Alan Rudkin

by Ralph Oates

came into the world on the 18th of November 1941 and was brought up in Dingle, Liverpool.

Rudkin had three attempts at winning world honours each time against outstanding champions. To make his task even harder was the fact that he had to venture into the title holder’s country. In truth Rudkin never had it easy in his championship bids. Rudkin’s challenges could rightfully be labelled a mission impossible. It would be true to say that lesser men than Rudkin had won a world title during their careers. It isn’t always about talent; it’s about getting the breaks and being in the right place at the right time.

Boxing fans will recognise the name Alan Rudkin, a fighter from Liverpool who was a world class bantamweight fighter who during his career won the British, European and Commonwealth titles. The said list of titles held by Rudkin more than confirmed that he had a very successful professional career. However the championship which Rudkin strongly desired was the one which eluded him the world title. It seemed that the Liverpool fighter was not fated to add the global crown to his name try as he may. Now you may wonder why is Rudkin, a fighter from Liverpool, mentioned in this column? Well, he is given a mention because he was actually born in Wales. This situation came about when Rudkin’s pregnant Mother was evacuated from Liverpool during the course of the second world war. Rudkin

Rudkin’s first attempt to win the title took place on the 30th of November 1965 against the reigning title holder Fighting Harada at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. Rudkin was considered the underdog in the contest, and it was viewed that he would leave the land of the rising sun a well beaten fighter. This was understandable since Harada was one tough fighter who’s experience far exceeded that of his opponent. It looked as if it was a case of putting the student in with the master and rarely does the student get the better of the master if at all. However the British challenger was not fazed by the champion and surprised many by pushing the Japanese fighter hard and did not look out of his league in his title bid. Rudkin lost a 15 round points decision but in so doing received a great deal of praise for his impressive showing in the contest. Harada was also a former world flyweight king.

After rebuilding by getting more solid victories under his belt Rudkin was given another shot at the title. Once again Rudkin had to pack his suitcase and get his passport ready to travel. This time the destination was Australia where he crossed gloves with the then champion Lionel Rose at the Kooyong Tennis Stadium in Melbourne. The bout took place on the 8th of March 1969. Rose was a clever boxer who had produced the goods to take the title from Fighting Harada on the 27th of February 1968 with a shock 15 round points victory at the Nippon Budokan. Rose was no easy touch and was not likely to surrender his crown easily to the visitor from the UK. Some boxing pundits were optimistic about Rudkin’s trip down under feeling that this time his efforts may well prove successful since he had the boxing skills to topple the champion by outpointing him over the scheduled 15 rounds. Rudkin performed well, often giving the champion a few worrying moments during the exciting encounter. Rose however proved to be a worthy title holder and much to the disappointment of UK fans hung on to his crown with a points decision and won the Briton’s Commonwealth title which at the time was also on the line.

A third opportunity to win the crown if indeed it could be called an opportunity took place on the 12th of December 1969 when Rudkin met Mexico’s Ruben Olivares. The champion was a powerhouse with fearful punching ability. The contest took place at the Forum Inglewood in California, USA. It’s often said that three’s a charm. Meeting the Mexican was in no way a charm. Olivares had ripped the championship from Lionel Rose with a devastating display stopping the Australian in five rounds of a slated 15 on the 22nd of August 1969 at the Forum, an arena where Olivares was well at home. It was clear from the first bell that Rose was not going to last the distance with his challenger and would be going home to Australia without his title.

So the stage was set, Olivares form was well known he was a destroyer in the ring and considered to be very special - a potential great. No one tipped Rudkin to win, let alone last the full 15 rounds against the Mexican champion. The pessimism proved to be more than correct when the Briton was easily stopped in two rounds by the powerful Olivares who’s heavy punching brought a halt to his challenge.

On the 25th of January 1972 Rudkin had his last professional fight against Johnny Clark who was a young dangerous opponent. (In his previous contest Rudkin had lost his European crown when outpointed by Spain’s Agustin Senin by a points decision over 15 rounds). It was wondered by many if Clark, who had lost in his last attempt to win the British and Commonwealth crowns from Rudkin on the 21st of April 1970 by a stoppage in round 12, would now get his revenge and defeat Rudkin. However after a hard fought 15 rounds which had the fans on the edge of their seats with excitement, the Liverpool boxer did enough to retain his titles on points, the venue being the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London. Rudkin thus bowed from boxing out on a winning note against Clark, a very good competitor who had no quit in him.

During his paid career in the ring Alan had an impressive record of 50 contests; winning 42 and losing 8. Rudkin was a well-respected fighter who served boxing well during his time in the ring. Rudkin was awarded the MBE in 1973, an honour he richly deserved. Alan sadly passed away on the 22nd of September 2010 at the age of 68 years.

Had Alan Rudkin been boxing in another era it is more than possible that he would have captured a world title.

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Rhagfyr 10 December 2022 Ebrill 16 April 2023