Born to Fight--The True Story of Richy 'Crazy Horse' Horsley
Page 19
FRANCIS JONES
D.O.B: 7-2-81
Light Middleweight
Fights: 13 Won: 8 Lost: 2 Drew: 2 No Contest: 1
Franny Rat fought Danny Moir for the vacant Northern Area belt but during the 3rd round crowd trouble turned into a riot and the fight was abandoned and declared a no contest. They are supposed to be meeting again for the vacant belt, let’s hope the crowd are on their best behaviour.
PAUL KEERS
D.O.B. 22-10-60
Lightweight
Fights 42 Won 14 Lost 25. Drew 3
‘Lofty’ was a good Featherweight and was on the verge of a British title eliminator but making the weight was too much for him and moved up to Lightweight but found them a bit too big.
JOHN T. KELLY.
D.O.B. 12-6-70
Lightweight
Fights: 58 Won: 26 Lost: 26 Drew: 6
‘Corn Dog’ Kelly lifted the Northern Area crown but had to retire less than a year later with eye trouble.
STEWART LITHGO
D.O.B. 2-6-57
Fights: 30 Wins: 16 Lost: 12 Drew: 2
Very tough. Stewie could take a lot of punishment and was as game as a badger. Although he was too small for a heavyweight, he still fought the best heavies in Europe. He dropped down to cruiserweight and became Commonwealth Champion.
BRIAN LONDON
Born 19-6-34
Fights: 58 Won: 37 Lost: 20 Drew: 1
Real name Brian Harper. Like his father Jack before him, Brian became British Heavyweight Champion. Always boxed out of Blackpool but was born and bred in Hartlepool. He had two cracks at the undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World, losing to Floyd Patterson in 11 rounds in 1959 and Muhammad Ali in 3 rounds in 1966.
JACK LONDON
Born 21-6-13
Fights: 141 Won: 95 Lost: 39 Drew: 5 No Contests: 2 Real name John Harper. Big Jack received the princely sum of 12?p for his pro debut in 1931. He won the British Heavyweight title in 1944 and returned to Hartlepool a hero, with huge crowds waiting for him at the railway station. Jack had an astonishing 141 pro fights. Died in 1963 aged fifty.
BATTLING MANNERS
D.O.B. 1909
Fights: 19 Won: 11 Lost: 8
Real name George Manning. He sang in the church choir as a youngster and always had a good singing voice. Could often be heard belting a song or two out in the local pubs and clubs. He was also Hartlepool’s first ever bouncer. He was a pro heavyweight in the 1930s and known locally as ‘The Battler’. A crowd pleaser who had some fights at the Redworth Street ‘Blood Tub’. A big man with hands like shovels and a cracking street fighter. Many stories have been told about The Battler, including when he knocked out four policemen. He died in December 1967 aged 58.
KEVIN MCKENZIE
D.O.B. 18-10-68
Welterweight
Fights: 25 Won: 9 Lost: 14 Drew: 2
Kev got cut non stop which was his downfall. His skin would tear open all the time. Northern Area Champ in ’95 and retired in ’96.
TONY ROWBOTHAM.
D.O.B. 24-1-72
Super Middleweight
Fights: 5 Won: 3 Lost: 2
I used to spar with Tony back in the 80’s. He beat Mark Smith in the A.B.A Championships (Smith was tipped to win the title) but never fulfilled expectations. The Italian Stallion works as a builder.
MARK SMITH
Mark never turned pro but in the early 90’s won the N.A.B.C (very prestigious national boxing competition) Championships 3 years in a row.
ALAN TEMPLE
Born 21-10-72
Fights: 30 Won: 13 Lost: 17
Alan was an excellent amateur who was double ABA Champ and an England International who never fulfilled his potential as a pro.
JAMES ROONEY
Born 30-4-78
Fights: 12 Won: 10 Lost: 2
James won every National title available as a junior, over ten in total. Always had a large following that called themselves the ‘Roon Army’. The ABA title evaded him but he reached the semi-finals in 1999. A gifted stand-up boxer with excellent skills and a good boxing brain. He turned pro and won 12 off the belt. Lost his last two and retired. He says he has no intention of ever returning.
ANDREW TUCKER
D.O.B. 18-6-70
Middleweight
Fights: 2 Won: 1 Lost: 1
Andy captained Young England against Young USA and won. Got to the quarter final of the Europeans and met Gary Delaney in the Junior ABA Final and again in the N.A.B.C Final, both winning one each.
ISAAC WARD
D.O.B. 7-4-77
Super Featherweight
Fights: 12 Won: 10 Lost: 0 Drew: 2
‘Argy’ will be looking to fight for a title of some kind soon. He reached the A.B.A Final as an amateur so the talent is there. Argy is of gypsy stock.
GARY WILKINSON
I fought Gary a couple of times in the early eighties. He was in his mid-twenties, very strong and powerful. Our fights were brutal affairs and we pushed our hearts and chins to the limit.
NIGEL WRIGHT
D.O.B. 22-6-79
Light Welterweight
Fights: 14 Won: 13 Lost: 1
Southpaw Nigel had a great amateur pedigree. Double A.B.A champion at Light Welterweight. England International. Multi Nations Silver Medal. Boxed in Commonwealth Games and World Championships. Is trained in Hartlepool by Peter Cope. Just won English Title with a 7th round KO.
EPILOGUE
When I think about it, I’ve been very lucky in my life. I have only been sent down to prison for three months. I know I’ve done a lot of damage to people in the past, which is all down to the way I hit. As the medium used to say, its a miracle I haven’t killed anybody. I’ve had around one hundred street fights with only one loss, and that was when I was embarrassingly drunk. I have never looked for fights, but trouble has often looked for me. I have knocked out practically everybody in the metaphorical hard man’s book of Who’s Who.
But I’m going down a different path now. I have been a law-abiding citizen for a number of years. Yet I had to make a record of my past life, and so I decided to write this book. The opportunity presented itself while I was resting after the hernia operation. I admit I’ve had tears in my eyes and a few lumps in my throat recalling some of the stories. It has certainly stirred up the old memories. If you want to read more about my life, then there are four other books that feature me: Viv Graham – The Final Chapter Volume 3 by Steve Richards; Streetfighters by Julian Davies; What Makes Tough Guys (6th Edition) by Jamie O’Keef; and Bouncers by Julian Davies and Terry Currie. You may well see me on TV soon, so don’t worry if you missed my performance on Surprise, Surprise, as some media people have expressed an interest in doing a documentary about me. And there is a proposed film in the pipeline about the late Newcastle hard man Viv Graham, in which I have been promised a part.
As I write, I can also tell you that I have been offered a part in a film about Lenny McLean called The Guv’nor. I’m to play the part of an American heavyweight boxer who fights Roy Shaw, which will mean more painful training, but then again, I’m a glutton for punishment. Roy Shaw was Lenny McLean’s archrival. I’m glad I am playing an American fighter, as all the best fighters seem to hail from that side of the pond. It is a place I have always wanted to visit. When filming starts, I’ll just take each day one at a time and see how things go, since that is the Richy Horsley way.
Since the first edition of this book was published, I have turned my life around and now live the life of a peaceful warrior. I am a qualified Reiki healer and am also developing my skills as a trance medium.
Finally, I would like to thank my late mam, who passed away in 2005, just as the first edition of this book was reaching its final stages. Without my dear mother’s help, I would never have been able to fully recollect some of the stories concerning my youth. But more importantly, without my dear mother’s help, I might not have been around to recount any of it. Thanks, Mam.
Insanity, My Mad Life
Charles Bronson with Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-030-3
The Krays and Me
Charles Bronson with Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-325-0
The Good Prison Guide
Charles Bronson with Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-359-5
The Lost Girl
Caroline Roberts with Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84358-148-2
It’s Criminal
James Crosbie with Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-059-4
Street Warrior
Malcolm Price with Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-299-4
Crash ‘n’ Carry
Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-106-5
The Tax Man
Brian Cockerill with Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-488-2
Lost in Care
Jimmy Holland with Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-361-8
Viv Graham
Stephen Richards
ISBN: 978-1-84454-127-0
Scottish Hard Bastards
Jimmy Holland with Stephen Richards
978-1-84454-459-2
Fight to the Death
Stephen Richards 978-1-84454-245-1
Psycho Steve
Steve Moyle with Stephen Richards
978-1-84454-251-2
Solitary Fitness
Charles Bronson with Stephen Richards
978-1-84454-251-2
Heart of Darkness
Lynette Gould with Stephen Richards
978-1-84454-605-3
Copyright
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First published in paperback in 2008
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