Bissell, Ron – The fighting bantam

Ronald Bissell (1924- ?)

BORN in Rotherham, Ron Bissell never considered boxing a dangerous sport. When he lived in Grantham he maintained the most hazardous part of his career was driving to Bingham ABC where he was a coach.

He began his professional career as an 11-year-old, a year after his father bought a punchbag for Ron and his brother.

In 1935, he was joined by Billy Thompson, the future European Lightweight champion and other youngsters, to give exhibition fights at working men’s clubs around the Rotherham area.

They’d have one three-found fight at noon at one club and a second elsewhere at 2pm.

He retained the excise book showing how he was paid 6d for fighting Cadman and later that year a whole five shillings (25p) for fighting his brother Jack.

After 48 exhibitions, he took the sport more seriously, with 173 fights, losing only 14 and winning 36 inside the distance.

He took an apprenticeship in building, as a stand-by after leaving the sport.

He won the Northern Counties ABA bantamweight title for five consecutive years, and once took the ABA title before joining the RAF.

His penultimate amateur fight was at RAF Spitalgate, against Tommy Proffitt who went on to take the British featherweight title.

On demob, he turned to the professional code, losing his first fight to Peter Kane.

Of 47 professional fights, he won 23, 19 per cent by knockouts.

A cut eye in 1950 made his quit the sport for coaching.

He returned to building in Rotherham and in 1968 moved to Grantham as foreman with Pumfrey Construction.

He was clerk of the works for the building of Grantham Hospital’s Maternity wing and continued to work for the health authority until retirement in 1988.

He was a coach for many years with Bingham ABC.