Brian London: Remembering a Tough Warrior in the Ring and a Gentleman Out

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

The passing of Muhammad Ali brought with it the type of grief and outpouring of memories the like of which we have not seen since Nelson Mandela slipped from our grasp. It was always, I suppose, going to be thus as people gave us their recollections, unedited and without the crowning glories of spin. This was Trump telling but with a genuine filter.

One of the major things about the telling of such tales is always that there are people who are brought to mind who may have slipped form the radar or of our conscience altogether. One such opponent that faced Ali in the 1960’s was the British heavyweight, Brian London. Now when we talk of Ali and British boxers there is one name that touches all of our lips – Henry Cooper. The first man to floor the “Louisville Lip”, who provided us with the Angelo Dundee gloves controversy and who made us realize that this mammoth of a man was human, and was therefore forever associated with his rival who became his great friend.

The relationship with Britain that Ali had was remarkable because he beat our hero not once but twice. His relationship with Brian London was much, much shorter.

London had a long career, begun in 1955 and found himself in 1966 in the opposite corner from the World Champion, Ali. It had been 7 years since he had fought Floyd Patterson for the same title so London was certainly here on merit. With an amateur pedigree that included 87 fights – only 2 losses – this was a boxer who knew his craft. He retired from the fight game in 1970 after a controversial defeat to another British legend – Joe Bugner – with a 58 fight professional career behind him that included 37 wins.

With the nicknames of the British Bulldog or the Blackpool Rock – Blackpool being his home town and his previous occupation in the candy factory that produced the “rock” – his reputation as a hard, hard man was written in his nicknames. He was an honest and decent fighter in the ring. In 1958, he had become the British and Commonwealth champion though by 1959, Henry Cooper had taken both from him. It was the second in a trilogy of fights between the two British heavyweights that the record books show that London lost all 3 but does not tell the story. The first fight was a technical knockout in the first round but the second a points win over 15 whilst the final fight in 1964 for the British, Commonwealth and European titles was another points win to Cooper.

Both boxers though believe that at least 1 of them belonged to London.

With the 11th round knockout that stopped him on his world title attempt number one against Patterson, you could be forgiven for wondering why he would find himself, 7 years on, up against a man in peak condition who was thought to be close to invincible; but such is a fighter’s creed – to fight whatever is in front of him. London has many regrets about his preparation for that fight – he felt he did not train enough or get access to the best trainers, facilities or sparring partners in preparation. London has always maintained that fighting Ali was the greatest privilege of his life but it was a short and sweet experience. Knocked out in the 3rd round, London was fulsome in his praise and had to be – Ali had stopped him with an incredible combination – 12 punches thrown in 3 seconds.

London continued to box though his best years were by now well past him. That last fight of his was again to be controversial as he found himself up against an up and coming young gun by the name of Joe Bugner. Bugner was eventually to take the British, Commonwealth and European titles from Henry Cooper, he also fought and lost to Muhamad Ali and then fought and lost to Joe Frazier and then to Frank Bruno later in his career.

There has now been talk of naming something after London as his contribution to the heavyweight scene has been as highly significant as it has been forgotten. It reminds us that boxing can be about the ones who came close as their stories are important to underline the hard graft of those who manage it. A dedicated boxer who never drank or smoke but lived the life you are supposed to lead whilst chasing a dream that ended with the privilege of sharing a ring for 3 rounds with the greatest boxer of all time. Memories are made of this… Who am I to disagree…

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