BRIAN LONDON, who plied his trade a generation before Lennox Lewis destroyed the narrative of “horizontal English heavyweights,” died on June 23 at age 87.
London was born in West Hartlepool. He turned pro in 1955 and won his first 12 fights, 11 of them by knockout. Then he fought a 21-yearold prospect named Henry Cooper and was knocked out in the first round. London had trouble against worldclass opponents throughout his career. He fought Cooper three times and lost each time. He was beaten by Nino Valdes, Eddie Machen, Ingemar Johansson, and Joe Bugner, and came up short twice against Jerry Quarry. On a more positive note, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles for seven months by virtue of a 1958 stoppage of Joe Erskine. He ended his career in 1970 with a 37-20-1 (26) ring ledger.