By Matt Bozeat
SIXTY years ago, one of Britain’s greatest fighters was facing up to life without boxing.
On August 22, 1964, in a ring in Malta, Randolph Turpin threw his last punch.
Banned from boxing by the British Boxing Board of Control because of health concerns and troubled by debt, Turpin picked up what would prove to be his boxing pay day by stopping Charles Seguna in the second round on cuts.
Less than two years later, he was dead, with an inquest ruling 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.
That was at Earls Court on July 10, 1951 and weeks later, Turpin gave an interview where he revealed the secret behind a win that made him a British sporting hero that has been unearthed by Marc Williams of The Loneliest Sport webpages.
“When I said that I was ready to box 15 rounds, if necessary, with Ray Robinson for the world’s middleweight championship, I knew most people didn’t give much for my chances of lasting the full distance of the fight.
“Well, those who were surprised by the turn that events took can stand by for another shock: Ray dictated the way the fight went from the first bell almost to the last round. It isn’t often that the loser decides which way a contest shall be fought: it’s still more rare for the fellow who wins to admit it.
“But that’s the truth. Ray made the first move every time. When he ducked, I ducked. When he moved around, I moved too. When he feinted, I feinted. I watched him more carefully than a cat watches a mouse.
“This was all done deliberately, of course. That was the key of my secret plan for victory.
“There were many times when I was sorely tempted to go in and give Robinson everything I had. Then a warning mental buzzer would tell me that if I chased him I might run straight into the trap in which he had caught so many other opponents.
10th July 1951: Sugar Ray Robinson and Randolph Turpin, during their World Middleweight title fight which Turpin won on points. (Photo by Monty Fresco/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
“After the fight was over, a friend told me that Robinson’s seconds had said their corner was puzzled by the unorthodox way I fought. That tickles me. If there was ever a case of the biter being bitten or chickens coming home to roost this was it.
“I took my cue from Robinson – did everything he did except, naturally, that some of our punches were different.
“Apparently the American champ never tumbled to the game I was playing. If they did, they never found the answer. That was where I had the edge on Ray. For, though he knew little about me, I knew everything about him.
“By the end of the first round I felt I had all the answers to whatever he was likely to produce. His moves were so familiar to me, it seemed like I had been boxing against him for years. I was able to react so quickly that I’m sure none of the spectators realised my strategy.
“How did that happen? Here’s the story.