Items related to Mountain Fighters: Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing
This book explores some of the lives and times of the good, the bad and the ugly from the days of the bare-knuckle outlaws known as the `mountain fighters' who climbed the mountains of the south Wales valleys before dawn to duke it out with bare fists safely out of reach of the law. Some learned their trade swapping fists on the mountains, while others pulled on the gloves and tried their luck on the booths, where the ability to stand against 'all comers' for three rounds might earn them a pound.
The early history of pugilism in South Wales is chronicled within this book, which includes many profiles of some of the forgotten early fistic champions of the Welsh prize ring, including:
Shoni Engineer - a Treorchy shoesmith & bare fist fighter who would achieve almost legendary status throughout the coalfields of south Wales for his fighting prowess.
Dai 'St. John' - the Welsh Heavyweight title claimant known as the `Resolven Giant' who became a national hero due to his bravery in the South African war.
William Samuels - the longtime Heavyweight Champion of Wales, Swansea's cigar chomping premier fairground boxing booth owner, who once faced the great John L. Sullivan, the Heavyweight bare knuckle champion of the world, as well as a cage full of lions !
Robert Dunbar - a.k.a 'Sam Lane' a.k.a 'Young' Lane, Newport's battle hardened one-eyed gladiator of the old Welsh prize-ring, one of South Wales' toughest old time outlaw 'knucklers'.
Patsy Perkins - the Cardiff boy who became the Lightweight Champion of Wales and who lost everything after one fateful night in 1894 at the Aberdare slaughterhouse.
Redmond Coleman - the terrible 'Ironman' of Merthyr, whose street fighting skills made him a figure of fear throughout old Merthyr town.
Morgan Crowther - the Newport fighter whose regular brushes with the law earned him a mention in the House of Commons, and paved the way to taking the Featherweight Championship of England.
John O'Brien - the great Cardiff middleweight who could have fought for the championship of the world, if not for sickness and his fateful meeting with the 'Coffee Cooler'.
Daniel Thomas - a.k.a Dan 'Pontypridd' - the first sturdy lightweight champion of Pontypridd, the prizefighter who turned to God and burned his golden belt.
Sam & Ivor Thomas - Sam & Ivor 'Butcher', the sons of a Treorchy butcher who became known throughout south Wales for their fighting skills, Sam on the mountains with the knuckles, and Ivor on the booths with the gloves.
Other notable fighting men of the time such as Bob Wiltshire, Tom James, George 'Punch' Jones, Cardiff's notorious scoundrel Pete 'Dublin Tom' Burns and Swansea's tragic ring-hero Dick Ambrose also have their stories told.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
'The author...is to be congratulated on this splendid book which tells for the first time the deeds and exploits of the long forgotten bare fist fighters who fought on the mountains of Wales or in the fairground booths. His countless hours of research has paid off and sports fans and sport historians are in his debt.'
--South Wales Echo, January 13th, 2012
From the Back Cover:
--South Wales Echo, January 13th, 2012
Wales has a long and proud history of fist fighting. While many boxing fans may be familiar with the stories of such fistic royalty as Jimmy Wilde and Jim Driscoll from the early days of the boxing ring, the lives of the men who fought bare-fist on the mountains of South Wales or in the fairground boxing booths for a handful of coins have been far less well documented.
These are the forgotten fighting histories of some of the good, the bad and the ugly from the days of the bare-knuckle outlaws known as the `mountain fighters'. This fascinating book charts the early history of pugilism in South Wales, from the times of local bare fist champions like Shoni Engineer, the fearless Treorchy bare fist fighter, and Redmond Coleman, the street fighting terror of old Merthyr town. The early champions are also well represented, and include men like Morgan Crowther, whose regular brushes with the law once earned the boxer a mention in the House of Commons, through to Dai St. John, the renowned `Resolven Giant' who became a national hero as a result of his heroics in the South African war.
Others have been forgotten altogether, like William Samuels, the fairground boxing booth owner who once faced the great John L. Sullivan, the Heavyweight bare knuckle champion of the world, and Robert Dunbar, Newport's battle hardened one-eyed gladiator of the Welsh prize ring. These are the stories of a fighting tradition previously shrouded in myth and legend that paved the way for a country's future champions.
For the first time, the deeds and exploits of many of these men are recorded here in full. The product of countless hours of original research on the part of the author, there are many rare illustrations and photographs, many of which have never been printed in any book previously, this is a must-buy for any boxing fan who wants to re-discover the forgotten origins of Welsh boxing.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherPeerless Press
- Publication date2011
- ISBN 10 0957034202
- ISBN 13 9780957034204
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages438
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