Sensational Hooliganism! Boxing Brawl at the Sydney Opera House
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
We speak often of great boxing brawls like Andrew Golota versus Riddick Bowe at Madison Square Garden. One of my favorite brawls occurred in the ring at the Sydney Opera House on April 2, 1982, with Alex Temelkov defending his Australian Junior Middleweight title in Sydney, Australia, against challenger Ken Salisbury.
Round 8 Melee Temelkov vs. Salisbury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyf_H9UjqII
In round 8, after a clinch, Temelov began intentionally pummeling challenger Ken Salisbury behind the head while holding him down. Salisbury’s cornerman jumped onto the ring apron to attack Temelkov and protect his fighter. Temelkov’s cornerman sprinted across the ring and leaped into open air, crashing into the corner turnbuckle. The ring descended into madness, and Salisbury got dragged out of the ring, while Temelkov punched Salisbury’s corner people as the entire ring spun out of control.
The referee, Charkey Ramon, tried to intervene and stop Temelkov’s wild cornerman from striking anyone, and wound up in a life and death choke hold and punch out.
When it all ended, Ken Salisbury was the winner by eighth round disqualification, and took home the Australian Junior Middleweight title, one of the most sensational historical finishes to an Australian bout ever seen. Despite being an obscure bout to all except ring historians, the ending is a classic.
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