Day that launched career of Doncaster sporting hero
It was on January 26, 1942, that the young boxer from Mona Road, Balby, made his debut, in the Royal Albert Hall.
Weighing 12st 8lbs, Bruce was up against 14st 6lbs Fred Clark, but using speed and skill, the 21-year old triumphed after three rounds and returned home victorious with a £25 prize.
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Hide AdBoxing News reported that he ‘dispatched ex-stoker Clarke in impressive style on his professional debut’.
Bruce Woodcock went on to become a sporting hero...a British and Empire heavyweight champion from 1945-50; and European heavyweight champion from 1946-49.
Throughout his early career he trained in a small, makeshift gym behind the Plough pub in Doncaster.
Despite his success, he shunned the celebrity lifestyle. His autobiography, Two Fists and a Fortune, was published in 1951, after he retired.
He ran the Tumbler pub in Broomhouse Lane, Edlington, for many years, and died in 1997.