HOLLYWOOD scriptwriters transposing the story of Tom 'Pedlar' Palmer to the big screen would not need to fictionalise. The term “rollercoaster” does not do justice to the chaotic life of this quirky world champion from East London’s Canning Town, who was born in the district in September 1876 and earned the sobriquet 'Pedlar' from a stint selling wares as a boy.
At his best, he was spectacular; an instinctive genius and natural showman whose defensive wizardry earned him the pet name 'Box O’ Tricks'. Half a century or more before the sport’s most renowned exhibitionist, Muhammad Ali, ever laced on a glove, Pedlar was famed for a flashy style of boxing you’d be forgiven for thinking belongs to the modern age.
Venerable boxing scribe James Butler, who witnessed Palmer’s career first-hand, noted: “Palmer was not the finest bantamweight I ever watched, because he was not a big puncher, but he was the greatest character the ring produced, and if you leave aside Jack Johnson and Jim Driscoll, there are few finer defensive boxers. His defence was more spectacular than Driscoll’s, as he would exaggerate
