Bill Ellis

Countries of origin were very fluid in these European tournaments.Mick McMicheal was also billed from Scotland and wore a kilt when referring.

I've had another, and probably final look. Like Ron I'm convinced that although Bill Ellis was Morgan Ellis the much lighter Ellis Morgan was a different wrestler. As such a huge amount of the independent records have disappeared I would not want to be disparaging of one of their workers but Bill Ellis/Morgan Ellis does seem to have made a fleeting encounter with wrestling. Wrestling Josef Kovacs in Vienna must have been a highlight. Otherwise cashed in with a few boxer v wrestler matches against Don Stedman and then a few conventional matches before getting a proper job.

Any relatives out there please get in touch.

I overlooked this boxer because I thought your original post cutting said he retired in 1961. Now looking at the original I think it may well say 1951.

If so, this is our man. But 40 professional fights seems a nonsense.

www.boxinghistory.org.uk says Bill Ellis (West Ham) was a professional boxer who was active between 1950 and 1951 and took part in 7 professional contests. We can't see those seven matches unless we hand over the dosh.

www.boxrec.com is more generous, our sort of people. They list six matches (your first Con Young match is the one they are missing). A debut in a Harringay Novice tournament on 17th October, 1950, winning his quarter final match and losing the semi final. That debut win was start of the downhill slide, ending with the knock out loss against Con Young on 27th September, 1951.

I can see Bill Ellis as an Amateur early in 1950 and can pick up two fights he had with Con Young who started his career with at least 9 straight wins at heavyweight.

I've had another look at this fella. The reference to the Youth Club seem to be confirmed by another repor. The First Feathers was at Kensal House in Ladbroke Grove and there are reports of vandalism in 1965. In November it was said that Bill Ellis, who had been with the club for a bout six weeks, had been visiting local coffee bars to talk to youngsters about what they wanted from the club.

Another article in February pays tribute to Bill Ellis. It again states he is a former pro boxer and wrestler, and that he had previously worked in Stamford House Remand Home. He is said to be a speaker of Arabic, French, German, Hebrew , Italian and Spanish.

In August 1966 there is a report of club members decorating the club. Reference is again made to Bill Ellis, and this article also reports that he wrestled under the name Morgan Ellis. It also said that Bill planned to return to wrestling on a part time basis early in 1967.

So it seems that Bill Ellis was a wrestler, and did use the name Morgan Ellis.

Although it's very tempting to think Morgan Ellis and Ellis Morgan were one and the same there are reasons to think this was no so. Wrestling around the same time Ellis Morgan wrestles much lighter men, sometimes billed as lightweight champion of Wales and wrestles mostly in the north of England.

The pro boxing credentials of Bill Ellis/Morgan Ellis are also more difficult to establish as he is recorded in the records of neither www.boxinghistory.org.uk or www.boxrec.com

Bill Ellis wrestled as Morgan Ellis and I assume the name was switched at times to Ellis Morgan. Or am I wrong and Morgan Ellis /Ellis Morgan are two different people

Our A-Z makes the connection that the name Johnny Buller was also used , but we did not have the connection to the name Bill Ellis.

Looks like an amendment/clarification is needed Hack.

Ellis Morgan looks to be a much lighter man than Morgan Ellis , but both seem to be Welsh.

Looks like they took this boxer / wrestler bout from town to town using Docker Don.