Randy memories
Sir: I was moved to tears by Frank Keat- ing's note on the imminent sale of Ran- dolph Turpin's Lonsdale Belt (`Under the hammer', 10 July). I count myself honoured to have met Randy when I fought on the undercard at an unlicensed tournament in c.1960. Randy, appearing in a 'boxer versus wrestler' bout, showed considerable distress after dismissing a soi-disant karate champi- on by breaking his jaw in the first round. I fought a bareknuckle middleweight contest, lost on a TKO (cut eye), and was consoled by Randy, who tried (in vain: I was possibly the most inept southpaw ever to come to scratch) to teach me not to send a telegram when throwing my 'big' punches. I don't know who spent his money — himself was no niggard at bar or board — but I'm damn sure that, as his last note suggests, it was the Inland Revenue hounded him to death.
But I must disagree with Mr Keating's judgment that Randy was 'pound for pound • • • possibly Britain's finest ever profes- sional boxer'. That distinction surely must belong either to Tom Sayers (bareknuckle middleweight and heavyweight champion in 1849-60, fighting at no more than 160 pounds), or, with the gloves, Bob Fitzsim- mons (a British patrial), who held the world's middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight championships at various dates between 1891 and 1905.
Richard O'Neill
8 Milford Road, Leicester
Previous page
