sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Keith B. Saunders (16 February 1934 – 18 November 2003) was an indigenous Australian professional boxer and author of two books.

Keith Saunders
Statistics
Real name	Keith B. Saunders
Weight(s)	Welterweight
Height	5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)
Nationality	Indigenous Australian
Born	(1934-02-16)16 February 1934 South Cardiff, Australia
Died	18 November 2003(2003-11-18) (aged 69) Australia
Stance	orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	38
Wins	12
Wins by KO	10
Losses	25
Draws	0

Early life

Keith Saunders was born in South Cardiff, New South Wales on 16 February 1934 to Mary and Sidney Saunders.[1] When he was ten years old his family moved to Redfern in Sydney.[1]

Professional career

Throughout his working life Saunders held a variety of jobs including laborer, truck driver, garbage collector and roller driver as well as experiencing periods of unemployment.[1]

Boxing

Keith Saunders was spotted as a young teenager by Billy McConnell the owner of a gymnasium.[1] He had his first amateur fight at the age of 13. Three years later he made it to the New South Wales State Amateur Boxing Finals.[1]

He became a welterweight fighter and began fighting professionally in 1952.[1][2][3] During training Keith served as a sparring partner for some of the world's best boxers.[1] He experienced racism throughout his boxing career.[4] He travelled to New Zealand in 1959 to compete against Samoan boxer Tuna Scanlan.[5]

He retired from boxing in 1966 but made two comebacks in 1968 at the age of 32 and again in 1970 before retiring permanently.[1][6]

Writing

Keith Saunders was awarded a grant of $2,273 in 1987 to write his biography. The book explored his boxing career "in the context of his personal history and the social and economic conditions of the period."[7] Although he planned to have a ghost writer write his biography, after three failed attempts he wrote the book himself and it was published by Aboriginal Studies Press.[8][9] He was interviewed by Heather Rusden when his first book the autobiography Learning the Ropes[1] was released. In the interview he discusses his personal experiences of racism as an Aboriginal Australian.[10] In the book, he describes how the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 in Australia regulated "most aspects of the lives of Aborigines".[1]

His second book Myall Road focussed on life in Sydney in the 1950s and 1960s.[11]

Works

• Saunders, Keith B (1992), Learning the ropes, Canberra Aboriginal Studies Press, ISBN 978-0-85575-237-8
• Saunders, Keith B (1998), Myall Road, Canberra Aboriginal Studies Press, ISBN 978-0-85575-314-6

References

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