Boxing

Yesterday’s Hero: Among London’s small hall venues, Dagenham’s Roundhouse always hits the right note


ANYONE trying to promote at a small hall boxing event in the 1960s, like it is today, needs to be prepared to lose a lot of money.

The 1950s were the last decade where such ventures could be profitable for regular gigs. As that decade passed and television began to infiltrate working families’ lives, and people stopped going out in search of entertainment, professional boxing slipped and the number of tournaments dropped rapidly.

George Merritt has been an old-school pro since the 1930s. From Silvertown, a harsh area near the harbor north of the Thames, George has competed in nearly 150 competitions in an arduous career spanning five years. 1932 to 1945. As one of the three boxing brothers, George was the best and in 1934, for example, he participated in 34 competitions, 5 of which were 12 rounds. After his career ended, George stayed with boxing and in 1962, at the age of 48, he decided to try his hand at being a promoter.

London’s best small halls were in the hands of rivals. There are a few good places around including West Ham Baths, Seymour Hall in Marylebone, Shoreditch Town Hall and the Majestic Ballroom in Finsbury Park. George had to find a venue of his own, and for his first gig, he tried going to Winter Baths Hall in East Ham. It was the only performance ever held there but George was encouraged enough to try again.

Then he found another new location, an art deco little pub built in 1936, called the Roundhouse and located in Dagenham, the perfect place to attract battle fans. . George also found a good man to stage these performances; Local boxer Tommy Rix turned pro only recently and in six months he has won six competitions. A National School champion and finalist in London, Tommy is a classy performer with a good amateur lineage and he can sell tickets.

In January 1963, he won his seventh game at the Roundhouse, with a score headed by another local, Danny Wells of Basildon. A good crowd arrived and George decided to take part in monthly performances at the venue. With matchmaker Jack Hopwood, another 100-game veteran from the 1930s, George lured Johnny Caiger, another top amateur from Dagenham, to the venue for his debut. With Rix on the bill again, Merritt scored another hit and things are going well.

His third gig came in October with Rix winning again. Caiger suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Joe Sommerville, losing by disqualification in the third round. Tommy looked great as he won the decisive eighth round against Wolverhampton’s Tommy Icke to record his 13th straight win. On Monday, November 25orderTommy clinched the 14th win, as he again topped the bill for George, this time beating Nigerian Tommy Atkins.

Looks like Merritt has managed to make a name for itself, with a good little venue and decent cards filled with local boys, some of whom look promising. However, with margins so tight, it wasn’t easy to justify the time and effort required to arrange these performances and George was a busy man who couldn’t play sports.

Neither Merritt, as a promoter, and Rix, as a boxer, were inactive throughout 1964. Rix returned in February 1965, in Nottingham, and he fought again in March. , this time for rival promoter Harry Grossmith at Shoreditch City Hall.

In June 1965, Merritt, without his star charisma, held his last gig at the Roundhouse and then packed it up, deciding it wasn’t worth the effort, and London was lost. Another small hall. Rix retired the following year, after his first loss.

The Roundhouse continued to achieve better things in the 1970s when, as a music venue, it hosted the likes of Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd and a personal favorite, Rory Gallagher . It’s still there and serving a decent pint.

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