I guess it's a case of being old enough , but Brian London was a massive name in British boxing. Battled with Our Henry Cooper and even fought Muhammed Ali.
So he is at Belle Vue on a Monday night in 1961 , big fight with Billy Hunter of USA. A brutal contest with Hunter stopped in the 8th round , bludgeoned to bits.
So what does a famous boxer do afterwards. He has a night out in Hulme's Russell club. How would he know about it.
Maybe from Jack Pye who also lived in Blackpool.
He gets a thanks from the Russel club on the Thursday , overshadowing the Evenings Wrestling Bill.
But also look at the bottom of the Belle Vue advert and you could get tickets from two other Wrestling venues. Princess Theatre Club in Chorlton and The Russels Club's rival , The Luxor Club.
All these parallels with wrestling alongside boxing.
Just makes me realise what a business brain Mick McManus must have had. This was a well thought out and long-term sixties marketing strategy. So many wrestling details, tiny things, finely tuned to mirror boxing and enhance credibility. Gowns, seconds, posters, national anthems, flags, rounds, programmes, RSF, checking feet and hands ....
Even now, any such bold marketing strategy demands discipline all the way through (or down...) the production line. Which created some friction, but far less that could be imagined.
These wrestling-boxing parallels seemed rooted in the South,