In the wake of Conah Walker losing almost every round against Harry Scarff before unbelievably stopping him in the eleventh to win the British Welterweight title, it got me thinking. It’s rare that you see a poor British title fight, over the many years I’ve been watching boxing I regularly get more excited for a British title fight, than I do for titles of superior world standing. They never seem to disappoint, whether it’s an all out war or a carefully executed boxing masterclass, the British title delivers more than any other.
Many fighters from these shores talk about the British title being their Everest, the achievement of a lifetime, their finest moment. The beautiful golden belt, deeply ingrained in their dreams since they were junior boxers. With just 36 minutes of boxing in between either their greatest victory, or most crushing defeat, we regularly see these exceptional fighters go above and beyond their usual performances to secure the coveted Lonsdale Belt.
A Brief History.
The Lord Lonsdale Belt has a long, rich history, and is officially the oldest title in British boxing. It was founded by Lord Lonsdale, in 1909. An avid boxing fan and more importantly, the president of the National Sporting Club (NSC). Lord Lonsdale was a powerful figure in British boxing in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, and introduced the championship to have one recognised champion per-weight division.
At the time of the championship’s creation it was known as the NSC Title, and renowned lightweight Freddie Welsh won the inaugural championship in 1909, by defeating Johnny Summers on points over a hard fought 20 rounds. Yes… 20 rounds! Over the next 5 years (1909-1914) a champion was established in each recognised division, and with that – the British Title was born.
20 years after its inception, in 1929, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) assumed responsibility of boxing in Britain, and issued a new belt – only now with a portrait of Lord Lonsdale himself depicted on the central panel. The championship was originally implemented across 8 weight divisions; flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light-heavyweight, and heavyweight. The number of weights has increased since then, and therefore so has the number of champions, but the prestige and aura that surrounds the British title has never diminished.
The 20th century saw many great fighters capture the Lord Lonsdale Belt, none more adored than the great Henry Cooper, or “Our Henry” as he was affectionately dubbed, who is the only fighter to have won three Lonsdale Belts outright. It’s difficult to do the great history of this championship justice in a blog post, so if you would like to learn more about the history of this fabulous belt, I strongly suggest you read the book ‘Lonsdale’s Belt’, written by John Harding.
Must Watch British Title Fights.
If you are not familiar with the lore that surrounds British title fights, I wanted to provide some examples so you can gain an understanding of why I love them. The below bouts are some of my favourites that were contested for the British title. I’m not saying these are the best, or the most well known, they are just some of my favourites. I’ve provided a full write up on two fights, and left some additional suggestions at the bottom of this post.
All of the below fights are on YouTube, so I suggest you go and watch them. If there’s any that you haven’t seen before, I suggest reading no further (for now) and watching them first. Spoilers ahead!
“Isn’t it wonderful to see what the British title and Lonsdale belt means to fighters in this country”.
Jim Watt.
Michael Jones Vs Jamie Moore 3.
This Liverpool (Michael Jones) Vs Salford (Jamie Moore) grudge match, was the third and final fight of this British title trilogy. The first fight took place in April 2003, a fight in which Jamie Moore won the vacant super welterweight British title, with a wide points victory. The second fight took place in November 2004, and ended in extremely controversial circumstances. In the third round the referee had called ‘break’ for a low blow thrown by Moore, and just a split second after Jamie Moore landed a left hook on Michael Jones. Jones went down after an initially delayed reaction, and eventually advised the referee he couldn’t continue. The fight was waved off, with everyone in the area (including the commentary team) under the impression that Jamie Moore had secured a TKO victory. After minutes of confusion the referee confirmed that he had in fact disqualified Moore, leaving an extremely bitter taste in his mouth and that of his supporters. Michael Jones had won the British title on a technicality, a third fight had to, and did, take place.
The final fight of the trilogy took place in July of 2005, in a leisure centre in Altrincham, just a few miles from Moore’s native Salford. Jamie Moore walked to cheers from his home crowd, and his friend Ricky Hatton had front row seats to support him. Michael Jones was met with a wall of boos and abuse. He walked to ‘Hate It Or Love It’, by 50 Cent and The Game. Quite a fitting walk on song, given the circumstances.
After a close first round, Jamie Moore dominated the second and the opening minute of the third, before being dropped half-way through the round by a left hook. It was a monumental momentum shift, as Jones followed up with a barrage of punches, and forced Moore down to the floor for a second knockdown. Again, Jones released a fresh barrage of punches, this time to no avail. Jones looked visibly tired at this stage, and Moore landed clean with left and right hooks of his own, to end the round. At the end of the third round, Jamie Moore made his way to the corner, where Oliver Harrison (his trainer) firmly told him “don’t you dare do that again”.
Jamie Moore was back in control in the fourth round, stalking Jones around the ring. At this stage Jones was looking extremely tired, and bar landing a left hook in the final minute of the round, it was hard to believe that it was Moore that was sent to the canvas twice, just minutes earlier. As we entered the final minute of the fifth round, Moore had regained all of his composure, and Jones had lost all of his. The Altrincham Leisure Centre erupted as Jamie Moore knocked down Michael Jones with a left hook. A knackered and battered Jones rose to his feet as the referees’ count reached eight. Jamie Moore wasted no time, throwing hooks and uppercuts at a dishevelled Jones. After a combination of punches, Jones opted to take a knee, marking a second knockdown in the round for Jamie Moore. This time Jones was up at nine, and with just ten seconds left in round five, he survived… For now.
Less than a minute into the sixth round, Jamie Moore had landed a left hook to the head, followed by a left hook to the body combination on Jones, who was forced to take a knee. Jones sat in the neutral corner, face bloodied and battered. He looked to his corner and shook his head. The referee (Marcus McDonnell) reached the count of nine, before calling an end to this classic British title fight. Jamie Moore had reclaimed the British super welterweight title, and brought an end to this classic British boxing rivalry.
After the fight, Jim Watt (co-commentator, and former lightweight world champion) said, “isn’t it wonderful to see what the British title and Lonsdale belt means to fighters in this country”. Yes Jim. Yes, it is.
Alex Arthur Vs Michael Gomez.
The British super featherweight champion, Alex Arthur entered this fight as the next bright hope for Scottish boxing, with many predicting he would be a future world champion. Michael Gomez on the other hand, had been around the block a few times, and the general consensus was that his best days were behind him.
There was a fierce atmosphere in Edinburgh that night, particularly as the challenger Gomez walked to the ring. On his left side was none other than Ricky Hatton, donning a sombrero. On the flipside, the Meadowbank Sports Centre erupted as the Edinburgh native Arthur made his walk. However, it didn’t take long for hush to fall on the crowd. In the first minute of the fight Gomez lands a combination of hooks on Arthur, who is rocked already. He eventually settles and is sending out his jab with some consistency, the home crowd urges him on, so much so that neither fighter hears the bell at the end of the round.
Arthur boxed well in the second round, but as we got to the third he made the ill-advised decision of opting to trade with Gomez. Arthur is caught with a barrage of punches, and is in trouble once again. Gomez is landing left hooks at will, and with 45 seconds left in the round, the referee is taking a very close look at Arthur. After a momentary fight back from Arthur, Gomez finishes the rounds by dishing out further punishment to Arthur, he even lands a clean right hook after the bell had sounded, much to the crowd’s anger. Arthur’s corner team drenched his head with water in between rounds three and four, a desperate attempt to bring their man back to planet Earth.
The fourth round started with the same intensity that ended the third. 45 seconds into the round, Arthur was on the ropes and taking vicious hooks to the body. Out of nowhere Arthur ripped a left hook of his own, and it momentarily stunned Gomez, who was forced to hold on. It was now Gomez that was on the ropes, it marked a huge shift of momentum in the fight, which continued to see-saw one way, then another throughout the round.
Round number five saw a bruised Alex Arthur rise from his stool once more, but he still couldn’t get out of the way of the left hooks from Gomez. Arthur showed incredible heart to fight back, and pinned Gomez in the corner, before hurting him with a body shot. Gomez looked tired, and had his elbows tucked tightly into his body, an attempt to protect it from further punishment. The onslaught from Arthur continued, but he was still on unsteady legs, himself. With 40 seconds left to go in the round, Gomez landed a short left hook that sent Arthur stumbling to the canvas. He leapt up as the count reached fine, making the grave mistake of rising too quickly. An unrelenting Gomez swarmed in, and again landed a combination of hooks to down Arthur for a second time. Arthur rises, again too quickly. The end was in sight, Gomez landed two destructive left hooks, followed by a right. The referee had seen enough, Gomez had secured a huge upset win, away from home, and in the lion’s den.
Michael Brodie Vs Neil Swain.
Jamie Moore Vs Matthew Macklin.
Fabio Wardley Vs Frazer Clarke 1.
