Cardiff: A history of big fight nights in the Welsh capital

We take a look at the history of world title fights held in Cardiff

On Saturday, Anthony Joshua will become the latest in a long line of British boxers to headline a bill in Cardiff.

A city with a rich boxing history stretching back well over a century, the Welsh capital has staged some huge fight nights featuring some of the sport's biggest names.

Some of the bouts featured the great and the good of Welsh boxing, while some, such as the heavyweight showdown between Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno in 1993, showcased Cardiff and its appreciative fight fans as English fighters stepped through the ropes.

None will match the battle between Joshua - who will defend his IBF and WBA heavyweight titles - and stand-in opponent Carlos Takam in terms of ticket sales, but there is no denying Cardiff has already witnessed some all-time classics, including at the Principality Stadium, the latest Welsh pantheon of pugilism.

Freddie Welsh avoids a left hook from Jim Driscoll

Freddie Welsh v Jim Driscoll, American Roller Rink, 20 December 1910

Two of the greats of Welsh boxing met at the now demolished American Roller Rink 107 years ago in front of a sell-out crowd of over 10,000.

Cardiff boxer Driscoll and Pontypridd's Freddie Welsh had found fame on both sides of the Atlantic and will both be remembered as two of the greatest boxers from Wales, but their clash, on paper a perfect mesh of styles, ended in disappointment for Driscoll and his supporters.

Welsh would win the fight via a disqualification decision following excessive use of the head from Driscoll.

Ike Williams won 126 professional fights between 1940-1955

Ike Williams v Ronnie James, Ninian Park, 4 September 1946

The first world title fight in the Welsh capital, staged at Cardiff City's former stadium, this was a classic underdog versus champion contest.

After 103 fights, Swansea's Ronnie James landed a dream shot at American great Ike Williams, with the American coming to Wales to defend his title.

Williams, the world lightweight champion best known for bouts with Sammy Angott, Bob Montgomery, and Beau Jack, was the first defending world champion lured to Wales, with over 30,000 fans cramming into Cardiff City's home, Ninian Park, a stadium only just recovered from the damage done by bombs dropped during World War II.

Ten years James' junior, Williams was simply too much for the Welshman, flooring him six times before a body shot ended the contest in the ninth round. James would retire a year later.

Howard Winstone looks to take the fight to Vicente Saldivar during their bout in 1967

Vicente Saldivar v Howard Winstone, Ninian Park, 15 June 1967

Arguably the most famous trilogy of fights involving a Welshman, a generation of fans were enthralled by the rivalry between Vicente Saldivar and Howard Winstone.

Merthyr boxer Winstone had won Empire Games gold in Cardiff in 1958 and, in 1963, had claimed the European title from Alberto Seti, but he had been denied against Mexican great Saldivar for the world featherweight crown at Earls Court in 1965 in the first instalment of this classic pairing.

Winstone's narrow defeat on points led to inevitable rematch calls and Saldivar, widely regarded as one of the all-time featherweight greats, agreed to come to Cardiff.

A night of controversy ensued, with the Welshman seemingly in control for large exchanges. Saldivar scored a knockdown in the 14th round, but many still felt Winstone had done enough to win the contest on points after a strong start, but referee Wally Thom disagreed, despite seemingly being set to walk towards Winstone's corner after a ferocious contest.

Winstone's manager Eddie Thomas called it "the worst decision I have ever seen," with Saldivar beating Winstone again, decisively, in Mexico City four months later.

Winstone would become WBC champion in 1968, but he never again hit the heights he produced in that second fight with Saldivar.

The undercard of Lennox Lewis v Frank Bruno featured the debut of a then unknown newly-turned professional super middleweight boxer named Joe Calzaghe

Lennox Lewis v Frank Bruno, Cardiff Arms Park, 1 October 1993

A damp night but not a damp squib of a fight, Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno fought for the world WBC heavyweight title in front of over 20,000 fans at the Arms Park.

After previous defeats by Tim Witherspoon and Mike Tyson, this was the third time Bruno had challenged for a world title, but he was again denied after being stopped in a one-sided seventh stanza.

Almost two years later, Bruno would finally become a world champion at the fourth attempt after beating Oliver McCall, while Lewis became a three-time world champion and is the last heavyweight to lay claim to the title of undisputed champion.

Steve Robinson had won his world title despite accepting a fight with just 48 hours

Steve Robinson v Prince Naseem Hamed, Cardiff Arms Park, 30 September 1995

Having won the WBO featherweight against champion Ruben Palacios after accepting the fight at very late notice, Wales' 'Cinderella Man' Steve Robinson saw his dreams shattered by a 21-year-old Prince Naseem Hamed when the Sheffield boxer was at the peak of his powers.

Hamed proved to be a class above Robinson in terms of speed and skill, even if Robinson showed extraordinary heart and courage.

Hostile crowds would become a feature for Hamed towards the end of his career but, as a 21-year old, the way he shrugged off the raucous Cardiff faithful was hugely impressive, with Hamed able to show much of his repertoire over eight one-sided rounds.

Joe Calzaghe retired as a two-weight world champion who never lost a fight professionally

Joe Calzaghe v Mikkel Kessler, Millennium Stadium, 4 November 2007

After his career-defining display of dominance against American Jeff Lacy,Joe Calzaghe, already a champion for a decade, was at a career crossroads, desperately seeking a mega match to captivate a boxing public on both sides of the Atlantic suddenly wise to his immense talent.

Calzaghe stepped through the ropes at the Millennium Stadium, first against American reality TV star Peter Manfredo Jr in a total mismatch, setting up a clash with Dane Mikkel Kessler that would finally produce an undisputed champion after years of talk.

After being boxing's best kept secret, Calzaghe was suddenly thrust into the mainstream.

An estimated 50,000 fans, including around 1,000 from Denmark, poured into the stadium for the hotly anticipated contest, no mean feat considering the bout was staged at 3am to satisfy the American TV audience.

With his father and trainer Enzo in his corner and a nation behind him, Calzaghe produced a masterful display on one of his toughest nights, winning a unanimous points decision over Kessler, who would go on to beat Carl Froch three years later.

Calzaghe would never again fight at super middleweight, meaning the Kessler fight stands as the end point of over a decade of domination of the division.

THE MONKEY THAT TALK WITH KUNLE TO WIPE AWAY AND FRUSTRATE BIAFRANS.GIVE HIM A NAME

IPOB are right about Nigeria Military Bokoharam i'm happy this is coming from a Northener

How soldiers aided Fulani to
massacre my people —Sunday
Abdu, President, Irigwe
Development Association

Sunday Abdu is the National President of
Irigwe Development Association. In this
interview by ISAAC SHOBAYO, he speaks on
the hostilities between the Irigwe and
Fulani in Irigwe Chiefdom in Bassa Local
Government Area of Plateau State.
What is the genesis of the crisis
between your people, the Irigwe and
the Fulani?
It is very clear and simple. According to
the Fulanis, they said they don’t forgive
and they don’t forget; if you do anything
that hurt them, they don’t forgive. It is
common knowledge that a Fulani young
man was killed by some people in Miango
in this local government area. We totally
condemned that act and to buttress our
fact of regret, we handed over some
suspects to the police immediately we
heard about what happened. The police
waded into the matter, but discovered
that some of the suspects were not
involved in the act. So, they granted them
bail, but the rest of them are still with the
police.
We went to the extent of begging the
Fulani community in Irigwe and asking for
their forgiveness. Our traditional ruler
went on his knees before the Fulanis, just
to beg them, so that they will know that
what happened was not our making. There
is nowhere in the world that you don’t
have bad elements in the society, but to
show how remorseful we were, we
produced those suspected to be behind
the unfortunate killing.
The very day that our traditional ruler
begged them, they told us that what we
were begging for might not be possible
because they also have bad eggs among
them; meaning that our plea might not be
accepted. But when you are remorseful
over something that was wrong, you are
clean before God.
The next day, there was an attack and 24
people were killed in Ancha Village. What
do you expect us to say? I am not saying
that the killing of the first person by one
of our own was justified; till eternity it
stands condemned. But they killed 24 in
retaliation. We were at peace, but the very
day we were burying the 24 people,
another 19 were killed when the Fulanis
attacked the next village. The evening after
we finished the burial, the Fulani attacked
another adjourning village where they
killed one soldier and injured one other
person. From that day till today, we have
been sleeping with our two eyes opened.
We have not known peace and rest since;
it has been killings and assassinations on a
daily basis.
They are claiming that they have people at
the top and therefore can do whatever
they like. They may be painting Irigwe in
a bad light, saying that we are trouble
makers, but everybody knows that we
don’t look for trouble unless you look for
our trouble. Even in the midst of
provocation, we have been begging our
people to remain calm. Since I took over
the leadership of this tribe, I have been
consistently saying ‘remain calm’; we have
not change and we have not shifted
ground. The worse was the one of last
Monday; do you know that we lost six
people the previous day? Before that
Sunday when they killed six people, we had
lost five people. The following day, which
was last Monday, they killed another 29
people.
Where does the military comes into the
picture in respect of the Monday
killings?
Only God knows, but there is an eye
witness to what happened. On that fateful
day (Monday), it was the military men that
called the Mai Angwan; the village head
and told him to gather all the people
because there was a warning gunshot by
the Fulani. So, the people began to run
helter shelter. The soldier gathered
everybody to where they were, that is, the
primary school. So, when everybody
gathered, some young men said they would
not enter, allowing only the women and
children to enter. One young man stood
outside and suddenly saw some Fulani men
emerging and alerted the soldiers and the
military personnel on ground told him to
enter the classroom, only for the soldiers
to usher the Fulanis into where the people
were taking refuge.
Are you saying there was complicity in
the whole incident?
Are you following me at all? When the
military men signaled the Fulanis, what
role were they playing, especially when
they rushed to the school and began to
open fire? We are in a country of many
tribes, but this is what we are seeing. Two
young men who entered the classroom
with the women and children escaped
through the window when the firing power
became heavy; they are alive to tell the
story. When they assassinated those
people, the soldiers ran away. In the
morning, I ordered that nobody should
touch the dead bodies until the media
cover the scene. The military officer in
charge stopped the media from covering
the gory incident, but when the crew from
the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
arrived, the military officer came and
asked if they were from NTA. He called
them aside and he said, ‘you know we are
Nigerian Army and you are the Nigerian
Television Authority, meaning we are doing
the same work.” The NTA reporters said,
‘you mean social responsibility’ and he
said, ‘yes, very well’. He continued by
saying ‘these people came’ we fought
gallantly but they overpowered us’ and the
reporters asked, ‘you mean you were here
when this thing happened?’ This thing is
the bane of the Nigerian unity. Something
is wrong with this country and I want the
International Community to listen to me.
Unless and until justice is done, some
people will continue to unleash evil on this
country.
Prior to the last incident, a curfew was
imposed on the local government area
by the state government in conjunction
with the security agencies. How did the
attackers gain access the villages
without being noticed?
When the curfew was introduced that
fateful day, we thought they would do the
needful by bringing in security agents to
all the nooks and crannies of the villages
in the local government area, especially in
Irigwe land where the attack was more
pronounced. We advised that the security
men should move in properly where these
attacks were taking place, but they will
always insist to be on the main roads.
When one of the villages was attacked, the
soldiers were notified, but they did not
move an inch.
Since this attack started about a month
ago, how many villages were attacked
and what is the number of people
killed?
I have lost count of the casualties because
it is being done almost every day. The
villages that were attacked were up to five
and houses burnt were over 200. The
deaths were also many but, as I told you
earlier, I have lost count of the dead
bodies.
What do you think is the way out of
this crisis?
They are the ones running; we have never
sent Fulani out of our place. They are the
ones insulting and assaulting us right now,
but we don’t know what they want or
maybe they want to take the land. It is
impossible; they can never achieve that.
No matter their fire power, they cannot
achieve that. I am saying this very clearly
because it seems they are on a mission of
ethnic cleansing, but nobody can wipe
Irigwe out of the map of Nigeria. God is
supreme over everybody and above every
other human being. No matter how
influential they think they are, no matter
how rich they think they are, God created
us and is ready to protect us. The Bible
says unless the two agreed they cannot
work together. Since they did not agree
with us, I don’t see how we can work
together.
Can one link the crisis to the issue of
cattle encroachment into farmland and
cattle rustling?
Do you know that the Fulanis arrogantly
send in their cows into our farms? That is
what is happening right now and the
security agencies don’t seem to care about
what we are saying. This is because the
soldiers are complacent; in fact, they are
compromised. Do you know why we have
been sleeping in peace since Monday? It is
because most of the soldiers were
removed and replaced with MOPOL.
What is your take on the issue of
reprisal attacks which seem to be
fueling the crisis?
When you enjoy firing gun, you don’t think
about any meeting point. What is in their
mind is ethnic cleansing and this is an
agenda that has been programmed for
long. When somebody feels happy
attacking other person, such is his
lifestyle.

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