The Boxers of Rhondda

Jimmy Wilde was arguably the greatest British boxer of all time, while a whole nation stayed up to listen to the radio commentary of Tommy Farr's brave challenge to the legendary Joe Louis. This book tells their stories, of course, but also those of more than 40 other Rhondda boxers. Essential reading for devotees of the square ring.

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The Rhondda Valleys have always produced hard men. The descendants of those who flocked there in the nineteenth century to work in the expanding coalfield combined to form a special kind of society, in which brawn and brain were equally respected. While the famous miners' institutes nurtured the intellect, each village also had its gymnasium and these spawned some of the fight game's most famous practitioners. Jimmy Wilde was arguably the greatest British boxer of all time, while a whole nation stayed up to listen to the radio commentary of Tommy Farr's brave challenge to the legendary Joe Louis. This book tells their stories, of course, but also those of more than 40 others, including Wales's forgotten world champion, Percy Jones, and two who wore the Lonsdale Belt, Tom Thomas and Llew Edwards. With dozens of illustrations, many seen here for the first time, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the square ring.