‘Born With My Fists Closed’ : The Eddie Thomas Story

Champion boxer and world renowned trainer, Merthyr’s Eddie Thomas is a legend of the sport and this is the first biography of the man who is still loved and revered in his home town.

Champion boxer and world renowned trainer, Merthyr’s Eddie Thomas is a legend of the sport and this is the first biography of the man who is still loved and revered in his home town. Born into poverty in Merthyr Tydfil, Thomas began working as a miner but became an boxing sensation, winning the Welsh (1948), British (1949), Empire and European (1951) welterweight championships. Now the number one contender for the world championship, Thomas was denied a shot at title holder Sugar Ray Robinson, due to boxing politics. After retirement in 1954, Thomas established the Dowlais Boxing Club and became a celebrated and highly successful trainer and manager who guided local boy Howard Winstone (1968, featherweight) and Scotsman Ken Buchanan (1970, lightweight) to world championships. The first British manager to have two world champions, Swansea’s Colin Jones (welterweight), already an  Olympic gold medal winner, almost made it an      astonishing three world crowns for Thomas but drew one world title fight and lost another on a split-decision in 1983.