Dragons vs Eagles: Wales vs America in the Boxing Ring

by Gareth Jones

Overview

Wales has always punched above its weight in the boxing ring. The United States, with 100 times the population, may have been the dominant player in the sport, yet 'St. David' (Wales) has done remarkably well against 'Goliath' (US) over the 120 years since the first bout between the two in 1894. The Americans drooled over Jim Driscoll, the man dubbed 'Peerless' by the gunfighter-turned-journalist, Bat Masterson, while Jimmy Wilde also demonstrated his right to be considered one of the greatest of all time. Freddie Welsh even based himself in the States for most of his career, although he claimed the world lightweight title from Willie Ritchie in London, with both men having to cross the Atlantic. In more recent years, Joe Calzaghe's masterclass against Jeff Lacy finally convinced the American doubters, before he completed his unbeaten career by beating legends Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, Jr. in front of their own people. This book looks at dozens of contests between the two nations, covering more than a century and revealing some of the tales behind the headlines. *** "The epic battles between Welsh and American fighters provide the author with an abundant harvest for this book. All the historic clashes are featured, but unquestionably the greatest -- Tommy Farr's gallant defeat against Joe Louis 76 years ago -- understandably takes pride of place. Gareth Jones doesn't let his readers down, also highlighting Jim Driscoll, Freddie Welsh, Colin Jones and Joe Calzaghe among others whose wars with men from across the Atlantic are part of Wales's sporting folklore." - Colin Hart, Boxing Columnist, The Sun *** "This engaging book is packed with compelling vignettes of fights and fighters, as well as the cultural climate and business practices in all matters relative to boxing. A must-have for fight fans!" - Celtic Connection, April 2015 [Subject: Sports History, US Studies, Welsh Studies]Ë?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781902719382
Publisher:	Welsh Academic Press
Publication date:	01/01/2014
Pages:	172
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements v

Introduction vi

1 1894 John O'Brien v Frank Craig 1

2 1908 Freddie Welsh v Packey McFarland 3

3 1908 Jim Driscoll v Matty Baldwin 5

4 1909 Jim Driscoll v Leach Cross 7

5 1909 Jim Driscoll v Abe Attell 9

6 1910 Freddie Welsh v Packey McFarland III 12

7 1914 Freddie Welsh v Willie Ritchie 15

8 1915 Eddie Morgan v Johnny Kilbane 18

9 1916 Jimmy Wilde v Johnny Rosner 21

10 1916 Freddie Welsh v Ad Wolgast 23

11 1916 Freddie Welsh v Charley White 25

12 1916 Jimmy Wilde v Young Zulu Kid 27

13 1917 Freddie Welsh v Benny Leonard 29

14 1917 Llew Edwards v Harry Stone 32

15 1919 Jimmy Wilde v Pal Moore 35

16 1921 Jimmy Wilde v Pete Herman 38

17 1922 Johnny Basham v Mike McTigue 41

18 1923 Jimmy Wilde v Pancho Villa 44

19 1921 Frank Moody v Lou Bogash 47

20 1924 Frank Moody v Harry Greb 50

21 1925 Frank Moody v Tiger Flowers 52

22 1931 Ginger Jones v Panama Al Brown 54

23 1935 Albert Barnes v Petey Scalzo 57

24 1936 Ronnie James v Jackie Wilson 60

25 1936 Tommy Farr v Tommy Loughran 62

26 1936 Tommy Farr v Bob Olin 64

27 1937 Tommy Farr v Max Baer 66

28 1937 Jim Wilde v Buddy Baer 68

29 1937 Tommy Farr v Joe Louis 70

30 1946 Ronnie James v Ike Williams 73

31 1949 Eddie Thomas v Billy Graham 76

32 1950 Johnny Williams v George Kaplan 79

33 1956 Johnny Williams v Tommy ?Hurricane' Jackson 81

34 1956 Dick Richardson v Ezzard Charles 84

35 1958 Dick Richardson v Cleveland Williams 86

36 1959 Joe Erskine v Willie Pastrano 89

37 1961 Derek Richards v Roy McMillan 92

38 1964 Brian Curvis v Emile Griffith 94

39 1965 Howard Winstone v Don Johnson 97

40 1966 Carl Gizzi v Ray Patterson 99

41 1970 Eddie Avoth v Mike Quarry 101

42 1980 Johnny Owen v Lupe Pintor 103

43 1983 Colin Jones v Milton McCrory 107

44 1989 Colin Jones v Milton McCrory II 109

45 1985 Colin Jones v Don Curry 113

46 1994 Floyd Havard v Juan ?John-John' Molina 116

47 1994 Nicky Piper v Leeonzer Barber 119

48 1996 Robbie Regan v Daniel Jiménez 122

49 2000 Joe Calzaghe v Omar Sheika 125

50 2002 Joe Calzaghe v Charles Brewer 128

51 2003 Joe Calzaghe v Byron Mitchell 131

52 2005 Enzo Maccarinelli v Richie LaMontagne 133

53 2006 Joe Calzaghe v Jeff Lacy 135

54 2007 Enzo Maccarinelli v Wayne Braithwaite 139

55 2008 Joe Calzaghe v Bernard Hopkins 142

56 2008 Garry Lockett v Kelly Pavlik 147

57 2008 Joe Calzaghe v Roy Jones, Jr 150

58 2012 Nathan Cleverly v Shawn Hawk 153

59 2013 Gavin Rees v Adrien Broner 156

60 2013 Nathan Cleverly v Sergey Kovalev 159

61 Over Here 161

62 Over There 163

Bibliography 166