Professional Debut
His first professional fight aged 17 saw flyweight Vear lose a six round contest on points to (Bradford born) Young Broadley at a packed Drill Hall, Keighley on Monday 11 February 1929.
His second and third professional fights were against Silsden fighter Maurice Emmott, both of which ended in respectful draws for both boxers. The Local newspaper, The Keighley News reported "Vear took a lot of punishment in the first two rounds, and had his opponent not been more accurate with his blows Vear would most certainly have been knocked out. As it was, Emmott's methods were very crude, but he did the greater part of attacking. As the fight progressed Vear showed improvement, and the decision of a draw was well received".
His bout with Barrett in Workington was hailed by the local press as the best fight ever seen in the area.
The Big Fight: Vear -v- Irving
Two professional boxers from the same stable (run by Mr Sam Scaife) were both making names for themselves, Percy Vear and Freddie Irving.
In just three weeks during 1932 they both took on a formidable opponent called Young Tucker of Nelson. 17-year-old Irving forced him to a draw at Colne, while Vear brought off a points win in Keighley Drill Hall. These creditable performances by these two stable mates aroused the interest of the boxing public, and this inevitably led to a money-match being staged in the Drill Hall on 11 April 1932.
It was reported at the time "The contest was one of ten 2 minute rounds at 9st, under forfeit. There were side-stakes of £25, plus a substantial purse offered by the promoter".
The match was one of the biggest local attractions Keighley fight fans had even seen for many years. They responded well and there was a capacity crowd of 1,400. The cost per ticket was 2s. 4d. for reserved seats and 1s. 2d. for the remainder. Mr Harry Jennings of Bradford refereed the match and held the purse. The local newspaper, The Keighley News, which gave considerable space to boxing, reported, "that it was not until the final two rounds that Vear really came into contention".
Vear had obviously been saving himself, but by the time he had reached the point of wearing down Irving's defence it was too late. Irving took the match and the purse on a point’s verdict and it was a fitting climax to the 1931–32-fight season.
Read more about this topic: Percy Vear
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