IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, THE DANK STREETS OF SYDNEY WERE CONTROLLED BY PUSH GANGS…AND NO ONE PUSHED BACK…

The top of these gangs was the Greens push and they were led by a tough bare-knuckle fighter by the name of Larry Foley.

One of their pastimes was running illegal underground prize-fights. Mr Foley became a pioneer for the Marques of Queensbury rules fighting, later known as “boxing”.

Larry trained many of the best boxers in Australia and some of the best in the world. In the 1880s Larry was introduced to a well-known street fighting kid called – Young Griffo. The kid, under Larry’s training, became a true boxer and won the Australian boxing title, then one year later became the first Australian to win the World Title.

Promoters, crowds and the press were amazed by his speed and skill. Filled with confidence, Young Griffo headed for the states to tackle their best and found he had become extremely popular for his cleverness and entertaining way of boxing and winning.

Years past, age progressed, and old boxing fans would often approach him with praises and most sports journalists rated him as one of the cleverest boxers to ever lace on a pair of gloves.

Young Griffo was a true legend of the sport, and you hold in your hands the story of how and why this vey legend came about…