By Matt Bozeat
Sixty years ago, one of Britain’s greatest boxers was facing life without boxing.
On August 22, 1964, in the ring in Malta, Randolph Turpin threw his last punch.
Banned from boxing by the British Boxing Board of Control for health reasons and troubled by debt, Turpin enjoyed success in his boxing career when he knocked out Charles Seguna in the second round.
Less than two years later, he died and an investigation concluded he had committed suicide.
‘The Leamington Licker’ left behind the Lonsdale belt and memories of the night he dethroned one of the sport’s all-time greats, Sugar Ray Robinson.
The event took place at Earls Court on 10 July 1951 and a few weeks later, Turpin gave an interview in which he revealed the secret behind the victory that made him a British sporting hero, as discovered by Marc Williams of The Loneliest Sport website.
“When I said I was willing to go 15 rounds, if necessary, with Ray Robinson for the world middleweight championship, I knew that most people didn’t believe I could last the whole fight.
“Well, those surprised by the turn of events can expect another shock: Ray dictated how the fight was played from the first bell until almost the final round. It is not often that the loser decides how a contest will be played: it is even rarer that the winner admits it.
“But it was true. Ray was always the first to move. When he crouched, I crouched. When he moved around, I moved. When he pretended, I pretended. I watched him more carefully than a cat watches a mouse.
“Of course, all of this was done on purpose. That was the key to my secret plan for victory.
“There were times when I wanted to rush in and give Robinson everything I had. Then a warning bell would go off in my head telling me that if I chased him, I might run straight into the same trap he had caught so many other opponents in.
July 10, 1951: Sugar Ray Robinson and Randolph Turpin, in a world middleweight title fight that Turpin won on points. (Photo by Monty Fresco/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
“After the fight, a friend told me that Robinson’s assistant said that their corner was confused by my unorthodox fighting style. That made me laugh. If there was ever a case where the biter gets bitten or the chicken comes home to roost, this was it.
“I learn from Robinson – do everything he does except some of our punches are different.
“Obviously the American champion never falls into the game I play. If they do fall, they will never find the answer. That’s where I have an advantage over Ray. Because, although he knows very little about me, I know everything about him.
“By the end of the first round, I felt like I had all the answers to anything he could throw at me. His movements were so familiar to me, it was like I had been boxing with him for years. I could react so quickly that I was sure no one in the audience would recognize my strategy.
“How did that happen? Here is the story.
“My manager, George Middleton, was asked to fight Mel Brown for me. Middleton was not willing to do it. I was willing to fight anyone, but he said it was a matter of policy – that I would not gain anything by beating Brown. He was a very difficult opponent and I would lose a lot if he beat me.
“Middleton kept an eye and an ear and discovered that Mel, who had been a training partner of world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles, also knew a lot about Ray Robinson.
“So when this fight (with Robinson) came around, Middleton arranged for Mel to be one of my main training partners.
“That deal was a big move in my pre-fight campaign. Mel Brown knows more about Ray Robinson than we thought.
“He took the Robinson machine apart and showed me exactly how it worked.
“Not only did Mel show me Ray’s favorite punches, he showed me all the moves in Robinson’s book and how to counter them.
“In particular, he explained how to deal with the bolo punch so well that every time Robinson let it go, my elbow was bent into the right position. I think I took every punch with my arm or elbow. If there was one that went through, I can honestly say that the force of it was taken away so I didn’t notice it.
“Mel showed me how Ray would lock my arm in the clinch and how to counter that by hitting him with my other hand. That counter move was not favored by referee Eugene Henderson, but what else could I do?
“In the dressing room after the game, Henderson told me he was sorry for having to stop us a couple of times, but added: ‘If you want a warning, you get a warning’.
“There was another important thing Mel explained to me. He said Robinson would break first and come back if we were together in a four-handed slugging match. You can see how that works.
“I expected to learn something from Robinson, but then I realized I knew everything – if that sounds like bragging, you know what I mean!
“What I mean is that Mel didn’t miss a single detail of Robinson’s style. I think I learned more from him in a few dozen sparring sessions than in all my previous fights combined.
“Also, Mel and Johnny Williams, our Rugby heavyweight, are great training partners. My real physical preparation requires speed, weight and ring experience from my training partners. I have plenty of support guys who have either of these qualities, but it wasn’t until Mel and Johnny came along that I was able to really let loose in training.
“There is a sequel that is quite funny – at least I can see the funny side of it.
“Mel was fighting Dave Sands, the Empire champion, just before I was supposed to go in the ring to fight Robinson. He got beat up. When I sympathized with him afterwards, Mel said, ‘Yeah, you killed me for him!’
“But despite all that preparation, I made a mistake. I thought Robinson would hit harder than he actually did.
“I know you well enough to believe that you would admit it, when it was all over, if you were hurt, but you weren’t.
“My lip was a little swollen, but that was it. There was no pain that kept me awake after the match.
“The worst punch I took was a left hook that hit me near the temple. It made my ears ring for a second or two, but it didn’t knock me out. All it did was make me realize that, barring an accident, I had him beat. I had choked out his bolos, I had taken one of his pet hooks without even feeling like going down. That gave me a new confidence.
“My worst moment? I would have to say it was when we got to the ninth round. It was a new stage for me. I had never gone past eight rounds before and I was just a little nervous about how I was going to perform.
“I trained for the equivalent of 15 or so rounds, but I don’t think that was as good as it actually was. But I didn’t just last the ninth round. Then I realized I was getting stronger as the fight went on. In a way, that discovery was as exciting as being declared the winner.
“Here I must confess that, although, as I said, I was prepared to continue for 15 rounds, I had no idea in my heart that the fight would last that long. I believed that one of us would fall somewhere around the ninth round. In fact, neither of us counted. That must have surprised everyone.
“As I explained before, I didn’t go all out against Ray for fear of getting caught. But I can tell you that he took some pretty good hits. I wasn’t upset that I couldn’t get him because I was completely confident of the outcome – he didn’t come through as often or as hard as I expected.
“Still, I wasn’t sure I was going to win until the final bell rang.”
