Joe Erskine too small to be great
Joe Erskine was one of the most gifted British boxers of his day, but was held back by a lack of size and punch power at heavyweight
THE birth of the cruiserweight division in the late 1970s and early ‘80s was a boon for boxers too large for light-heavy but too small to make it on to the world stage as a heavyweight. Spare a thought, though, for the countless ‘inbetweeners’ who predated the division’s inception and were often forced to face bigger, harder-hitting men.
There are numerous small heavies from boxing’s annals who one could argue would have been world class if only cruiserweight had existed in their time. One whom the current 14st 4lb (200lb) weight limit would have suited to a tee was Cardiff’s Joe Erskine. At 5ft 11ins and typically scaling under 200lbs, Joe was just too small and did not hit hard enough to take on the world’s best in boxing’s beef brigade. But he was good enough to win British and Empire honours, whic