RANDOLPH TURPIN – the boxing legend who registered one of the worldโs biggest sporting upsets – was rubbed out by The Mob, a former leading detective claims. John Plimmer, ex head of West Midlands CID, says itโs โinconceivableโ Turpin committed suicide, as ruled by an inquest.
A letter penned by Randy two years before his death has added weight to Plimmerโs theory that the former world middleweight champion was executed after threatening to expose a web of match fixing. Turpin was poised to make public the fight gameโs soiled underbelly of corruption. In the note, brave Turpin stressed he was not afraid, but gangsters had warned his wife and family would be harmed. The villains responsible were simply referred to as โtheyโ. Around the same time, he was beaten-up by four men. He refused to reveal the reason for the rough stuff.
On May 17, 1966, Turpin, dogged by debt, depression and the onset of punch drunkenness, was found dead in a flat above the transport caf he owned in his hometown of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The 37-year-oldโs body had two gunshot wounds – to head and heart. His 17-month-old daughter Carmen โ shot twice โ lay by him. She would make a full recovery.
Plimmer, now a successful author, said: โIf he shot himself in the head first, would he really have the wherewithal to then aim the gun at his heart and pull the trigger? If he shot himself in the heart first, heโs dead – thereโs no second shot. Frankly, itโs unbelievable.โ
The tragedy marked the violent end of a rollercoaster, rags to riches to rags story that had gripped the nation.
On September 12, 1951, Turpin – considered such a no hoper the press voiced concerns for his safety – achieved the seemingly impossible by outpointing Sugar Ray Robinson at Londonโs Earl Court. From the 14th and penultimate round, the crowd broke into a raucous rendition of โfor heโs a jolly good fellowโ and the chorus continued to the final bell.
Randyโs reign was to last a mere 64 days. At New Yorkโs Polo Ground, Robinson gained crushing revenge by halting the โLeamington Lickerโ in 10 rounds.
In ring retirement, the ยฃ300,000 โ equivalent to ยฃ7million today โ that Randy amassed during his career was lost to bad investments and bad company.
Plimmer – a 75-year-old who met Turpin as a child – said: โCertain facts surrounding the death raised my eyebrows. If I had been given that case as a detective, there is no way Iโd accept it was a suicide.
โHe suffered from severe depression, I can understand that. To commit suicide you have to become unhinged โ itโs not the act of a reasonable thinking individual. I have not seen anything strong enough to suggest Randolph Turpin had become unhinged.
โTo shoot your own daughter and turn the gun on yourself shows an element of insanity. Thereโs a build-up, signs that those around him wouldโve undoubtedly picked-up on. The timing is all wrong.
โThe suicide note was pinned to the door of the room. Thatโs a weird thing to do – pin it to a door. Thereโs a lot of things that are simply not right.โ
Father-of-five Randyโs death came less than a year after another world champ met a mysterious end. An inquest also concluded Freddie Mills shot himself, although many believed he was the victim of an underworld hit.
Turpinโs decline was as rapid as his rise through the boxing ranks. After a glorious 75-fight career which also saw him claim British and European honours, Turpin โ near penniless โ turned to the pantomime of professional wrestling to earn a crust. At first he was receiving ยฃ100 for each staged match, but as the memory of great nights faded from public consciousness the fee dipped to ยฃ25.
Darker days were to follow. After filing for bankruptcy, Turpin scraped a living by toiling at a scrapyard.
โThe problem was he couldnโt handle finances or women,โ said Plimmer, who has revealed his findings in a book, The 64 Day Champion. โHe had a tax bill for ยฃ100,000 and his mitigation was he believed his manager had paid that off. His accountant Max Mitchell wrote a letter to the Inland Revenue.โ
Mr Mitchell eloquently informed them: โAs time goes on the punching power of a boxer is enfeebled. The longer he pursues his brain, through constant pummelling, is numbed.
โHis eyes are affected, deafness overtakes him and, in effect, he is lucky that in the prime of his manhood he doesnโt turn into a two-legged vegetable.
โAnd yet no allowance is given to a boxer by the Inland Revenue for the inevitable, remorseless wasting away he undergoes because of the exacting nature of his profession. Is that fair?โ
Turpinโs explanation was more succinct: โI am really a most illiterate man about money.โ
Mr Maxwellโs missive worked. The massive tax demand was reduced to ยฃ17,000, but, by then, Turpin had less than ยฃ2,000 to his name.
โHe had some shocking business deals,โ said Plimmer, โhe was used a lot. He got ripped off, no doubt about it. He was a soft touch and people were like leeches.โ
Mr Plimmerโs search for answers has been a frustrating one. โWithout being there at the scene with your pathologist youโre at a disadvantage.
โWas he actually shot elsewhere? You need to see how much blood is at the scene. You need to see the position of the revolver.
โIf itโs a murder, you want motivation. That is a must. I think in the circumstances โ and this is an assumption โ the motivation has to be revenge, a punishment killing. He was threatening to go to the authorities with details of rackets within the sport of boxing.
โItโs a bit dramatic to say someone who threatened to take action against a syndicate ended up being topped, but, back then, that was the game.โ
At the time, police, backed by the champโs own GP, believed Randyโs desperate act was influenced by dementia pugilistica – punch drunk syndrome. He was developing the slurred speech of a damaged fighter.
Five years before, the British Boxing Board of Control had been so concerned by Randyโs physical decline they stopped him sparring with world titleholder Terry Downes. He failed to heed the Boardโs warning and, a year later, was performing in the twilight world of unlicensed boxing. Thatโs how far he had fallen.
Police called to the cafe where Turpinโs body lay found a plaque nailed to a wall. Whether he was murdered or took his own life, the words succinctly summed-up the ills than befell Randy during those lost, last twilight years: โThat which seldom comes back to him who waits is the money he lends to his friends.โ