MOST OFTEN FOUGHT BOUT OF THEM ALL??

Certainly the bout mushroomed all over the place post-Catterick. So Dave's reply is interesting that they only wrestled once a year before then.

I watched Kendo & Howes fight at least three times between thesehtwo both at St James/ City hall Newcastle inclueding a wrestling & judo in the same night.I believe was doing the rounds all about the same time,

Kind regards to all.

Ian P.

In Billy Howes profile in "Billy Riley;The Man,The Legend" it showed him meeting Nagasaki eight times from 1965 to the Catterick bout in July 1971.

Although the book relies on Ray Plunkett's results it is severely flawed on a number of levels so I would suspect there were more bouts than these.

I recall this bout being staple fare at the time. I have written before about an eight man K.O. tournament which Brian Dixon promoted at his home venue of Birkenhead Sports Centre in the mid-seventies which concluded with Nagasaki KO'ing Howes after they had defeated Steve Young (later Skull Murphy) and Jim Moser respectively. For Dixon it had all become a job but this night he was a fan again and was genuinely excited to have secured Howes' services. Just for the record, the other four combatants were Kung Fu (Hamil), Terry Swann, Albert Wall and Johnny Palance (Locke).

Hi Dave

Had Howes v Nagasaki been a frequent bout before Catterick?

As much as Billy Howes was one of my all time favourite wrestlers it would seem that his facing Kendo Nagasaki had become a bit of a fixture.

I was surprised to find that this famous meeting on television (from Catterick) was actually a recording considering the violence incurred but even more so having read Kendo's book which details all the arrangement between the two protagonists.

it should be known that i think nagazaki was over rated, would be interested how many times he wrestled the same wrestler

it should be known that i think nagazaki was over rated, would be interested how many times he wrestled the same wrestler

These often repeated stale matches did as much in their own way as the Crabtree circus to hasten the decline of Professional Wrestling. Very difficult to make a match seem fresh and interesting when you are in your fifties and first went through the routine in your twenties

Even if Ian and Andreas did their bout four times a week for a few years, they wouldn’t near McManus v Colbeck or the other suggestion. I imagine McManus v Colbeck started in the forties. Colbeck hardly wrestled anyone else for Dale Martin. We discovered some McManus v Colbeck feuds where they let it run to four bouts at the same venue over a few months.

It's hard to judge because so many of the independent shows were never recorded. Those in clubs rarely had posters or any kind of advertising. Gone forever.

A bit later on, but Johnny Kidd vs Blondie Barratt (and dating back to John Lowing vs Bob Barratt) must be a contender. I follow a Facebook group that posts British bills "on this day in history" and that match seems to be there most days.

One on Joint that did the rounds a lot around the time I was watching as a punter was Jim Breaks versus Johnny Saint.

My bet has to be my old friends Ian St John (nearly always the same name) vs Andreas Svaijic and don't forget all the other names that he was billed as.

Cheers

Tibor Szakacs v Bruno Elrington seemed to have done the rounds a few times.

Well I was beaten to it by Graham and Ron but it's got to be Ian St John v Andreas Svajic and Pedro v Butcher Goodman. Combinations of Eddie Rose, Ian Wilson, Pete Lindberg would probably be high up there.

I reckon, Main Mask , that Colbeck v McManus and Logan v Kellett were about equal in the sixties and early seventies. But the welterweights had started their run in the late forties and trotted their bout out regularly through the fifties. Has to tilt things their way, I’d say.

McManus vs Colbeck

McManus vs Kwango

Bartelli vs Hussey

Pye vs Benny

McManus v Colbeck, since they were at it for over 25 years. See above poster.

Just like Royal v Logan.

Dave Shade v Catweazle was pretty intense, but the winners will be those who did the biz together over decades.

Nagaski v Bartelli was pretty rampant for about eight years.

Ian St.John versus Andras Swajcsic (Sandor Rosza) must be right up there. I would have thought, on the independent scene, Pedro the Gypsy versus Butcher Goodman , Ian Wilson versus Eddie Rose and "Bronco" Jack Cassidy versus Paul Carpentier would not be far behind.