Reggie Kray

Great sharing...!

 

Micky duff said in his autobiography that older brother Charlie kray was a capable fighter but that both of the kray twins were useless. He said it was his job to match them well enough to keep them winning but that Ron wasn't good enough even for that!

It should also be noted that Duff's name was found on a list of people the krays wanted killed at the time they were arested because micky once barred the krays from a dinner show promotion of his so perhaps Duff had his reasons for slating the Krays prowess as boxers...

 

No, it's quite true, the twins were ordinary at best. Charlie was the better boxer of the 3, and he was nothing special, just better than his younger brothers.

 

a fighter called Jim Heckman from Peckham, beat the pair of them. so i don't believe they where undefeated in a ring.

 

Small world. Jim Heckman coached me at Cowley ABC on the Camberwell New Road in the early '70s.

 

Good schoolboy perhaps.

I've read that the krays really knew their boxing, aficionados of its history too. They met a lot of great fighters and as ex fighters they no doubt were part of the London boxing scene. Everybody in boxing knew them before they became notorious.

Future champ though? I just don't see it. Generations of London villains had small time fights in the small halls and local baths as boxers. Operating on a very small time circuit. As in New York there was a level for average fighters to make a living in the London equivalent of fight clubs where a young man could walk off the street and get a four rounder. My grandfather, his brothers, cousins and freinds all did that. All the street urchins did. They were not any good and neither were most of them.

My grandads cousin fought Micky Duff, who had about the best record on the same circuit. It was basically club level amateur boxing only you did not wear a vest and you got paid. Duff is the first to admit he wasn't anything as a fighter and he himself was better than the krays as a boxer. The joke was one time Duff thought he was getting knobings thrown into the ring (coins of apreciation from the fans) but it was stones... this is the circuit the Krays fought at.

Big time villains, very small time boxers.

 

I never knew Jim personally my trainer Tom Arscott was trained by him and spoke about him on quite a few occasions. theres a old picture of Jim in his boxing days on the wall down my club (Honor Oak A.B.C In Catford)

it is a small world though.

 

Didnt Reggie once take Sonny Liston on that infamous 'drive'?

Nobody ever knew what happened, but apparently Liston came back shitting bricks

 

I read that experts agreed Reggie had a modicum of talent but that Ronnie was just a brawler.

 

No that was Ronnie. Apparently he was pissed as a fart and insisted on driving Liston to his hotel.

 

probably about as useful as frank Sinatra and Sylvia stallone ie useless

 

sorry my bad. I thought maybe Ronnie came onto liston and freaked him out. Liston wasn't one to scare easily.