Yesterday’s Heroes: Fifty years since John Conteh and Chris Finnegan clashed in a North vs. South classic

LAST month marked 50 years since I bought my first copy of Boxing News, and I’ve purchased it ever since. The entrance cowl featured a {photograph} of Ralph Charles that marked his official retirement, and one other of Danny McAlinden, then the British heavyweight champion, celebrating his return from an arm damage suffered while coaching in Kingston, Jamaica.  He was matched in opposition to an unheralded American, Morrie Jackson, and that contest was to show disastrous for the Irishman, as many will bear in mind. BN additionally mourned the passing of Ace Hudkins, a top-class US scrapper from the Twenties and 30s who fought all of them at many weights. The actual speaking level on the time although, was the upcoming ‘superfight’ between Chris Finnegan, the 1968 Olympic middleweight gold medalist, and 21-year-old John Conteh, the rising star of British boxing.

The two males have been matched to battle for Finnegan’s British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles and Conteh’s European title on the Empire Pool, Wembley, on May 22, 1973. For boxing purists this was a contest to savour, one which had every thing. North versus South, promising teen versus confirmed champion and boxer versus puncher.

As a 15-year-old fan and very new to the sport, I used to be virtually beside myself with anticipation on the considered this contest. I had current recollections of watching George Foreman demolishing Joe Frazier, and Ken Norton inflicting a big upset together with his factors victory over Muhammad Ali, however this was the primary time I had taken a eager curiosity in a home match-up and I feel that the battle nonetheless stands the take a look at of time as one of many nice post-war match-ups between British boxers. It is, in my opinion, proper up there with Benn-Eubank and Froch-Groves.

I used to put in writing frequently to an outdated man named Arthur Rudkin, now lengthy lifeless, who frequently had his letters printed in BN, and Arthur promised me that he would ship me a programme for the competition as he was travelling from Nottinghamshire to Wembley to witness it. He saved his promise, and it arrived in the publish the next week. Remarkably, it price solely 15p – these have been the times! Fight programmes are not often produced in any respect nowadays and that’s a disgrace, for they make marvellous mementoes.

BN had initially introduced the bout in late March and, because it concerned two terrific fighters at a very high-level, it excited everybody throughout the recreation. In the preview for the bout BN acknowledged that “Conteh’s power should sway it, but Finnegan will fight to the limit.” This prediction was bang-on, for it was a large contest that went the complete 15 rounds with the motion ebbing and flowing as first one, and then the opposite, held sway. Graham Houston, BN editor on the time, reported that “Conteh and Finnegan provided one of the greatest light-heavyweight battles in years at the Empire Pool. Conteh won beyond doubt after 15 memorable rounds, but Finnegan stayed with him to the end, and as predicted, forced Conteh to dredge up his final reserves of stamina and courage. Conteh showed classy shifts and punch-picking that reminded some ringsiders of [Ray] Robinson and [Jose] Napoles.”  High reward certainly.

Conteh, in fact, went on to win the WBC title again when solely two world belts have been obtainable, and he defended it in opposition to some class males. But earlier than doing so he needed to punch his well past Chris Finnegan once more, because the rematch was a pure. This time John gained extra decisively, beating Chris by sixth-round stoppage on the Royal Albert Hall, virtually precisely a yr later.

Finnegan retired the next yr after profitable the Lonsdale Belt outright and what a fighter he was. He solely actually lacked a massive punch as he had every thing else, guts, ability, dedication, and stamina. John may be very a lot nonetheless with us as, I’m happy to say, is my commemorative programme.