Undoubtedly ONE of the best boxers to never win a British title is Owen Moran of Birmingham.
By the time Moran was active, from 1900 to 1916, the British title had truly become a prestigious title in this country. By 1909, when the Lonsdale Belt was formed, all eight weight classes had only one clear and undisputed champion. Moran has fought between bantamweight and lightweight throughout his long career and I find it hard to believe that such a talented man should not be crowned his country.
The Midlands have been the birthplace of quality boxers since the early 1900s, and it has also produced many previous British unarmed champions, including William Perry (The Tipton Killer), Tom Paddock and Tom Allen, and Moran are worthy successors to these warriors. Iron Man. His first major competition took place at the National Sports Club in 1903 against Digger Stanley and although Moran lost the match on points, it put him at the top of the list of athletes. top bantamweight athlete of the day. In January 1905, the two met again, at the same venue, this time over 20 innings and in a match that counted for England’s 8th 2 lbs championship. This time, it was Moran who made the decision and within a few months he was in the United States, on his first tour, where he won both of his competitions, including the previous one. Monte Attell, Abe’s brother is more famous.
It was in the United States that Owen seemed to give his best and he stayed there from 1907 to 1912, and he made a big name for himself playing against the best in the world. In November 1907, he defeated the top challenger for the featherweight belt, Frankie Neil. The men were contracted to 122 lbs for three and a half hours before they entered the ring and, after delivering a continuous hit, Moran won when the police entered the ring to make a pause. competition.
After passing this test, Moran was invited to fight Abe Attell for the world featherweight title, and the two met on New Year’s Day 1908, in a 25-round match in San Francisco, with no referee. who else is the former heavyweight champion. of the world, James J Jeffries.
Jeffries was a much better boxer than the third and he decided to draw after the two faced each other for 75 minutes. The consensus among observers, and particularly the British, was that Moran won fairly easily. The “”Mirror of Life and Boxing World” perhaps rightly called it in an editorial saying “Moran must have done better than Attell, otherwise the Americans would have made the decision”.
In his next contest, Owen made his decision in the newspaper within six rounds against the great Ad Wolgast. With so many US states banning boxing unless the fighters agree to enter a No Decision competition, the umpire is not allowed to make a decision if the fight goes all the way. To solve this problem, a poll was conducted with the reporters in attendance and the unofficial winner was the one with the most votes. Therefore, the journalists decided the outcome.
Moran also defeated Harlem Tommy Murphy, Matty Baldwin and Frankie Conley, and in 1910 he knocked out Battling Nelson, one of the best and most ferocious early world lightweight champions.
When Moran finally returned to Great Britain in 1912, he was quickly matched against the great Jim Driscoll for the British featherweight title, and the two met on January 27, 1913, at the Athletic Club National Sports, and again, the draw decision came between Moran and a title. This time, the consensus went to the Welshman, although Moran fought hard he didn’t do enough to win. He retired a few years later and died in his hometown of Birmingham, aged 64 in 1949.
