Paying tribute to the late Jock Taylor – a hard-hitting, crowdpleasing lightheavyweight from a golden era
Alex Daley @thealexdaley Historian & author
I F you celebrated your first birthday before World War II, you may have hazy memories of a late ‘40s boxing scene brimming with colour. It was the era of Willie Pep, Sandy Saddler, Jake LaMotta, Marcel Cerdan, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Graziano, an ageing Joe Louis and a peak Sugar Ray Robinson. There were just eight weights then, with one world champion at each. Last month, Britain lost a tangible fighting link to that era with the passing of former Sidcup light-heavyweight Jock Taylor, age 93, on May 22. Though Jock never reached world level, he did win two fights out of two against a boxer who did – Don Cockell.