![]() ![]() ![]() It was Wilde, Peerless Jim Driscoll and Freddie Welsh who formed the golden trio of Welsh prize fighters who commanded so much respect across the Atlantic.ĭriscoll was renowned in America before he even set foot there. In 1913 alone, Wilde had an incredible 34 fights, sometimes entering the ring five times a month and it was even suggested he faced 25 opponents in one day. It is estimated Jimmy Wilde had between 500 and 1,000 fights, including boxing booth bouts. In 11 years, that amounts to an average of four fights a year – a paltry sum when considered against his fighting forebears.Įven the up-and-coming star Amir Khan, who seems to fight every couple of months these days, could be described a sloth in comparison to the Welsh greats of the early 20th century whose appearances in the ring had a machine-gun rattle to them. “But they had the grit, the Welsh fighting spirit – boxers who went around the world and gave as good as they got.”Ĭalzaghe’s latest outing will be his 44th as a professional. “Driscoll’s fight against then world featherweight champion Abe Attell in 1909 was fantastic and how can you discount Wilde taking the great Joe Louis the full distance in New York. “How the hell they even got across the Atlantic before World War Two is beyond me. The President of the British Boxing Board of Control said: “Welsh legends such as Driscoll, Freddie Welsh and Tommy Farr put up unbelievable performances abroad. At the age of 81, he still drools about the performances of legends such as Peerless Jim Driscoll and Tommy Farr. Lord Brooks of Tremorfa has a love affair with boxing that goes back decades. In 2001, he knocked out Will McIntyre in Copenhagen and four years later proved Mario Veit was nowhere as super as he claimed to be with a demolition job in Germany.Īpart from those brief flirtations abroad, the Italian Welshman has chosen to batter and bruise 41 of his other opponents back home.Ĭompare that travelling record to Welsh greats of the past and Calzaghe could be accused of having a mild case of hodophobia (the fear of travel). On this occasion, Wales’ biggest sporting export is the favourite and the tag is well deserved.īernard Hopkins is one of America’s wiliest fighters but he is up against a Welshman whose credentials are backed by a 19-year unbeaten streak and determination to join the likes of Rocky Marciano – so far the only man to retire with only wins to his name.īut if there is one thing Hopkins is looking to pounce upon it is Calzaghe’s lack of air miles.Īlthough the squared circle and bright lights of the Thomas and Mack Center will be familiar furniture to a fighter most comfortable with his craft, the Las Vegas venue will be as alien to the Newbridge warrior as the taste of defeat.Ĭalzaghe has fought boxers outside his heartland on only two previous occasions, not counting his forays across the English border. Joe Calzaghe, however, is not faced with the Everest climb Farr had before him but the bout does evoke a time when Welsh fighters graced the pinnacle of the sport’s elite contests. “My face looked like a dug-up road,” said Farr, lamenting the price of testing Louis to his limit.Įarly tomorrow in Las Vegas another Welshman will take on America’s – and considered to be the world’s – best light-heavyweight fighter in front of up to 19,000 fans at the Thomas and Mack Center.īut this is the world of pay-per-view television and fans back home, coffee induced and armed with eyelid lifting cocktail sticks, don’t have to rely on a crackling box and aerial. Farr held on for what must have been 15 torturous rounds for fans to listen to, but he could not provide the upset and Louis took the bout on points. He was the rank underdog against the seemingly invincible Joe Louis.įarr had already proved his worth by beating the great Max Baer over 12 gruelling rounds, two fights before he challenged the Brown Bomber in front of 32,000 people at New York’s Yankee Stadium.Īt 3am, hundreds of Welshmen were glued to crackling radios as their man set about the business of causing an almighty upset.Īt the Cambrian Colliery, Rhondda, where Farr once worked, they changed the shift times specially and loudspeakers were set up in public halls. IN 1937 the Tonypandy Terror, Tommy Farr, crossed the Atlantic to face one of the toughest fighters the world has ever seen. ![]() As Gavin O’Connor reports, he is following in some very great Welsh footsteps Joe Calzaghe will bid for boxing immortality when he takes on Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas early tomorrow morning. ![]()
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