By Matt Bozeat
SIXTY years ago, one of Britainโs greatest fighters was facing up to life without boxing.
On August 22, 1964, in a ring in Malta, Randolph Turpin threw his last punch.
Banned from boxing by the British Boxing Board of Control because of health concerns and troubled by debt, Turpin picked up what would prove to be his boxing pay day by stopping Charles Seguna in the second round on cuts.
Less than two years later, he was dead, with an inquest ruling he had committed suicide.
โThe Leamington Lickerโ left behind the Lonsdale belt and memories of the night he dethroned one of the sportโs all-time greats, Sugar Ray Robinson.
That was at Earls Court on July 10, 1951 and weeks later, Turpin gave an interview where he revealed the secret behind a win that made him a British sporting hero that has been unearthed by Marc Williams of The Loneliest Sport webpages.
โWhen I said that I was ready to box 15 rounds, if necessary, with Ray Robinson for the worldโs middleweight championship, I knew most people didnโt give much for my chances of lasting the full distance of the fight.
โWell, those who were surprised by the turn that events took can stand by for another shock: Ray dictated the way the fight went from the first bell almost to the last round. It isnโt often that the loser decides which way a contest shall be fought: itโs still more rare for the fellow who wins to admit it.
โBut thatโs the truth. Ray made the first move every time. When he ducked, I ducked. When he moved around, I moved too. When he feinted, I feinted. I watched him more carefully than a cat watches a mouse.
โThis was all done deliberately, of course. That was the key of my secret plan for victory.
โThere were many times when I was sorely tempted to go in and give Robinson everything I had. Then a warning mental buzzer would tell me that if I chased him I might run straight into the trap in which he had caught so many other opponents.
โAfter the fight was over, a friend told me that Robinsonโs seconds had said their corner was puzzled by the unorthodox way I fought. That tickles me. If there was ever a case of the biter being bitten or chickens coming home to roost this was it.
โI took my cue from Robinson โ did everything he did except, naturally, that some of our punches were different.
โApparently the American champ never tumbled to the game I was playing. If they did, they never found the answer. That was where I had the edge on Ray. For, though he knew little about me, I knew everything about him.
โBy the end of the first round I felt I had all the answers to whatever he was likely to produce. His moves were so familiar to me, it seemed like I had been boxing against him for years. I was able to react so quickly that Iโm sure none of the spectators realised my strategy.ย
โHow did that happen? Hereโs the story.
โMy manager, George Middleton, was asked to take a match for me against Mel Brown. Middleton wasnโt at all keen for accepting the bout. I was willing to fight anyone, but he said it was a question of policy – that I would gain nothing by beating Brown. He was a very awkward opponent and I would lose a lot if he beat me.
โMiddleton kept his eyes and ears open and discovered that Mel, who had been a sparring partner of world heavyweight champ Ezzard Charles, also knew a lot about Ray Robinson.
โSo when this fight (against Robinson) came along, Middleton arranged for Mel to be one of my main sparring partners.
โThat deal was a vital move in my prefight campaign. Mel Brown knew far more about Ray Robinson than we thought.
โHe took the Robinson machine to pieces for me and showed me exactly how it worked.
โMel not only showed me Rayโs pet punches, he showed me all the moves in Robinsonโs book and how to counter them.
โIn particular, he explained how to deal with the bolo punch so well that every time Robinson let it go, my elbows were already tucked well into place. I think I took every one of those blows on an arm or elbow. If one did get through, I can honestly say its force had been taken out of it so that I didnโt notice it.
โMel showed me how Ray would lock my arm in the clinches and how to deal with that trick by hitting him with my free hand. That countermove wasnโt popular with the referee, Eugene Henderson, but what else could I do?
โIn the dressing room after the fight, Henderson told me he was sorry he had to stop us a few times, but added: โIf you want warnings, youโll get โem.โ
โThere was one other important thing that Mel explained to me. He said Robinson would break first and go back if we stood together in a four-handed slugging match. You can see how well this worked out.
โI had expected to learn something from Robinson, but found I knew it all โ if that sounds like a boastful way of putting it, you know what I mean!
โWhat Iโm trying to say is that Mel hadnโt missed a single detail in Robinsonโs style. I think itโs true to say I learned more from him in a couple of dozen rounds of sparring than in all my previous fights put together.
โIn addition, Mel and Johnny Williams, our Rugby heavyweight, were ideal workout opponents. My actual physical preparation demanded speed, weight and ring experience from my sparring partners. I had plenty of helpers who had one of two of these qualifications, but not until Mel and Johnny arrived was I really able to let myself go while in training.
โThere was an amusing sequel to this โ at least I can see the funny side of it.
โMel was fighting Dave Sands, the Empire champion, just before I was due in the ring with Robinson. He was beaten. Later when I sympathised with him, Mel retorted: โYes, you killed me for him !โ
โBut despite all those preparations, I made one mistake. I thought Robinson would hit harder than he did.
โYou know me well enough to believe I would admit that, now that itโs all over, if Iโd been hurt, but I wasnโt.
โI had a slightly swollen lip, but thatโs all. There was no pain to keep me awake after the fight.
โThe worst punch I took was a left hook that landed near the temple. That one made my ears buzz for a second or two, but it didnโt daze me. All it did was make me realise that, barring accidents, I had him. Iโd smothered his bolos, Iโd taken one of his pet hooks without even feeling like going down. That gave me new confidence.
โMy worst moment? I should say it was when we came out for the ninth round. That was fresh ground for me. Iโd never gone beyond eight rounds before and I was just a shade nervous of how I would shape up.
โIโd been doing the equivalent of 15 rounds or more in my training, but I donโt pretend to think thatโs as good as the real thing. Yet not only did I last that ninth round all right. I then realised I was getting stronger and stronger as the fight went on. In a way that discovery was as pleasing as being declared the winner.ย
โHere I must confess that, although, as I said, I was prepared to go on for 15 rounds, in my heart I had not expected the fight to last all that time. I had believed one or the other of us would go down somewhere round the ninth round. In fact, neither of us took a count. That must have surprised everyone.
โAs I explained earlier, I didnโt go all out against Ray for fear of walking into a trap. But I can tell you he took some pretty hefty wallops. It didnโt disturb me when I found I couldnโt put him down for I was fully confident about the result โ he wasnโt getting through as often nor as hard as I had expected.
โAll the same, I wasnโt sure of victory until the final bell.โ