Winstone the Welsh Wizard

There is no doubt that Howard Winstone ranks with the very best of the post war boxers produced in the UK. During his career he won the WBC world, European and British featherweight titles. A remarkable achievement by any stretch of the imagination, even more so when you consider that Winstone had lost the tips of three of his fingers on his right hand in an accident at work. This injury would have been a bad setback and an obvious game changer for anyone no matter what profession they were in and surely you would think more so for a young promising boxer. A lesser man would have given up on the sport and walked away. However, Winstone did not give up and now not being able to rely on his right hand developed his left jab making it one of the finest weapons in the game.

Howard was born on the 15th of April 1939 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales and had a successful amateur career which saw him capture both the Amateur Boxing Associations bantamweight crown and the Empire (now Commonwealth games) gold medal in 1958. Winstone eventually turned his sights to the professional ranks with fellow Welshman Eddie Thomas a former British, European and Empire welterweight title holder becoming his manager.

Howard had his first professional bout on the 24th of February 1959 at Wembley Stadium in London a contest he won on points over six rounds against Billy Graydon. It was evident from the performance that Winstone was a boxer with a big future ahead of him. That same year the Welsh Wizard kept busy having a further nine bouts winning them all in impressive style.

The British crown was soon in Winstone’s sights. A championship held by Terry Spinks, a man who had captured the hearts of the Nation when he won the

By Ralph Oates

gold medal at flyweight at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. The meeting for the championship was set for the 2nd of May 1961 at the Empire Pool, Wembley in London. On the night Howard proved to be the better man and produced a brilliant display of boxing to take the title from Spinks who retired in round 10 of a scheduled 15.

On the 7th of September 1965 Howard, who now also held the European title and had a record of 55 bouts with just two defeats, stepped into the ring in London to face his most formidable opponent to date; Vicente Saldivar. The defending undisputed world featherweight champion was a man who was already being spoken of by those who knew the sport as an outstanding fighter, a title holder whose name could be ranked with the greats the division had produced over the years. Saldivar boasted a record of 29 bouts with just one defeat,

this was not going to be an easy night for Howard against an outstanding king of the division. The fight proved to be a tough bruising contest which went the full distance of 15 rounds with both champion and challenger digging down deep to secure a win. After the final bell had sounded to end the battle the right hand of Saldivar was lifted in victory. Winstone had failed to bring the world crown to British shores, but such was his showing against the southpaw champion, his reputation grew even in defeat proving that he belonged to be amongst the top elite featherweights at that time. Clearly another crack at the title was more than possible for the Welsh Wizard in the future, it was now a matter of putting a few more wins on the record to get back into contention.

A second crack at Saldivar presented itself on the 15th of June 1967 at Ninian Park, Cardiff. This was the moment of truth for Howard; could he gain revenge over Saldivar and take the championship? Since they last exchanged punches, Saldivar had successfully defended the crown three times impressively. While the champion was the favourite to retain his crown, there were many who felt that Winstone had learnt a great deal from their first meeting and had the skills to take the crown. Winstone showed his classy skills in the early stages giving a brilliant display of boxing against the ever-advancing champion. The fight was evenly balanced and there was growing speculation amongst the fans that the home hero just might have done enough to snatch the crown. Their hopes were dashed when at the end of the final round the Mexican was declared the winner and still champion of the world. Both challenger and title holder had given their everything in this magnificent contest pushing themselves to the very limit of their endurance. The two fighters received much praise from the boxing press worldwide. Winstone could hold his head up high for his truly magnificent effort against Saldivar. At that moment in time, it looked as if Winstone’s dream of becoming a world title holder had come to a finish and that his future would be confined to the European and British circuit. However, following his outstanding performance Against Saldivar, the Welshman was given yet another chance at the championship. 1967 and the meeting would take place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. If the Welshman could not defeat the champion on home ground what chance did he have in the Mexican’s own backyard? Winstone not only had Saldivar to contend with, but he also had to get acclimatised to the high altitude of the country - no easy task.

The smart money was on the champion once again; all the odds favoured the title staying in Mexico. Yet at the start of this contest the Welshman looked most confident moving around the ring smoothly out boxing the champion using his left jab to fine purchase, time and time again it found its target sending a spray of sweat from the Mexican’s face. Saldivar was unable to pin his man down missing with a number of his punches. It was looking good for Winstone, was it possible that an upset was to take place and it was going to be third time lucky for the challenger? It certainly would prove to be ironic if Winstone could win the crown away from home after failing twice in the UK. The twelfth round put pay to any such notions Saldivar was starting to catch up with Winstone, closing down the distance and landing frequently with his shots. The Welshman was now very tired from his earlier efforts. The ever-advancing Mexican title holder connected with a solid blow sending Winstone to the canvas for a count. After getting to his feet, Howard who was clearly shaken, walked into another attack, and was taking further punishment from a champion who knew he was now very close to winning and retaining the crown. Saldivar was determined to end the bout in that stanza, Winstone’s corner had seen enough and made the right decision by throwing in the towel to end the contest in round 12. It was heartbreaking, but as before Winstone gave his all, he could do no more against a fine champion whom he pushed all the way. The world title aspirations seemed to be over for the Welshman. Winstone wasn’t the first excellent fighter in boxing history not to hold a world crown and he wouldn’t be the last. At that moment it looked as if Howard’s boxing career was well and truly over, where could he go from here?

Saldivar then surprised the boxing world when he announced his retirement from the sport. The WBC later matched Howard with Japan’s Mitsunori Seki for their version of the championship. Seki was

a talented southpaw who had a record of 72 fights winning 61, losing 10 and drawing one and like Winstone had chased a world title dream for a number of years, with every effort ending in failure. The two boxers stepped into the ring at the Royal Albert Hall on the 23rd of January 1968. This time Howard was the favourite to win the general view being that at last he would claim a world title. Seki gave Winstone a number of problems before the fight came to an end in round nine of fifteen when the referee stepped in to stop the contest in Howard’s favour with Seki being badly cut over the right eye. At long last, Howard Winstone was a world featherweight champion.

The WBC later ordered Winstone to make his first defence against Jose Legra, a Cuban born Spanish resident. Howard was no stranger to Legra, a talented boxer whom he had once outpointed in a difficult bout over 10 rounds in 1965. Since that time Legra had gone from strength to strength, fighting his way into the world ten.

While waiting for this bout to take place, Winstone was able to squeeze in a 10 round nontitle bout against London boxer Jimmy Anderson, the reigning British super featherweight champion, on the 9th of April 1968 at the Empire Pool, Wembley. Howard won on points after being given a difficult time by his opponent. It appeared based on this performance that the Welshman’s best days were behind him. Howard was still a class act but at 29 years of age with 66 fights behind him, the cracks were now starting to show.

On the 24th of July 1968 the day of reckoning had arrived; Winstone’s first defence of the world title which he had fought so hard to win was on the line. The challenger Jose Legra brought into the ring a reported record of 111 fights of which he had won 102 lost five and drew four.

The contest was staged at Coney Beach area in Porthcawl. Even in front of his home fans, Howard was considered the underdog. Winstone’s skills had deteriorated while the ever confident Legra was at his peak and hungry for the title. The first round was not a good one for Winstone who was floored twice by his challenger, sadly this was not the Winstone of old, he who was now slower and less agile. Legra could sense that victory was within his grasp and continued his assault on the defending title holder, each blow he struck took him closer to the championship. Howard who was never short of heart lasted out the round but went back to his corner with his left eye shut. Howard’s chances of retaining the crown looked slim, in fact it looked impossible, especially with the damaged eye. Every effort was made by Winstone’s manager Eddie Thomas to reduce the swelling but to no avail. In the fifth round of a scheduled 15 the referee stepped in to stop the bout, it was all over; Jose Legra was the new WBC world featherweight champion. Winstone had clearly thrown his last punch in the professional ring.

Howard Winstone who left the sport with respect and a record of 67 bouts with just six defeats was proudly honoured in the Queen’s Birthday list with a well-deserved MBE in 1968. Sadly Winstone died at the age of 61 in the year 2000 but his memory lingers on and will not be forgotten. Howard showed that despite the knock-backs in life you can succeed. A man boxing can be truly proud of.

A bronze statue was unveiled of Howard in his hometown of Merthyr Tydfil in 2001 and in 2010 a film was made based on the life of the Welshman titled Risen.