TWELVE years ago I had the privilege of chatting with the late Reg Gutteridge about his life in boxing and his fascinating family history. Most fight fans will remember Reg for his erudite TV commentary and journalism, but I imagine few will know about the forebears from whom he inherited his love of the sport. Reg’s paternal grandfather, Arthur Gutteridge, had been a renowned bareknuckle pugilist and was later chief second at the National Sporting Club in Covent Garden. He trained the likes of George Dixon, Frank Goddard and future film star Victor McLaglen, and is said to have taught Rudyard Kipling to box. Reg’s father, Dick, and his identical twin brother, Jack, learnt the art of corner work from their father, and in the 1930s and ‘40s they were Britain’s top seconds. Their uncanny resemblance – in face, body and mannerisms – made them well-known personalities, but it wasn’t just this that earned them their fame; they were genuinely among the best at what they did.
Max Baer, Tommy Loughran, Len Harvey, Freddie Mills, Bruce Woodcock, Maurice Strickland, Dave Crowley, Eric Boon and Billy Thompson were just a few of the stars they seconded. Renowned for their expert corner advice and a knack for ‘pulling a fight out of the fire’, they were in great demand. When they worked together, it was not uncommon for the twins to second every winner on the card. When they worked in opposite corners, they would have small side-bets on who would produce the most winners that night. After a fight, ringsiders would see Dick or Jack raise the requisite number of fingers to his brother to indicate the score. On these occasions, the fighters sometimes struggled to work out which corner was theirs, as not only did the twins look alike but they dressed alike in the white seconds’ garb that was then the norm.