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BREAKING BOUNDARIES: Maurice Hope in action against Rocky Mattioli in 1980

NOT A day seems to go by without reference to the world of boxing.

The heavyweight scene generates many column inches in this publication with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury making the headlines.

Some 40 years ago there was no such microscopic intrusion as Antigua-born Maurice Hope took on the world and won.

Hope was to make east London his home and during his second bid for a light-middleweight world title on March 4, 1979 he faced the then WBC world champion Rocky Mattioli in Sanremo, Italy.

Hope fulfilled his dream by knocking Mattioli out in the ninth round.

On September 25, he defended the WBC world title for the first time, knocking out Mike Baker in the seventh round, at London.

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His second defence, on June 12, 1980, was a rematch with Mattioli. This time, they fought at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, and Hope repeated his previous win, but with an 11th round technical knockout instead.

Now Al Hamilton, the doyen of black sports journalists in England, has paid homage to his friend’s career with the wish that the current generation of sports stars appreciate the pioneering path paved by Hope and others.

Hamilton told the Voice of Sport: “I met Maurice (Mo) through my connection with Frankie Lucas [who won the gold medal at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games for St Vincent and the Grenadines].

“Mo was a very quiet man. However, he was very, very aware of his blackness and very conscious of his race.”

Hope, who competed at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, never got the praise he was due, but he set a standard for black boxers on these shores.

Hamilton added: “What a lot of people don’t realise is just how good a boxer he was. During the ‘70s and ‘80s you had to be good, there was no hiding place.

“As a black boxer coming through you wouldn’t get the soft touches that some promoter’s provide today.

“Mo had to fight good fighters. Back then it was a case of sink or swim.

“On the world stage he would be way down because he fought in an era when you had people like Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Wilfredo Benitez.”

RECOGNITION
He added: “But from [a] British standpoint, he was the first migrant to win a world title in this country, which is no mean feat. He never got the recognition he deserved.

“Some of the modern day sports fraternity seem to have forgotten his legacy and the efforts of others.

“They should be reminded that on the shoulders of individuals like Maurice Hope they now ride high.”

While reflecting on the past, Hamilton, who wrote for the The Gleaner, Caribbean Times and others, was also fulsome in his praise of Liverpool’s John Conteh who held the WBC light-heavyweight title from 1974 to 1978.

Hamilton, who was instrumental in Frank Bruno’s early career, confessed: “Conteh was the man that had the profile back then. I’ve never seen as many pretty women in a boxing gymnasium but that’s the charisma that John had. He had star appeal, no ifs or buts about it. He was a handsome man with a superb physique.”

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It was not just in boxing that the black community was finding its heroes 40 years ago.

Hamilton, the founder of the visionary Commonwealth Sports Awards, added: “In terms of football, Justin Fashanu [the first black £1million player] was the man.

“Add Viv Anderson, the first black man to play for the senior England football team, and John Barnes’ £900,000 move from Watford to mighty Liverpool and football was now truly beginning to get the community’s attention.

“All the guys I’ve talked about provided monumental moments for a community that was somewhat stunted by the negative race climate at the time.”

Members of the all-conquering West Indies team were also to ply their trade in the United Kingdom during the ‘70s and ‘80s. The likes of inspirational captain Clive Lloyd, Courtney Walsh, Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Sir Viv Richards all benefitted from the English county system.

MYTHS
“What the West Indies achieved, and the players who played for the various counties did, was dispel some of the myths about our cricketers and sports people in general,” said Hamilton.

“Their success meant that the average man and woman working on the buses, Post Office, hospitals and factories, could push their chests out with pride. They all proved that if you black you were not inferior.”

Of today’s crop of sports stars, Hamilton has an admiration for compatriot Raheem Sterling. He said of the Manchester City and England ace: “I have a lot of time for the likes of Raheem Sterling and I have seen how he’s conducting his life which is admirable.”

But not all of today’s modern sporting generation get a tick in the box.

“What I feel is lacking with a lot of the current sports fraternity is that they seem to be very strong on pounds and weak on legacy. I don’t see too many of them taking the opportunity to remind the bigots of their actions.”