From the late 1800s and until the mid-1900s, boxing, like golf and polo, was a big part of Bangalore’s sporting culture. Among the city’s top-notch boxers was, quite strangely, a non-Indian with a unique name – Gunboat Jack. He became the welter-weight, middle-weight and light heavy-weight champion of India.
His real name was James Cozley, an African-American boxer who made Bangalore his home. He had an illustrious career as “Champion of the East”, rising from welter to light-heavyweight category.
Although he left Bangalore in the mid-60s, he is remembered by Bangaloreans not just for his boxing exploits but also for his heroic feats in the circus ring and as a rescuer for those in trouble.
Interestingly, the stories of legendary boxers such as Gunboat Jack, Arthur Suares and others, in many ways, talk about the fascinating but fleeting history of boxing as a sport in Bangalore.
In the early 1900s and particularly in the 1930s to the 1950s, boxing held a massive appeal for many in Bangalore. It was influenced in part by the arrival of troops during the Second World War. Regimental matches, as well as bouts between the soldiers and civilians, attracting huge crowds, were par for the course.
Some reports say that professional boxing was popularised by...
from Scroll.in https://scroll.in/article/1091451/when-african-american-boxer-gunboat-jack-made-boxing-the-biggest-sporting-draw-in-bangalore?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public https://sc0.blr1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/article/212505-fcfcmymynw-1773817228.jpeg
via
0 Comments