Tosh Powell

Thomas Morgan "Tosh" Powell (1908 – 3 June 1928) was a professional boxer from Wales. Based in Aberdare, Powell was notable for becoming the Welsh bantamweight champion and the matter of his death, caused by injuries sustained in the boxing ring.

Boxing career Although there is no record of when "Tosh" Powell first started fighting, he was an amateur fighter over a year before he turned professional, with a recorded fight at the Drill Hall in Merthyr in April 1926. Powell's first recorded professional fight was against Trealaw's Nobby Baker, at Merthyr Tydfil on 30 April 1927. The fight took place at Snow's Pavilion in Merthyr on 9 July 1927 and was scheduled for twenty rounds. Edmunds, with 48 fights was vastly more experienced, but Powell stopped him via technical knockout in the tenth round, taking the Welsh title. Powell made it a short contest by knocking Sullivan out in the first round. This would be Powell's only clean knockout in his professional career. Boxrec states that the fight took part on 31 May 1928, though other sources agree on the following day, Friday 1 June. The fight at The Stadium, was scheduled for fifteen three-minute rounds, and in a close contest the fight reached the last round. With only a minute of the fight remaining Housego knocked Powell to the canvas. Powell recovered to his feet on the count of seven, but after returning in a daze to his corner he collapsed. The referee, Mr Gamble, stopped the contest with the match awarded to Housego on a technical knockout. Powell was carried to the dressing rooms, where the doctor on attendance recommended that he be taken to the Liverpool Royal Infirmary. His death, which occurred on Saturday 2 June at 5:50pm, was attributed to a hemorrhage of the brain; he was 20 years old.

At the inquest, Powell's father Richard, testified that his son had not been training before the encounter with Housego, and that he had tried to cancel the fight. Richard Powell stated that the Liverpool promoter, Albert Taylor, had threatened that he would have his son's license suspended if he pulled out of the fight. Taylor denied these claims. The doctor who performed the autopsy testified that the rupture 'might happen to anybody'; the charges were dropped but the promoter was censured.