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Table of Contents: Chapter 1 William Samuels
Chapter 2 William Samuels vs. Toff Wall
Chapter 3 Patsy Perkins
Chapter 4 Dick Ambrose
Chapter 5 Shin Kicking & Mountain Fighting
Chapter 6 The Aberaman Chicken & the Aberdare Pet
Chapter 7 Mountain Fighters
Chapter 8 Dan Pontypridd
Chapter 9 The Boxing Booth
Chapter 10 Dublin Tom
Chapter 11 Sam 'Butcher' Thomas
Chapter 12 Ivor 'Butcher' Thomas
Chapter 13 Morgan Crowther
Chapter 14 Morgan Crowther vs.The Courts
Chapter 15 Redmond Coleman
Chapter 16 Redmond Coleman’s Downward Spiral
Chapter 17 John O’Brien
Chapter 18 John O’Brien vs. The Harlem Coffee Cooler
Chapter 19 Dai St. John
Chapter 20 The Last Battle of The Resolven Giant Further Information: This book explores some of the lives and times of the good, the bad and the ugly from the days of the bare-knuckle outlaws known as the ‘mountain fighters’ who climbed the mountains of the south Wales valleys before dawn to duke it out with bare fists safely out of reach of the law. Some learned their trade swapping fists on the mountains, while others pulled on the gloves and tried their luck on the booths, where the ability to stand against 'all comers' for three rounds might earn them a pound.
The early history of pugilism in South Wales is chronicled within this book, which includes many profiles of some of the forgotten early fistic champions of the Welsh prize ring, including:
Shoni Engineer - a Treorchy shoesmith & bare fist fighter who would achieve almost legendary status throughout the coalfields of south Wales for his fighting prowess.
Dai 'St. John' - the Welsh Heavyweight title claimant known as the ‘Resolven Giant’ who became a national hero due to his bravery in the South African war.
William Samuels - the longtime Heavyweight Champion of Wales, Swansea's cigar chomping premier fairground boxing booth owner, who once faced the great John L. Sullivan, the Heavyweight bare knuckle champion of the world, as well as a cage full of lions!
Robert Dunbar - a.k.a 'Sam Lane' a.k.a 'Young' Lane, Newport’s battle hardened one-eyed gladiator of the old Welsh prize-ring, one of South Wales' toughest old time outlaw 'knucklers'.
Patsy Perkins - the Cardiff boy who became the Lightweight Champion of Wales and who lost everything after one fateful night in 1894 at the Aberdare slaughterhouse.
Redmond Coleman - the terrible 'Ironman' of Merthyr, whose street fighting skills made him a figure of fear throughout old Merthyr town.
Morgan Crowther - the Newport fighter whose regular brushes with the law earned him a mention in the House of Commons, and paved the way to taking the Featherweight Championship of England.
John O'Brien - the great Cardiff middleweight who could have fought for the championship of the world, if not for sickness and his fateful meeting with the 'Coffee Cooler'.
Daniel Thomas - a.k.a Dan 'Pontypridd' - the first sturdy lightweight champion of Pontypridd, the prizefighter who turned to God and burned his golden belt.
Sam & Ivor Thomas - Sam & Ivor 'Butcher', the sons of a Treorchy butcher who became known throughout south Wales for their fighting skills, Sam on the mountains with the knuckles, and Ivor on the booths with the gloves.
Other notable fighting men of the time such as Bob Wiltshire, Tom James, George 'Punch' Jones, Cardiff's notorious scoundrel Pete 'Dublin Tom' Burns and Swansea's tragic ring-hero Dick Ambrose also have their stories told. For the first time a fighting tradition previously shrouded in myth and legend that would pave the way for a country’s future champions is fully explored.
There are many rare illustrations and photographs, many of which have never been printed in any book previously, this is a must-buy for any boxing fan who wants to re-discover the forgotten origins of Welsh boxing.
'The author...is to be congratulated on this splendid book which tells for the first time the deeds and exploits of the long forgotten bare fist fighters who fought on the mountains of Wales or in the fairground booths. His countless hours of research has paid off and sports fans and sport historians are in his debt.'
Brian Lee, South Wales Echo
January 13th, 2012
'Mountain Fighters. Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing by Lawrence Davies is a very well written and meticulously researched piece of work that will fill one in on the rich history of Welsh boxing and the men who really laid the groundwork for the better known greats that followed them such as Jim Driscoll, Freddie Welsh and Jimmy Wilde. Davies book is comprised of 437 pages and provides story after story of the hard lives and fights of the men who fought bare-fisted in the mountains to avoid the law or in the fairground boxing booths. I found it particularly interesting to read about Driscoll's early education from the boxing booths, first as a witness of numerous fights and then later as a participant himself. I also learned an awful lot about some early great Welsh fighters that I had no previous knowledge of as a result of this book and highly recommend it.'
Clay Moyle, author of 'Sam Langford: Boxing's Greatest Uncrowned Champion' and 'Billy Miske: The St. Paul Thunderbolt'. |
