Brian London

Brian London, is a retired English heavyweight boxer. He was British and Commonwealth Heavyweight champion from 1958 to 1959, and twice challenged for the world heavyweight title, losing to Floyd Patterson in 1959 and Muhammad Ali in 1966. He was one of a quartet of British boxers, with Henry Cooper, Joe Erskine and Dick Richardson, who dominated the British boxing scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

London was born in West Hartlepool, County Durham, in 1934, and moved to Blackpool when he wasyears old, where he has lived ever since. His father, Jack London, beat Freddie Mills in 1944 to win the British heavyweight title. He also had a brother, Jack junior, who fought as a lightheavyweight. London fought as an amateur before turning professional in 1955. He made a good start to his career, winning his first twelve bouts, until he came up against Henry Cooper in May 1956. Cooper stopped him with a technical knockout in the first round. Following this defeat, London continued his winning run, apart from two tenround point defeats, against Heinz Neuhaus in Dortmund, in 1957 and against the talented American, Willie Pastrano in February 1958.

Source: Wikipedia