#79: ‘Somebody Ring the Bell!’ by Willie Toweel and Peter McInnes

‘Somebody Ring the Bell!’ is the autobiography of South African professional boxer Willie Toweel, co-authored by Peter McInnes.

Willie Toweel, who boxed between 1953 and 1960, is a member (product?) of one of the 20th Century’s most famous boxing families. Willie and several of his brothers were born in South Africa to Lebanese parents, and were introduced to boxing by their father Michael Joseph. His older brother Viccie became the first South African to hold a world title, when he beat Peter Keenan in 1952 and took the bantamweight belt.

Despite holding seemingly equal talent to his brother Vic (though his hero-worship of his brother probably wouldn’t allow him to admit this himself), Willie never quite reached the same heights on the world stage; he sadly spent his career unsupported and unappreciated by fans and the media in South Africa, forcing him to spend a lot of his career in London, boxing on cards for Jack Solomons. Willie did achieve national and Commonwealth titles at lightweight, and a national title at welterweight, towards the end of his career.

It seems as though Willie was hindered during the later stages of his career, due to there being no junior welterweight category to move up to, which resulted in him conceding many pounds to natural welters after he moved up in weight.

Unfortunately for Willie he carried the infamy of having killed a man in the ring, after Hubert Essakov died from injuries sustained during their bought on 19 March 1956. This of course had a huge effect on Willie’s mental health, and impacted his private and professional life enormously. As a result he eventually sought the help of a psychiatrist, Dr Magonet, who employed a course of talking therapy, aided by hypnotism, which enabled Willie to get back on track in life and begin to enjoy his time in the ring again.

I’m pretty sure that, out of all of my boxing reading, this is the earliest admission which I’ve come across from a boxer regarding seeking help with their mental health. It’s crazy to think that in 2023, around seventy years later, we still have boxers like Jordan Gill revealing just how isolated they’ve felt in trying to deal with their own mental health crises. Hopefully, his revealing and shocking speech in the ring following his stoppage victory over Michael Conlan has made the boxing community realise that they need to be more vigilant around athletes who are conditioned from childhood to hide their pain. Unfortunately, a suicidal mind is often hidden by a smiling face.

Willie Toweel’s name immediately seemed familiar to me, but to be honest I only bought this book as it was part of a bundle of boxing books. I realised, however – when looking at his record and seeing that his final bout was against American legend Emile Griffith – that he is a prominent part of Donald McRae’s truly excellent A Man’s World. Griffith also had to spend a large part of his life trying to cope with the knowledge that he had been responsible for the death of another boxer, after Benny Paret died following their world welterweight title bout in 1962.

Griffith’s processing of his own tragedy was aided in large part by Willie’s support (perhaps the understanding of another boxer who has lived through a similar situation is the only possible solace?). I’ll finish this post by quoting Toweel’s letter of support to Griffith, which I’m taking from McRae’s A Man’s World:

Champ, I wanted to write to you for a few days now. Ever since I heard the news about Benny Paret you are on my mind. I can’t think of anything else. I know how you feel. It happened to me as well. I accidently [sic] killed a man in the ring one night. Six years ago now. Hubert Essakov was a friend of mine. To do what I did to anyone, never mind a friend, felt the worst thing. It almost ruined me until I realised it could have happened to me. I could have been the one that went. It was just bad luck it was Hubert. It’s the same with Paret and you.

It was a big honour for me to fight you in Madison Square Garden. I know you beat me in the ring but you were good to me before and afterwards. I always remember that and I want to say thank you.

Accidents happen, champ. They’re not always our fault. This is not your fault. I want you to understand that. It took me a long time but I got to work out, in the end, that it wasn’t my fault either – that Hubert died. It just happened.

I learned how to forgive myself Emile, and you must do the same. You and me have to learn to roll with the punches in this life. They are often harder to deal with than the ones we got in the ring. But we can do it. I think I did it and I know you will too. Good luck, champ.

EDIT: Here’s an interesting documentary about Willie’s brother Vic.