While there have been a number of outstanding New Zealand boxers win the Welterweight National title -  it is a no contest, when it comes to the boxer to head the list of the country’s best performed welterweight.

In 1928, Ted Morgan was half of the two-man boxing team selected for the Amsterdam Olympics, along with fellow Wellingtonian Alf Cleverly. Morgan was the current New Zealand lightweight champion and Cleverley had taken the light heavyweight title at the 1927 nationals.

Ted Morgan was a pupil of Ted Tracy, in his old Willis Street gymnasium. When Morgan received the nomination from the selectors for the Olympics, he had lost just two of his twenty-four bouts, to Jack Rodds of Blenheim, which he reversed in their further four fights, and to Harold Kindley from Otago.

The Olympic team arrived in England, five weeks after departing on the SS Remuera. Not for them the comfort of a twenty four-hour flight of today, but five weeks at sea where fitness had to be maintained, in far from suitable training conditions. Disaster struck the future Olympic champion on arrival when he dislocated the first knuckle of his right hand in a sparring session.

A further problem, was the increased weight that Ted had gained on the sea voyage and which forced him to fight in the welterweight division, rather than his customary lightweight class. A Swede by the name of Johanson was the New Zealand boxer’s first victory and after he defeated the Frenchman Calataud, the expectations of a gold medal rose markedly.

After the second fight, a leading British boxing journalist wrote “The best amongst the British Empire contingent is the New Zealander Morgan who is competing in the welterweight division. He knows how to use both hands and hits hard with a minimum of effort. His right bursts holes in the defence of his opponents, who also suffer from vicious jabs to the jaw. Morgan is one of the best boxer-fighters, if not the best, participating”.

The 21 year old apprentice plumber went on to outbox Canovan of Italy and in the final, Landini, an Argentinean knockout specialist. The final victory gave New Zealand its first Olympic Gold Medal.

An interesting fact, is that Ted Morgan never won a New Zealand Boxing Association welterweight title, with his sole national amateur (lightweight) title coming in 1927. However Morgan did win the countries professional welterweight belt, beating Reg Trowern (Auckland) in the second stanza during 1931, before losing the professional 10 stone 7lb title to Don Stirling (Oamaru) three years later.

Wally Coe is entitled to be ranked as one of the all-time greats of the amateur game in our country, since Dick Mayze won the first Welterweight title, at the 1908 New Zealand Boxing Association National Championships.

Trained by his uncle, the legendary Dick Dunn, the Hutt Valley pugilist swept all before him during the sixties. Wally was never a pretty boxer but was a thoroughly effective and skilled tradesman.

Wally Coe won the New Zealand Welterweight title six years in succession starting at Timaru in 1959, with the Jameson Belt an added extra in 1963. Wally won the Jameson Cup awarded by the Wellington association to the most scientific boxer at the Wellington championships so often, that it became his permanent property.

His record in international competition was outstanding. In 1959 he beat the New South Welshmen, Bob Jackson and Bob McLaughlin, then in 1960 he defeated fellow Australians Jimmy Kewin, Johnny Fitzpatrick and Jimmy Whyte (for the Australasian title). During 1961 he defeated Sammy Calabrese twice, with the second win retaining the Australasian championship.

The climax of the Wally Coe career was undoubtedly the gold medal victory at the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games. Victory over Muhammad Sharif (Pakistan) was followed by his defeat of Charlie Rice (Northern Ireland), in the semi-finals. The final with Johnny Pritchard (England) was considered by Brian O’Brien, one of the three best contests he ever witnessed.

It was 21 years after Jack O’Sullivan had the first Jameson Belt wrapped around his waist -  before a welterweight boxer, added the prestigious prize to his national title. The 1948 Dunedin Nationals saw Hawkes Bay’s Jimmy McIvor win the most scientific senior boxer trophy. McIvor who was trained by Keith Fitzwater, defeated Brian Griffin from Wellington in the title decider, before going on to win back to back welterweight crowns, after getting past Jack Grant from Ashburton at the Wellington National championships the following year.

The 1951 New Zealand amateur titles fought out in Palmerston North brought double celebration for Billy Beazley, who would go on to become a hard-as-nails professional boxer. Victory over Southlands Con Lloyd and the Jameson Belt completed a memorable nationals for the Wellington boxer.

In the paid to punch ranks, Beazley would meet some of the real tough nuts of the time, in South African champion Mike Holt, Kiwi British Empire title winner Tuna Scanlan and tough as teak Aussie Ray Richards, in a 23 fight professional career.

New Zealand welterweight champions who earned New Zealand Olympic Games selection in the first half of the twentieth century - were Bert Lowe who lost to a German opponent at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, Tommy Abuthnott at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936 and Graham Finlay who went down on points to Australian Kevin Hogarth at the 1956 Olympic event in Melbourne.

Article added: Tuesday 22 September 2020