IN THE summer time of 1984, the gaze of the sporting world was on the Olympics that came about in Los Angeles. America aimed to ship a spectacle that would strike an ideological blow in its Cold War with the communist, Soviet Union, who led a boycott of the occasion in reply to America staying away from the Moscow video games, 4 years earlier than. Their withdrawal was adopted by Cuba, East Germany, Bulgaria, and different Eastern Bloc nations.
Carl Lewis was the star-spangled celebrity who dominated the headlines as America bought behind his audacious try to emulate the nice Jessie Owens and win 4 gold medals in monitor and subject. Lewis delivered in fashion and his nation lavished reward on him, viewing his feat as heroic and better of breed, like Owen had been in the face of Nazism at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
On the boxing facet there was the anticipation of extra American dominance, particularly with the absence of Cuba and the Soviet Union. It appeared most eyes had been centered on Mark Breland, who had been the most celebrated novice in the world for 2 years main as much as the Olympics. Such was Breland’s brilliance in the amateurs and the expectations that he would graduate to superstardom so lofty, he had already been solid in a Hollywood film, The Lords of Discipline.
Global audiences additionally bought their first prolonged viewing of future legends, Pernell Whitaker and Evander Holyfield and world champions in ready, Meldrick Taylor, Frank Tate and Virgil Hill.
Amongst such wealthy expertise the British group appeared to have little hopes of successful a medal, and so it turned out. But I saved an in depth eye on the progress of the British consultant at super-heavyweight, a lanky 23-year-old referred to as Bobby Wells. The division has served as fertile floor for members of Team GB in the 21st century; Audley Harrison and Anthony Joshua have gained gold, whereas David Price, Joe Joyce, and Frazer Clarke, have bagged bronze, silver, and bronze medals. But it was Bobby that bought the ball rolling for Britain’s super-heavyweights on the Olympic stage.
Bobby and I had boxed in the identical Southwest Divisional Championships, in Battersea, 5 months earlier than the Olympics; He gained it beating Gary Mason, who was my Wandsworth ABC clubmate, and I misplaced in the heavyweight finals by disqualification. Gary and I entered these championships believing we had been the finest and most dynamic heavy and super-heavyweights in the nation and might make a late push for the GB Olympic group. Youthful hubris typically offers the rosiest tinted glasses.
After my disappointing loss to Graham Best, a fighter who I had stopped in the first spherical, just a few months prior, I was sure that Gary would win his closing, and for the first two rounds it appeared doubtless that he would, as he dropped Bobby closely and battered him with fast and heavy combos. But to his credit score Bobby weathered the storm and got here firing again, and in third spherical Gary was bent over from exhaustion and gasping for breath, unable to proceed.
That humbling night served as an actual eye opener for Gary and me, even extra so once we noticed Bobby on tv preventing for a spot in the Olympic closing. It turned out that we hadn’t really grasped how shut a spot on the ’84 Olympic group really was. Back then an ABA title was sufficient to qualify for main match. Bobby went on to win the ABAs that yr and guide his seat on the airplane to Los Angeles. Gary and I had been left to spend our summers weighing up whether or not to show skilled or wait for an additional Olympic cycle. We made our skilled debuts in October 1984.
Bobby didn’t have his first combat till the quarter-finals – after receiving a bye – successful it by knocking out Tonga’s Viliami Pulu, which assured him the bronze medal. I believed he may really go all the method, however the rugged Italian, Francesco Damiani, who was the world primary going into the video games, proved too sturdy in the semi-finals.
On reflection, Bobby did handle to go additional in the match than Lennox Lewis (albeit a really younger model), who got here up brief in his quarter-final with eventual gold medal winner, Tyrell Biggs. His bronze medal was the solely British boxing medal in 1984 and the first ever Olympic medal of any description to be gained by a British super-heavyweight.
It would doubtless have been a battle for Bobby to make it onto the podium if the full quota of countries had been current. The super-heavyweight division was loaded: apart from Damiani and Biggs it included the legendary Teofilo Stevenson, who was aiming to win his fourth gold medal and his first in that division, previous to Cuba’s withdrawal. East Germany’s Uli Kaden, who had gained three out of 9 fights towards Stevenson, and the Soviet Union’s, Aleksandr Miroshnichenko, each of whom registered wins over Lennox Lewis in the amateurs had been established world top-10 abilities. In spite of these hypotheticals, Bobby’s bronze medal can by no means be denied.
I was delighted to meet up with him at the London Ex-Boxers Association awards, final month. We most likely haven’t seen each other since we had been lively boxers greater than 30 years in the past. He stays fiercely happy with what he did as an novice, attaining what he got down to do: observe in the footsteps of his late father, Billy Wells. Wells Sr was additionally an ABA champion, successful at heavyweight in 1965 – representing my previous membership, Wandsworth ABC – and 1968. His second ABA triumph certified him for the Olympics that yr in Mexico – at the ripe previous age of 32.
Maybe emulating his dad as an novice was close to the restrict of Bobby’s aspirations in the sport, as he selected to not flip skilled after the Olympics, even with a bronze medal in his again pocket. He solely had 5 fights as soon as he did flip over. Just two months after medalling at the Olympics he took on Lennox Lewis in an England v Canada invitational. Lewis’ trademark right-hand settled their duel brutally in the third spherical.
It wasn’t till January 1986 that he made his skilled debut. It was at Merton Civic Hall, a correct small corridor present, and I used to be additionally on the invoice. It could be unthinkable now for an Olympic bronze medallist from the UK to make their debut on the small-hall circuit and with such little anticipation surrounding them. Matchroom, Queensbury, or a good promotional outfit would’ve signed Bobby and had him preventing often. Nowadays, simply being an Olympian, even and not using a medal, comes with on the spot marketability.
Bobby’s lack of success as an expert might be why his efficiency at the Olympics is largely forgotten. Then once more almost 40 years have since handed. But in a single assembly we had been again in 1984.
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