Brian Sidney Harper (19 June 1934 – 23 June 2021), better known by the ring name Brian London, was an English

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1955 to 1970. He held the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

title from 1958 to 1959, and twice challenged for the world heavyweight title, losing to

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...

in 1959 and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

in 1966, both times via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

. He was one of a quartet of British boxers, with

Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer. He was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years and held the European heavyweight title for three years. In a 1963 fi ...

, Joe Erskine, and Dick Richardson, who dominated the British heavyweight-division's boxing scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s. An orthodox fighter, London was 6 feet tall and fought at about 14 stone 12 pounds (208 lbs). His nicknames in the ring were "The British Bulldog" and "The Blackpool Rock".

Early life and career

London was born in

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, on 19 June 1934. He moved to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

when he was 16 years old, where he resided into his later years. His father,

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

, beat

Freddie Mills Frederick Percival Mills (26 June 1919 – 25 July 1965) was an English boxer, and the world light heavyweight champion from 1948 to 1950. Mills was tall and did not have a sophisticated boxing style; he relied on two-fisted aggression, relen ...

in 1944 to win the British heavyweight title. He also had a brother, Jack junior, who fought as a light-heavyweight. His father fought under the name "London" rather than Harper, as a homage to an American novelist with this name. Brian never liked the idea of boxing as a child, as he didn't like the idea of having cauliflower ears like his father and his associates. London was spurred to take up boxing during his time in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

for

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, after an officer learned of his familial relations. It wasn't so much of a choice, but rather the expectations of his colleagues. He fought as an amateur before turning professional in 1955.

Professional career

London made a good start to his career, winning his first twelve bouts, one of which was against RAF light heavyweight boxer Brian Wiltshire (UK) in 1951. He finally lost when he came up against Henry Cooper in May 1956. Cooper stopped him with a technical knockout in the first round. Following this defeat, London continued his winning run, apart from two ten-round points defeats, against Heinz Neuhaus in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, in 1957 and against the talented American Willie Pastrano in February 1958.

British heavyweight title

In June 1958, London fought Joe Erskine, the Welsh boxer, for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. The fight was at the

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and London took the titles with an eighth-round knockout. He followed this in September with a revenge win against Willie Pastrano, by a technical knockout in the fifth round. On 12 January 1959, London lost his titles in a fight against Henry Cooper, losing for the second time to the Londoner by a points decision after fifteen rounds.

World title fight

In May 1959 he was given the chance of a world title fight against current champion

, but he lost the bout in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

by a knockout in the eleventh. He also lost to the

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n Nino Valdez later that year, by a technical knockout in the seventh. However, in January 1960, London bounced back when he beat the American Pete Rademacher by a knockout in the seventh.

Further domestic career

London challenged Dick Richardson in August 1960 for his European heavyweight title, but lost the bout in

Porthcawl Porthcawl () is a town and community in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales. It is located on the south coast, west of Cardiff and south-east of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the South ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on a technical knockout in the eighth. This result provoked a brawl, when London's father and brother invaded the ring to protest that Richardson had used his head to open a cut on his opponent. When Richardson's trainer shouted a few remarks at London, London replied with an impressive combination of blows, decking him, and chaos broke out. As a result of the incident, London was fined by the

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

. London lost to American

Eddie Machen Edward Mills "Eddie" Machen (June 15, 1932 – August 8, 1972) was an American professional boxer. He was one of six children of a rural mail carrier. Machen dropped out of high school and became an amateur boxer. However, after just three bouts h ...

in October 1961 by a technical knockout in the tenth, and in April 1963, he lost to

Ingemar Johansson Jens Ingemar "Ingo" Johansson (; 22 September 1932 – 30 January 2009) was a Swedish professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1963. He held the world heavyweight title from 1959 to 1960, and was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside ...

of Sweden on points over twelve rounds. London then fought Henry Cooper for the third time in February 1964, when he challenged for his British and Commonwealth titles, as well as the vacant European title. The fight took place in Manchester, and Cooper won on points after fifteen rounds. His next fight of note was in March 1965, against the young "Golden Boy" of British boxing, Billy Walker. London won on points after ten rounds.

Second world title fight vs. Muhammad Ali

On 6 August 1966 London fought for the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time at the age of 32, when

came to defend his title at Earl's Court Exhibition Hall in England. Ali at 24 years old with the advantages of height, weight, reach, speed and youth on his side, put on a masterful performance against a clearly out-classed opponent, almost hitting London at will as the fight went on. As London put it in an interview with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

: "he was just getting through all the time". Ali bouncingly circled continually, whilst London tracked doggedly after him for the first two rounds seemingly with a strategy of trying to land a single knock-out punch to the American champion. London succeeded in landing only one blow in the match, a left jab to Ali's jaw midway through the first round which caught Ali by surprise and left him for a moment stunned (and wide-open for a follow through right cross, which London failed to take advantage of), but the blow lacked weight and Ali was able to quickly recover. On coming out for the 3rd Round London hesitated to engage. Ali danced him into a corner and threw a rapid 12-punch combination in three seconds, with the tenth knocking London down and ending the fight. In a post-career media interview, London described Ali as:

Big, fast and he could punch, whereas I was smaller, fatter and couldn't punch. He stopped me in three rounds and that was it, I don't think I hit him. It was good money and I got well paid for it – that's all I fought for. Every fight I ever had I always had a go, but with Muhammad Ali I thought "don't get hurt Brian", and I therefore didn't try, which was wrong, ''totally'' wrong.

Later career

In March 1967, London next fought American,

Jerry Quarry Jerry Quarry (May 15, 1945 – January 3, 1999), nicknamed "Irish" or "The Bellflower Bomber", was an American professional boxer. During the peak of his career from 1968 to 1971, Quarry was a popular figure in boxing, featured on the cover ' ...

, in Los Angeles, losing the fight by a unanimous decision after ten rounds. In November 1967, London had what was to be the last win in his career when he fought the talented American Zora Folley. Folley had lost a world title fight against Muhammad Ali earlier that year, and London beat him on points over ten rounds. London had continued to fight when he was past his best, and in June 1968, he lost, by a technical knockout to

Jack Bodell Jack Bodell (11 August 1940 – 9 November 2016) was an English professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Boxing career Born in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, Bodell started out as a light heavyweight, winning the 1961 ABA cham ...

. In September 1969 he travelled to

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to fight

for the second time, this time being knocked out in the second round. The bout was unusual in that the bell was inadvertently rung as London was getting up after being knocked down in the second. The fighters returned to their corners and the referee, realising that the round had not finished, made them resume. London was then knocked down again and was counted out before the end of the round. London's last fight was against the up-and-coming young boxer

Joe Bugner József Kreul Bugner (born 13 March 1950) is a Hungarian born British– Australian former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division and actor. He holds triple nationality, originally being a citizen of Hungary and a nat ...

, who would eventually take the British, Commonwealth and European titles from Henry Cooper. The bout was in May 1970, at Wembley, and Bugner won by a technical knockout in the fifth, signalling an end to London's career.

Retirement and personal life

After retiring from boxing, London became a businessman in his hometown of Blackpool, owning several nightclubs, and was a fitness fanatic, running 12 miles a day. A teetotaller all of his life, in 2006 it was revealed that London was still only a few pounds over his fighting weight. He was married to Veronica Cliffe. Together, they had three children: Brian Jr., Melanie and Jack. After they divorced, he was in a domestic partnership with Beryl Hunter for 30 years until her death in 2005. In January 1971 English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...

was embroiled in what became a national media story when he and three other

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

players,

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of England's best ever players, he is England's fifth- ...

, Clyde Best and Brian Dear, spent the evening at London's 007 nightclub in Blackpool, the night before an important

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

match against

which they went on to lose 4–0, with then West Ham manager Ron Greenwood and the national media severely criticising the players. Moore later said of the incident, "I'd met Brian London on many occasions and thought it would be nice to look him up. I suppose we all realised at the time that we were leaving ourselves vulnerable". Like many other boxers, London continued fighting long after his prime. He was 22 wins to 3 losses early in his career but lost 17 of his last 33 fights. In judging London's career it should be remembered that he fought some of the best fighters in the world, including four who at some stage were world champions – Ali, Patterson, Johansson and Pastrano. The British Boxing website listed London at number eight in a list of the top ten post

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

British heavyweight boxers in 2004. He had a dark sense of humour, and when asked if he would have done anything differently with Muhammad Ali, he replied, "Yeah, I should have shot him". He died on 23 June 2021 at the age of 87. He had suffered a long illness prior to his death.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 37 Wins (26 knockouts, 11 decisions), 20 Losses (11 knockouts, 9 decisions), 1 Draw , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=left , Loss , 36–20–1 , align=left,

, TKO , 5 , 12 May 1970 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 36–19–1 , align=left,

, KO , 2 , 3 Sep 1969 , align=left, , , - , Loss , 36–18–1 , align=left, Jim Fletcher , TKO , 1 , 10 April 1969 , align=left, , , - , Draw , 36–17–1 , align=left, Henry Clark , PTS , 10 , 6 Feb 1969 , align=left, , , - , Loss , 36–17 , align=left,

, TKO , 9 , 10 Jun 1968 , align=left, , , - , Loss , 36–16 , align=left, Roberto Davila , TKO , 6 , 29 Feb 1968 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 37–15 , align=left, Zora Folley , PTS , 10 , 13 Nov 1967 , align=left, , , - , Win , 36–15 , align=left, James J. Woody , PTS , 10 , 15 Jun 1967 , align=left, , , - , Loss , 35–15 , align=left,

, , 10 , 9 Mar 1967 , align=left, , , - , Loss , 35–14 , align=left,

, KO , 3 , 6 August 1966 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 35–13 , align=left, Amos Johnson , , 7 , 21 Jun 1966 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 34–13 , align=left, Thad Spencer , PTS , 10 , 2 May 1966 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 34–12 , align=left, Roger Rischer , KO , 1 , 20 Sep 1965 , align=left, , , - , Win , 33–12 , align=left, Billy Walker , PTS , 10 , 30 Mar 1965 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 32–12 , align=left, Giorgio Masteghin , , 4 , 2 Feb 1965 , align=left, , , - , Win , 31–12 , align=left, Chip Johnson , TKO , 4 , 15 Dec 1964 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 30–12 , align=left, Johnny Prescott , PTS , 10 , 13 Jun 1964 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 30–11 , align=left,

, PTS , 15 , 24 Feb 1964 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 30–10 , align=left, Bill Nielsen , KO , 4 , 2 Dec 1963 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 29–10 , align=left, Don Warner , PTS , 8 , 8 May 1963 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 28–10 , align=left,

, PTS , 12 , 21 April 1963 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 28–9 , align=left, Tom McNeeley , PTS , 10 , 29 Jan 1963 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 27–9 , align=left, Von Clay , PTS , 10 , 11 Oct 1962 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 26–9 , align=left, Howard King , KO , 6 , 14 Jun 1962 , align=left, , , - , Loss , 25–9 , align=left, Santo Amonti , PTS , 10 , 7 Jul 1962 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 25–8 , align=left, Young Jack Johnson , PTS , 10 , 26 Feb 1962 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 24–8 , align=left,

, RTD , 5 , 17 Oct 1961 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 24–7 , align=left, William Herman Hunter , TKO , 8 , 24 April 1961 , align=left, , - , Loss , 23–7 , align=left, Dick Richardson , TKO , 8 , 29 Jun 1960 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 23–6 , align=left, Pete Rademacher , KO , 7 , 26 April 1960 , align=left, , , - , Loss , 22–6 , align=left, Nino Valdes , TKO , 7 , 1 Dec 1959 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 22–5 , align=left,

, KO , 11 , 1 May 1959 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 22–4 , align=left,

, PTS , 15 , 12 Jan 1959 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 22–3 , align=left, Willie Pastrano , TKO , 5 , 30 Sep 1958 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 21–3 , align=left, Joe Erskine , KO , 8 , 3 Jun 1958 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 20–3 , align=left, Willie Pastrano , PTS , 10 , 25 Feb 1958 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 20–2 , align=left, Howie Turner , PTS , 10 , 10 Dec 1957 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 19–2 , align=left, Kitione Lave , PTS , 10 , 12 Jun 1957 , align=left, , , - , Win , 18–2 , align=left, Peter Bates , KO , 2 , 1 Jul 1957 , align=left, , , - , Win , 17–2 , align=left, Willy Schagen , KO , 1 , 27 May 1957 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 16–2 , align=left, Robert Duquesne , KO , 1 , 5 Mar 1957 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 15–2 , align=left, Heinz Neuhaus , PTS , 10 , 3 Feb 1957 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 15–1 , align=left, Werner Wiegand , KO , 2 , 19 Nov 1956 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 14–1 , align=left, Trevor Snell , KO , 2 , 27 Jun 1956 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 13–1 , align=left, George Naufahu , TKO , 4 , 9 Jul 1956 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 12–1 , align=left,

, TKO , 1 , 1 May 1956 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 12–0 , align=left, Jose Peyre , TKO , 1 , 13 Mar 1956 , align=left, , , - , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Jim Cooper , TKO , 4 , 17 Jan 1956 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Basil Kew , TKO , 2 , 6 Dec 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Prosper Beck , KO , 1 , 11 Nov 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Simon Templar , TKO , 7 , 24 Oct 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 7–0 , align=left, José González Sales , TKO , 3 , 7 Oct 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Robert Eugene , , 8 , 8 Jun 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Paddy Slavin , TKO , 2 , 11 Jul 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Dinny Powell , KO , 4 , 6 Jun 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Hugh McDonald , KO , 2 , 23 May 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Frank Walshaw , , 2 , 18 April 1955 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Dennis Lockton , , 1 , 22 Mar 1955 , align=left, , align=left,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:London, Brian 1934 births 2021 deaths Boxers at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England English male boxers Heavyweight boxers People from West Hartlepool Sportspeople from Hartlepool Sportspeople from Blackpool Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Royal Air Force airmen 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Military personnel from County Durham Commonwealth Games gold medallists in boxing