London’s rich boxing legacy revealed at Hackney exhibition
On Thursday 18 March, the team at LOCOG preparing the London 2012 Boxing competition visited Hackney Museum to see the ‘East End Boxing Lives’ exhibition. We met with the museum management and the London Ex-Boxers’ Association (LEBA) to explore the possibilities of how the exhibits might be used at Games time.
With members of the London Ex-Boxer’s Association at the exhibition:
Hackney Museum and LEBA have collaborated to bring together a fantastic exhibit that really captures the spirit and tradition of amateur boxing. More specifically, it demonstrates the strength of the amateur boxing scene, past and present, in the East End of London.
With West Ham Boxing Club posting an amazing return of six champions at the recent 2011 ABA National Schoolboys Championships, it is evident that this tradition is being handed down from generation to generation.
Characters such as Ted Baldock (a 19-year-old world champion) and Terry Spinks (Flyweight gold medallist at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics) feature alongside a contemporary have-a-go skipping area. There is also a short training film shot at the famous Repton Boxing Club, which was established in 1884.
Not only was the exhibition captivating, but it was wonderful to hear first-hand the effervescent Ron Cooper’s recollection of how he first entered a boxing gym aged 16 in 1944, merely to enquire when his next football match was. He was talent-spotted as he jabbed the punch bag, and ended up boxing four years later in the 1948 London Olympics (the event took place at Wembley Arena, which is the 2012 venue for Badminton and Rhythmic Gymnastics).
Cooper went on to have a distinguished amateur and pro career, whilst working full-time at the docks (a stone’s throw from ExCel). He still dances about on his ‘plates of meat’ (Ron’s words – cockney rhyming slang for feet) remarkably well for someone born in the roaring twenties!
Ron Cooper with the London 1948 Olympic Torch:
The visit was a great reminder of just how rich the boxing history of the capital is, and what a privilege it is for us to be hosting the Boxing event. It also made me realise how important it is for us to get the ticketing message out to all groups – including the likes of LEBA – and how the pressure is really on us to deliver a technically excellent and memorable event in 497 days time…
