Talented 200-plus-bout contender Kid Socks had a knack for embarrassing champions yet never won a title himself
“THE Wrecker of Champions” – as boxing epithets go it isn’t a bad one. The owner of that sobriquet was a fighter from London’s East End called Kid Socks. His career stretched from 1922 to 1934 and took in over 200 pro bouts – an eye-watering tally, yet Socks was no journeyman. At various times in non-title fights, he beat the reigning flyweight champions of Europe, Britain, France, Belgium and Ireland, plus the reigning bantamweight titlists of Britain and France.
This, of course, was in an era of eight universally recognised weights with one world champion at each, when holding a British title was akin perhaps in terms of kudos to holding a world crown today. Socks’ traceable record is 107-77-25 but he never won a title of any sort, which says much about the calibre of the fly, bantam and featherweights competing in Britain at the time.