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Sports correspondent & historian with |
Driving past the Greerton Hall roundabout last week, I had to take a second look when I saw a building site where the Tauranga RSA once stood.
Before the RSA occupied the site, it was home to the Greerton Hotel, later known as the Greerton Motor Inn and Fahys Motor Inn. In all its incarnations, it remained a popular watering hole in the proudly working-class Tauranga suburb.
A look back in time reveals the Greerton Hotel was built by New Zealand Breweries (later Lion Breweries) and officially opened in May 1963 by Tauranga Mayor D.S. Mitchell.
Later that day, my thoughts returned to the former Greerton hospitality site and two photographs that hung on the wall for many years.
Few people, other than dedicated boxing fans, would have known the significance of the framed photographs of Gerald Simms and David Black, both pictured gloved-up in boxing attire.
During the 1960s and 1970s, it was common practice to display photographs of local sporting heroes, such as All Blacks and national champions, on the walls of hotel public bars where sports fans gathered for a drink or two.
Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand tells us that during the 1950s and 1960s, boxing was firmly established as a mainstream sport, alongside rugby and cricket.
Major professional boxing contests attracted crowds numbering in the thousands to Auckland’s Carlaw Park and Athletic Park in Wellington.
Thousands of fans sat glued to their valve radios, staying up late to hear blow-by-blow live commentary from rings around the country.
Top fighters such as Tuna Scanlan and Barry Brown were celebrated as national sporting heroes, enjoying a cultural status comparable to that of the All Blacks.
Amateur boxing was the pathway to the professional ranks, and 1928 Olympic champion Ted Morgan and Empire Games gold medallist Wally Coe were revered household names. National amateur titleholders were also held in high regard, with Gerry Simms and Dave Black recognised on the streets of Tauranga as elite boxers.
Tauranga and Mount Maunganui were home to several boxing gyms. Trainers in the wider Tauranga region included Tom McCord, Bob Thomas, Chris Easterbrook and Gib Roper, who trained fighters out of the Waimapu sawmill.
Gerry Simms won the New Zealand heavyweight title in Hastings in 1959. The heavyweight division has long been regarded as the glamour division of boxing and recent New Zealand amateur graduates to the professional ranks include David Tua, Shane Cameron, Joseph Parker and David Nyika.
Simms defeated a Wellington boxer in a preliminary contest, before overcoming hometown tournament favourite, Henry Bristowe of Hawke’s Bay, on points.
Two years later, Dave Black squared off against nearly a dozen opponents in the light-middleweight division at the 1961 national championships. Black won his opening bout by disqualification, before defeating Sua Brown of Auckland in the semi-finals.
After three rounds of non-stop action in the final against Lex Ashton of Timaru, the Tauranga Boxing Association representative was awarded a points decision and crowned national champion.
Today, Western Bay of Plenty is experiencing a boxing revival, with several gyms operating at full capacity. Much of this growth can be attributed to the popularity of boxfit classes, which provide an effective way to improve physical fitness. Many participants experience the rigours of boxing training and sparring without any desire to enter the competitive arena.
The Tauranga Boxing Club, Bay Boxfit and the Tauranga Boxing Academy have all produced national boxing champions during the new millennium.
With the Tauranga Boxing Association long consigned to history, Simms and Black remain the only fighters from the association to have worn the mantle of New Zealand national champions.