Don Cockell


Donald John Cockell was an English boxer who competed from 1946 to 1956. One of the most well known boxers from the UK during the era, Cockell held the British and European light heavyweight titles, and later moved up in weight to become the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion. He is best remembered for fighting against Rocky Marciano for the world heavyweight championship.
Over the course of Cockell's career he defeated a number of the top heavyweights of the time, including Roland La Starza, Harry Matthews, Tommy Farr, Freddie Beshore, Johnny Arthur, Johnny Williams and Uber Bacilieri. In his earlier incarnation as a Light Heavyweight he defeated top contenders such as Nick Barone, Albert Yvel, Lloyd Marshall and Albert Finch, holding regional titles in both weight incarnations.

Early life

His full name was Donald John Cockell and he was born on 22 September 1928 in Balham, London, the son of Mary Cockell, a domestic servant from Battersea. He never knew his father. He was a blacksmith by trade, and as a result developed a strong physique. He began boxing in fairground booths and soon rose through the amateur ranks until he was ready to turn professional in 1946.

Professional career

Light-heavywight

Cockell had his first professional fight on 26 June 1946 against Trevor Lowder and won it by a knockout in the fifth round. He won 24 of his first 26 fights. From there continued to build up an impressive fighting record marred by the occasional defeat.
In 1950 Cockell entered a brief tournament to crown a new British light-heavyweight champion, recently vacated due to the retirement of Freddie Mills. Cockell defeated Jimmy Carroll in an eliminator match before facing Mark Hart on 17 October at Harringay Arena. Cockell won the BBBofC title after scoring a knockout in the fourteenth round.
Cockell fought and won two more fights against future Hall of Famer Lloyd Marshal, before challenging the Frenchman Albert Yvel for his European light-heavyweight title. The bout took place on 27 March 1951 at Earls Court, London, and Cockell won the title by scoring a technical knockout in the sixth round.
Cockell had two more wins before defending his British and European titles against Albert Finch, who had previously been British welterweight champion. The bout was held on 16 October 1951, at Harringay Arena, and Cockell won by a knockout in the seventh round.
Cockell decisively lost his next fight against the American heavyweight Jimmy Slade. Fighting at Harringay Arena, Cockell was knocked down twice in the first round, once in the second, and twice more in the fourth. The referee then stopped the fight. Cockell followed this defeat with a points win against Italian light-heavyweight Renato Tontini, despite being knocked down twice in the second round.
Cockell then fought against Randolph Turpin, who the year before, had become one of the few to defeat Sugar Ray Robinson, becoming world middleweight champion as a result before losing his title in the rematch. Cockell was defending his British title, and both fighters were contesting the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title. The bout was at the White City Stadium on 10 June 1952. Cockell was knocked down three times during the fight and lost on a technical knockout in the eleventh round. One of the reasons for the defeat was the difficulty that Cockell had in making the weight for light-heavyweight fights. He therefore decided to fight subsequently as a heavyweight.

Heavyweight

Cockell found success at heavyweight, and in his next three heavyweight fights, all were won by technical knockouts. The third one was against the Welshman, Tommy Farr, who had been an excellent heavyweight, fighting against the great Joe Louis, but who was now at the end of his career, and although experienced, had aged quite a bit.
The fight against Farr was a final eliminator for the British heavyweight title, and so put Cockell in line for a title challenge against the holder Johnny Williams. The bout for the British and Commonwealth titles was held at Harringay Arena on 12 May 1953, and Cockell won on points over fifteen rounds.
Cockell then had two more wins before defending his Commonwealth title against Johnny Arthur in Johannesburg, South Africa. He won the fight on points after fifteen rounds.
In 1954, Cockell moved rapidly up the heavyweight rankings by scoring four wins against top rated American fighters. He first defeated heavyweight challenger Roland La Starza on points at Earls Court Arena, then won three close successive victories over the highly rated Harry Matthews, the second fight was held at the White City Stadium, and the first and third at Sicks' Stadium, Seattle.
These victories put him in line for a title fight against undefeated heavyweight world champion Rocky Marciano. This was the first British world title bid since Tommy Farr had fought Joe Louis in 1937.

World heavyweight title fight

On 16 May 1955, Cockell fought Marciano for the world heavyweight title at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, CA. Cockell was a 10–1 underdog and weighed 14 st 9 lbs against Marciano's 13 st 7 lbs, coming into the fight weighing 205 pounds to Rocky's 189. For the first three rounds the fight was fairly even, but as it progressed further Cockell began to take more and more punishment, without being able to hurt Marciano much. Cockell ended the eighth round hanging through the ropes after withstanding a terrific beating. Marciano won the fight by a technical knockout 54 seconds into round nine after Cockell had been knocked down twice, for counts of eight and seven. After the fight, Marciano stated, "He's got a lot of guts. I don't think I ever hit anyone else any more often or harder."
Many boxing fans in Britain felt that Marciano employed unfair tactics, such as hitting after the bell and low punches, but although the British Boxing Board of Control protested, Cockell himself made no complaints.
In covering the fight for Sports Illustrated, Budd Schulberg wrote in the 30 May 1955 edition, "Except for the technicality of wearing eight-ounce gloves, Don Cockell's stand against Rocky Marciano in the fading daylight hours of a cool San Francisco sunlit day was a glorious—or appalling—throwback to this pre-Marquess of Queensberry condition. This was a bare-knuckle brawl with gloves—and not a pleasant sight either—as an uncouth, merciless, uncontrolled and truly vicious fighter wore down an ox-legged, resolute fat man who came into the ring with the honor of the British Empire weighing heavily—and consciously—on his massive, blubbery shoulders. He had promised his Union Jack supporters that he would not let them down, and the first words he mumbled through swollen lips after his fearful beating in nine rounds were an apology to his fellow countrymen for not having done better."
Jack Gallagher of the Oakland Tribune praised Cockell's brave effort, writing, "The fight was all Rocky's from the beginning. The Englishman showed amazing capacity for soaking up punishment."

Aftermath

The title fight had taken much out of Cockell, and he lost his subsequent two fights. In September 1955 he lost to the Cuban contender Nino Valdes at the White City Stadium by a technical knockout in the third round. He weighed 15 st 6 lbs for the fight. In April 1956 he was knocked out in the second round by Kitione Lave, known as the "Tongan Terror". That was his final fight. In May 1956 he was stripped of his Commonwealth title and in July he surrendered his British title and declared his retirement.
Cockell sued the Daily Mail after the newspaper had described him as being 'overweight and flabby' for his last fight, and not giving his all. He received £7,500 damages with costs.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
81LossKitione LaveKO2 24 Apr 1956Earls Court Arena, London, England
80Loss66–13–1Niño ValdésRTD3 13 Sep 1955White City Stadium, London, England
79Loss66–12–1Rocky MarcianoTKO9, 0:5416 May 1955Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California, U.S.For NYSAC, NBA and The Ring heavyweight titles
78Win66–11–1Harry MatthewsRTD7 31 Jul 1954Sick's Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
77Win65–11–1Harry MatthewsPTS101 Jun 1954White City Stadium, London, England
76Win64–11–1Roland La StarzaPTS1030 Mar 1954Earls Court Arena, London, England
75Win63–11–1Johnny ArthurPTS1530 Jan 1954Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, South AfricaRetained Commonwealth British Empire heavyweight title
74Win62–11–1Uber BaccilieriPTS105 Oct 1953Granby Halls, Leicester, England
73Win61–11–1Harry MatthewsSD107 Aug 1953Sick's Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
72Win60–11–1Johnny WilliamsPTS1512 May 1953Harringay Arena, London, EnglandWon British and Commonwealth British Empire heavyweight titles
71Win59–11–1Tommy FarrTKO7 9 Mar 1953Ice Rink, Nottingham, England
70Win58–11–1Frank BellTKO8, 2:204 Nov 1952Royal Albert Hall, London, England
69Win57–11–1Paddy SlavinTKO2, 1:2914 Oct 1952Streatham Ice Rink, London, England
68Loss56–11–1Randolph TurpinTKO11 10 Jun 1952White City Stadium, London, EnglandLost British light-heavyweight title;
For vacant Commonwealth British Empire light-heavyweight title
67Win56–10–1Renato TontiniPTS1020 May 1952Harringay Arena, London, England
66Loss55–10–1Jimmy SladeTKO4, 2:394 Dec 1951Harringay Arena, London, England
65Win55–9–1Albert FinchKO7, 0:4516 Oct 1951Harringay Arena, London, EnglandRetained British and European light-heavyweight titles
64Win54–9–1Nick BaroneKO6 5 Jun 1951White City Stadium, London, England
63Win53–9–1Freddie BeshorePTS1024 Apr 1951Harringay Arena, London, England
62Win52–9–1Albert YvelTKO6 27 Mar 1951Earls Court Empress Hall, London, EnglandWon European light-heavyweight title
61Win51–9–1Lloyd MarshallKO1, 0:3527 Feb 1951Harringay Arena, London, England
60Win50–9–1Lloyd MarshallDQ7, 1:1014 Nov 1950Earls Court Arena, London, EnglandMarshall disqualified for a low blow
59Win49–9–1Mark HartKO14, 2:5017 Oct 1950Harringay Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant British light-heavyweight title
58Win48–9–1Jimmy CarrollRTD7 4 Apr 1950Royal Albert Hall, London, England
57Win47–9–1Lloyd BarnettPTS814 Mar 1950Royal Albert Hall, London, England
56Loss46–9–1Aaron WilsonPTS828 Feb 1950Harringay Arena, London, England
55Win46–8–1Georges RogiersPTS813 Feb 1950Granby Halls, Leicester, England
54Loss45–8–1Aaron WilsonKO6 24 Jan 1950Earls Court Empress Hall, London, England
53Win45–7–1André LefrancTKO5 17 Jan 1950Streatham Ice Rink, London, England
52Win44–7–1Charlie ColletTKO1, 1:3520 Dec 1949Corn Exchange, Reading, England
51Win43–7–1Don MogardPTS831 Oct 1949Granby Halls, Leicester, England
50Win42–7–1Gabriel BigotteKO1 11 Oct 1949Harringay Arena, London, England
49Win41–7–1Bert GilroyPTS813 Jun 1949Granby Halls, Leicester, England
48Loss40–7–1Jimmy CarrollDQ5 11 Apr 1949Ice Stadium, Nottingham, EnglandCockell disqualified for a low blow
47Win40–6–1Paddy SlavinPTS829 Mar 1949Earls Court Empress Hall, London, England
46Win39–6–1Mark HartPTS87 Feb 1949Harringay Arena, London, England
45Win38–6–1Lloyd BarnettPTS831 Jan 1949Granby Halls, Leicester, England
44Win37–6–1Doug RichardsKO5 7 Dec 1948Corn Exchange, Reading, England
43Win36–6–1Johnny BartonPTS829 Nov 1948Cossington Street Baths, Leicester, England
42Win35–6–1Gene FowlerPTS825 Oct 1948Grand Pier Pavilion, Weston-super-Mare, England
41Loss34–6–1Johnny BartonPTS811 Oct 1948Granby Halls, Leicester, England
40Win34–5–1Henry PalmerKO5 13 Sep 1948Corn Exchange, Newbury, England
39Win33–5–1Gene FowlerPTS66 Sep 1948Southampton, Hampshire, England
38Loss32–5–1Johnny WilliamsTKO2, 3:0027 Jul 1948Embassy Rink, Birmingham, England
37Win32–4–1Trevor BurtKO1, 1:4719 Jul 1948Southampton, Hampshire, England
36Win31–4–1Dave GoodwinTKO2 5 Jul 1948Ice Rink, Nottingham, England
35Win30–4–1Battling Joe IgoRTD4, 3:0014 Jun 1948Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare, England
34Win29–4–1Johnny WilliamsPTS818 May 1948Highfield Road, Coventry, England
33Win28–4–1Koffi KitemanTKO5 10 May 1948Ice Rink, Nottingham, England
32Win27–4–1Paddy RocheTKO3 12 Apr 1948Corn Exchange, Newbury, England
31Win26–4–1Gene FowlerRTD3, 3:008 Mar 1948Baths Hall, Swindon, England
30Win25–4–1George BarrattKO1 23 Feb 1948Corn Exchange, Newbury, England
29Win24–4–1Jimmy CarrollKO4 17 Feb 1948Assembly Rooms, Tunbridge Wells, England
28Loss23–4–1Reg SpringPTS84 Feb 1948Caledonian Road Baths, London, England
27Draw23–3–1Jimmy CarrollPTS8Jan 12, 1948Town Hall, High Wycombe, England
26Win23–3Reg SpringTKO5 18 Nov 1947Town Hall, High Wycombe, England
25Loss22–3Dave GoodwinRTD7, 3:0011 Aug 1947Drill Hall, Yeovil, EnglandContest was scheduled for 9 rounds as Cockell was under 19 years of age
24Win22–2Reg SpringPTS104 Aug 1947Kettering Cricket Ground, Kettering, England
23Win21–2Trevor BurtTKO10 28 Jul 1947Corn Exchange, Reading, England
22Win20–2Paddy RochePTS821 Jul 1947Grand Pier Pavilion, Weston-super-Mare, England
21Win19–2Arthur SaddPTS67 Jul 1947Corn Exchange, Reading, England
20Win18–2Matt HardyKO7 23 Jun 1947Grand Pier Pavilion, Weston-super-Mare, England
19Win17–2Ronnie CroadKO3 9 Jun 1947Wembley Town Hall, London, England
18Win16–2Harold AnthonyKO4 3 May 1947Corn Exchange, Newbury, England
17Win15–2Harold AnthonyPTS1027 Jan 1946Kettering Baths Hall, Kettering, England
16Win14–2Jimmy CarrollKO5 20 Jan 1947Corn Hall, Cirencester, England
15Loss13–2Jock TaylorKO6 6 Jan 1947Town Hall, High Wycombe, England
14Win13–1Battling Joe IgoTKO4 16 Dec 1946Kettering, Northamptonshire, England
13Win12–1Jimmy CarrollPTS62 Dec 1946Town Hall, High Wycombe, England
12Win11–1Reg SpringPTS1025 Nov 1946Corn Hall, Cirencester, England
11Win10–1Paddy RochePTS1023 Nov 1946Dening's Hangar, Chard, England
10Win9–1Frank JohnsonKO2 4 Nov 1946Epsom Baths, Epsom, England
9Win8–1Harry O'GradyPTS614 Oct 1946Municipal Baths, Epsom, England
8Loss7–1Jock TaylorPTS810 Oct 1946Watford Town Hall, Watford, England
7Win7–0Jimmy SalesKO2 7 Oct 1948Town Hall, High Wycombe, England
6Win6–0Trevor LowderKO3 23 Sep 1946Rugby Co-operative Hall, Rugby, England
5Win5–0Harry LawrenceTKO2 9 Sep 1946Town Hall, High Wycombe, England
4Win4–0Ron BakerKO3 28 Aig 1946Watford Town Hall, Watford, England
3Win3–0Frank BaldwinTKO2 31 Jul 1946Town Hall, High Wycombe, England
2Win2–0Sid WattsTKO1 18 Jul 1946Watford Town Hall, Watford, England
1Win1–0Trevor LowderKO5 26 Jun 1946Town Hall, High Wycombe, England