pounds heavier. Palmer was reckoned one of the most clever, tricky and slippery boxers of the age, but Bowker outclassed him, knocked him down three times before the fight was stopped in the twelfth.
One of the truly all-time great featherweights, Peerless Jim Driscoll, the legendary Welshman, was in his prime at the times, but in May 1906 Bowker, six pounds lighter and not in serious training, agreed to come in as substitute against him. Driscoll Points win over fifteen rounds convinced Bowker that over the championship distance and fully fit he would do better . He was wrong. This time Driscoll’s advantages in height and reach were even more decisive and Bowker was stopped in the seventeenth.

He came to grief again against the enormous hitting power of the man who was to finish Driscoll’s career, Charles Ledoux of France - through a moment of flashy carelessness that was absolutely untypical. In the eight round Bowker, by then convinced he was far too clever for a dangerous opponent, turned his head away to wink confidently at his corner. A tremendous right to the jaw caught him. He was knocked down six times in the ninth and five more times in the tenth before the referee stopped it.
Bowker was to carry on fighting and winning and invariably delighting audiences with his artistry until after World War I and continued to give something back to boxing as trainer of Great Britain’s Olmpic team. In between he had lost his bantamweight crown to Digger Stanley.



sorry for any spelling mistakes

 

Mr Butt, that is ace.

Hope you're keeping well, fella :good

 

yeah ok thanks , everything rosy in your garden

 

Yeah, same old, same old mucker :good

 

Had to see if ya ended up doing a MSM piece :happy

Might have a watch of MSM-Lopez II now! Great write up :good

 

**** forgot about this thead, should have been stickied

 

Has anyone done Stan Ketchel? If not they should. Like...now. That guy was a fearsome puncher, one of the best ever.

 

sorry I dint get it done on the Monday it was requested :good

I'll try and get another one done this week.

Gaz is gonna' do Monzon and Leonard. In turn, Wallet is gonna' do Tommy Hearns. I might take a stab at Sumbu Kalambay :think

This. Thread. Is. Bangin'. And there's still so much more to do :deal

 

Indeed he was. You do it :deal

I'll do a Langford one which will encompass Ketchel to a degree...once I've read the bloody book :deal

 

But...but...

I gotta go to bed :|

There is a nice read up on Cyberboxingzone. I love that site.

 

WTF where is your Chisora avatar, change is not good

 

Yeah, CBZ is quality. Adam Pollock is one if my favourite historians.

This thread is essentially a more rambling version of that with YouTube videos Nowt wrong with that though.

I'm goin' to bed now, laters mucker :good

 

Nice piece on Ike as well mate, I know next to **** all about him so was a good read, will give the vids a watch soon after having a read of your piece as well.

Will contribute about my favourite British MW in the coming days as well, can't make this all about foreign fighters