Boxer Jimmy Revie battled long and hard in the ring to clinch the UK Featherweight and Commonwealth Champion titles.
But little did he know that decades later, after hanging up his gloves, his real fight would begin.
Victorious – Jimmy Revie – British featherweight champ
The veteran 79-year-old sportsman passed away from Alzheimer’s earlier this month after being diagnosed with the incurable disease four years ago.
It would seem that years of being brutally battered on the ropes with little or no protection had taken its toll.
But unlike other tough competitive sports, like horse racing and football, there’s no aftercare provision for fighters in their latter years.
His widow Louisa, 69, speaking from her Strood home, said: “They are like old greyhounds, just left out to graze.
“They’ve made their money for promoters and are then discarded.”
And this is the motive for Louisa championing the causes of Ringside Charitable Trust, a charity formed to provide financial aid, mental health support and a dedicated helpline for ex-professional boxers.
Its long-term project is to build a 36-bed residential care home specifically tailored for the needs of former boxers who are highly likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Louisa told KentOnline: “If you go to a care home, you just get turned away.
“If you say you’re an ex-boxer, they just don’t want to know.
“We know of some boxers who have been refused 14 times because they think they will be too aggressive and demand specialist care.”
Jimmy Revie wins a coveted place in The British Boxing Hall of Fame with daughter Karen, wife Louisa an boxer Terry Waller
These days the boxing world is a far cry from Jimmy’s heyday in the 60s and early 70s when he’d be lucky to get a couple of thousand quid for a fight.
Today, the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez command millions of pounds performing at sell-out venues and attracting global audiences.
Born in Southwark, central London, Jimmy started his 16-year boxing career when he was 10, winning amateur titles at an academy in Brixton.
Hailed as “London’s brilliant KO specialist”, he turned professional in 1966, holding the UK featherweight title between 1969 and 1971.
Louisa and Jimmy tie the knot in March 1984
Jimmy was introduced to his wife-to-be by his trainer, and they were married six months later in Brixton Register Office, Louisa describing it as “the happiest day of my life”.
They moved to Medway after their daughter Karen was born because living in a one-bedroom flat on the 19th floor of a tower block in Kennnington was “not ideal”.
Jimmy worked as a printer for the Daily Telegraph in Fleet Street, and Louisa got a job at The Jubilee pub in Darnley Road, Strood.
After leaving the print, Jimmy worked for Terry Allen Funeral Service in Strood and devoted most of his time to his close-knit family and his beloved dog, an Akita cross German Shepherd.
Louisa said: “He was a lovable character, lived for his family, and he liked a party.
Family man – Jimmy Revie with his grandchildren Dan and Holly
“He put everything into his fighting because he knew people had paid to see him.”
Apart from suffering from COPD, Jimmy was a healthy man, looking after himself until he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019.
After surgery he recovered, but Louisa said signs of forgetfulness started to creep in and last year he had a nasty fall on the stairs at his home.
Portrait of the knockout featherweight champ, Jimmy Revie
Jimmy was reluctant to go into care, and anyway the only residences offered to him were in Uckfield and Eastbourne, impractical for Louisa who doesn’t drive.
Instead she started to take him to monthly meetings held by the Ringside Charitable Trust in Hastings.
She said: “He loved it, he came alive at those meetings
“It was like an old boys’ club to him. If you’re in a care home, you’re sitting with people who don’t know about boxing.
“There would be nothing to stimulate him.”
The charity raised money to buy him a stair lift to make life easier at the family home off Darnley Road.
Trio of champs – fellow featherweight Barry McGuigan,(centre), Jimmy Revie and welterweight John H Stracey, left
Among his proudest moments was being enrolled into the Boxing Hall of Fame exactly a year ago, a ceremony attended by Louisa and daughter Karen Burnidge, now aged 41.
Dave Harris, Trust founder and chairman, called on promoters to help deliver the help and support these former heroes “so desperately need”.
“We are happy to do the work, and continue to do everything in our power, but no longer should it be left to us alone,” he added.
Widow Louisa is fighting the cause in memory of Jimmy Revie
“We’ve had some shocking cases of boxers living in cars, and we’ve had to drag them out.
“The pressure is growing daily, and it is doing the British Boxing Board of Control no favours in refusing to help us make this home reality.
“I truly believe that all our heroes deserve the respect, love and care in their desperate times.
“May Jimmy rest in peace; these are not just my words but those of now many thousands who are questioning what is happening in our boxing world.”
The Trust also helps boxers who have hit bad times with alcohol and drug addiction, financial woes and mental health issues.
A year ago popular boxer Ricky Hatton, who suffered from clinical depression, was found dead at his home in Greater Manchester.
Kent boxing coach Charlie Rumble said: “I have fond memories of Jimmy and Lou.
“He was very likeable, a true gentleman.
“He was a boxer rather than a fighter. Fighters come out swinging, but he was technical, a great boxer.
“The Trust does a good job, but doesn’t have the money – and the big promoters are not willing to put their hands in their pocket.”
Jimmy Revie – punching with the big boys during his heyday
Both The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and organisations supporting jockeys — including The Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) and The Jockey Club — provide robust pension, mental health, and career transition programs for athletes entering retirement.
Louisa added: “The Trust is now my focus. It’s my legacy for Jimmy, and it’s what he’d have wanted me to do.”
The funeral is at 12 noon on Wednesday, October 14 at Medway Crematorium, Blue Bell Hill, followed by a committal at Strood Cemetery.
Donations are welcome to the Ringside Charitable Trust via Terry Allen Funeral Service, Wells Road, Strood ME2 2PN or the charity’s website