By Eion Jardine
Out of London’s drab docklands, emerged a dusky boxer with a Joe Louis punch who was to make British Ring History and embroil the Empire in a bitter controversy over colour.
That boxer was Guyana-born featherweight Clifford Matthew Anderson.
Anderson had battered nine British Empire, European and World Champions for knockout wins but never had a British national title.
There are many theories for this but some believed at the time that this was because of the colour of his skin.
Born on October 22 1921, Cliff started boxing in New Amsterdam, Berbice.
His father was a stevedore and Cliff wanted to be a boxer ever since he was a schoolboy.
He would hang around the gyms to watch the older boys train and often got into street fights.
It was then that he found out that he packed a mean wallop and by the time he was 18-years-old, Cliff had fought his way out of the amateur ranks to become a leading professional boxer.
When the war broke out Cliff put away his boxing gloves but his fists stayed on a shovel in the bowels of a merchant ship.
For three years on arriving in England, Cliff continued to serve in the British Merchant Navy until the cessation of hostilities in 1945.
But before turning in his seaman’s card and duffel bag, he decided to take in some of the sights of a Mother Country slowly recovering from the ravages of Adolf Hitler’s blitz.
When our hero left these shores he had had five amateur and nine professional fights to his credit.
But the time spent at sea failed to dull his enthusiasm for mainly sport of self defence and he decided to have a shot.
Bitten by the boxing bug, he joined Bill Cline’s boxing gym in London’s West End, There he met `Tootie Green’ a Guyanese whom he met when Green once brought a British boxer, Tommy Martin to Guyana to fight `Young’ Jack Johnson in 1939.
Martin was the Empire light heavyweight champion at the time.
Green introduced the eager Anderson to John Harding of the Greensbury All Service Club who eventually took over Anderson’s management and training.
Cliff had some 20 fights in the club. His first bout, an exhibition was on a boxing show organised by the Red Cross.
He was matched with Phil Freeman, whom he defeated in three rounds in 1945.
Cliff decided to try his luck in the big time. He had his first fight at the Greensbury Club on
June 12 1945 and made light work of Billy Worthington knocking him out in the first round.
Cliff went steaming ahead. He got his real break on April 23, 1946 at the Royal Albert Hall where he matched gloves with Theo Medina. In the pre-fight build-up, the Guyanese was given little chance against the Frenchman.
But Anderson took a 10-round decision in convincing manner.
After this fight, Anderson was in demand and was becoming a big star.
He was then pitted against Jackie Patterson, the reigning World and British Empire bantamweight champion in a non-title fight on January 3, 1947 at the Royal Albert Hall. Anderson knocked down Patterson twice in round one and through the ropes in round three. The gladiator easily outpointed his opponent over eight rounds.
Fortunately the fight was broadcast and Cliff was in the spotlight as BBC’s commentator Raymond Glendenning described his victory in glowing terms and in the process labeled Cliff as the `Black Panther’.
Doubts about Anderson’s ability was soon dispelled when, on March 18, 1947 for the vacant Empire featherweight title, he lost on a decision which resulted in a worldwide controversy.
He had trounced the ‘Aldgate Tiger’ Al Phillips, knocking him down four times in the fourth round but police had to be called to prevent a riot when fans heard the verdict by the referee.
The Labour government’s colonial secretary Arthur Greech-Jones was called to the floor of the House of Commerce to denounce Britian’s ring colour bias after the fight.
Popular pressure brought a rematch on July 1, 1947 but again Cliff was cheated out of victory. Altough he floored Phillips five times before round six with some body blows and Phillips was also down in the sixth round, Anderson, driving into the body in the eight round, moved in for the kill and aimed a right to Phillips’s mid section to finish him off but the Aldgate Tiger saw the punch coming and deliberately turned his body taking the blow in the region of the kidney and went down. Anderson tried to assist Phillips to rise from the canvas when the referee ordered him to his corner and awarded the fight to Phillips. As he left the ring, he said…”It breaks my heart to lose a fight like that.”
Other boxers he had defeated were Gus Foran, Mickey Colbert, Bun Bun Oriental of Cuba and Tommy Mandine.
He also won his first bout in the USA defeating Red Tap Davis on points.
After losing his fight to Phillips, Cliff was given a rousing welcome back home. The crowd took off his shirt for a souvenir and he was later presented with a gold belt made by a Guyanese Percy King. In a short speech he said that he was proud and happy to be back home. He added:”When I am fighting, I mean business, I mean to go all out and fight not only for myself but for all the people of British Guiana.
This outstanding pugilist retired in 1954 after spending nearly 14 years working and boxing in England.
He returned home permanently in1974 where he was greeted by Joseph `Reds’ Perreira, who was attached to the National Sports Development Council (NSDC).
His return was fittingly facilitated by the efforts of the then Minister of Sports, the honorary Shirley Field Ridley, who also appointed him a boxing coach with the NSDC, a position he held until 1991.
This boxing stalwart also formed the Cliff Anderson Boxing Gym in 1976 which produced outstanding fighters like Michael Benjamin, Anthony `The Pearl’ Andrews, and Gordon and Dillon Carew, the only Guyanese brothers to represent this country at the Olympics.
Anderson also took a course of boxing for sport coaches and physical education, Professors of America in Mexico City from August to September of 1976. He was awarded the Medal of Service in 1987 by the Government of Guyan.
The sports hall, which is named after him, was re-opened on December 5, 1997 in a simple ceremony witnessed by then president the honourable Janet Jagan, and other government ministers including then Minister of Sport Dr. Dale Bisnauth and Michael Parris, Guyana’s only Olympic boxing medal winner.
Before Cliff died he passed his golden touch to his successor Lennox `Cappel’ Daniels.
Anderson, who was blind, died at approximately 02.35 hours on December 2, 1998 at the Davis Memorial Hospital. He was 77 years old.
So long Black Panther. Oh he’s a jolly good fellow.