HIGH PLACES: The NSC's powerful members ensured its survival – and that of the wider British boxing scene
FIRST TO FALL: Walter Croot died after a reportedly
'perfectly scientific contest fought for points'
ALTER CROOT of Leytonstone had proved himself as the best boxer in Britain at 102lbs by 1896. He first claimed the English championship at this weight with an 11-round knockout of Bill Bolton at the National Sporting Club in 1893 before losing to a very young Pedlar Palmer the following year. Croot then won an All-England competition in 1896, and he followed this up with an 11th-round knockout victory over Mike Small of Holloway to claim the English 104lbs title. In 1897, Croot was finding it harder to make this weight and so, when he was matched against one of America’s best boxers, Jimmy Barry, at the National Sporting Club on December 6, 1897, the contest was made at 108lbs and it was billed for the world title for a £100 purse, split 80/20 between the winner and the loser.