Ronnie (left) and Reggie Kray during their amateur boxing days
CultureEast End CockneyHistory & nostalgiaLocal

Before they were kings: the boxing careers of Ronnie and Reggie Kray

The Kray twins worked hard for their infamy. The East End gangsters were behind all manner of murder, armed robbery, arson, and more before being imprisoned for life in the late 1960s. Not everyone knows that Ronnie and Reggie made their bones in the ring. 

Both had eventful boxing careers in their youth. Starting out in the open air bear pit of the Mile End Arena, they made it all the way to the Royal Albert Hall before turning to crime. Consensus differs on whether they were any good, but they were nothing if not fans of the sport.

For the pugilist aficionados among you, here’s the brass tacks: Ronnie Kray fought six times, winning four by knockout and losing the other two by decision. Reggie finished his boxing career unbeaten, winning all seven of his professional fights. 

They trained at the Repton Club in Bethnal Green, which still runs to this day. There are pictures of the twins on the wall. Not even out of their teens, it’s an oddly innocent snapshot of their lives before the cigars and three piece suits and bodies in trunks. 

Both debuted in 1951 at the Mile End Arena, an open air venue behind Mile End Station. A ramshackle venue, the arena was described by a contemporary of the twins as ‘a cattle market.’ Their last fights were both at the Royal Albert Hall, on the undercard of British lightweight champion Tommy McGovern. Neither fought at York Hall, would you believe.

Evidently the ring was too restrictive to the twins. All their fights took place in 1951. In March of 1952 they were both called up for national service (Ronnie punched a corporal in the jaw during the signup process. Whether it was a KO is uncertain) and after being dishonourably discharged they turned to a life of crime. 

One of the most novel things about this short-lived boxing career was how the Kray’s fighting styles reflected their characters. Their older brother, Charlie, himself quite an accomplished boxer, remembered their contrasting approaches

‘Reggie was the cool, cautious one with the skills of a potential champion and importantly he always listened to advice,’ Charlie said. ‘Ronnie was a good boxer and very brave. But, he would never listen to advice and, unlike Reggie, he would never hold back,’ added Charlie.

Given their later reputations as gangsters – Reggie as cool and calculated, Ronnie as anything but – it’s interesting to see the seeds of that when they boxed as teenagers. 

A story goes that when the two were sentenced in 1969, they were held in adjoining cells under the Old Bailey, waiting to be taken to different prisons. They started shadow boxing, ducking and feinting and punching until they were taken away – a Kray twist on a last dance.

Boxing poster featuring the Kray brothers

Please support local journalism.

As a not-for-profit media organisation using constructive journalism to strengthen communities, we have not put our digital content behind a paywall or subscription fee as we think the benefits of an independent, local publication should be available to everyone living in our area.

We are powered by members. Hundreds of members have already joined. Become a member to donate as little as £3 per month to support constructive journalism and the local community.

Frederick O'Brien

Fred is a writer and researcher with a background in sustainable development. His research has featured in The Independent, the Evening Standard, and the New York Post, among others.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.