When Merlins Bridge Amateur Boxing Club recently held a very successful show at Letterston Community Hall the packed crowd there wouldn't know that the oldest judge there, quietly getting on with his important, role had competed in over 100 bouts when he was a young man over 50 years ago!

Dilwyn Griffiths originally hails from the Amman Valley but spent a long time in Haverfordwest with his work in the fire brigade and although he is now resident in Carmarthen he never misses the chance to return to our county to be a judge, using the wealth of experience he initially gained as a boxer and then his 20-year stint sitting ringside.

Started boxing 60 years ago!

Dilwyn first attended the gym in Amman Valley in 1956 and took to it so well that he was soon going to Swansea to add to his experience, making both 20-mile round trips on his motor bike.

"I loved the training," admitted Dilwyn, "and was soon ready for my first bout, which I won in Pembroke Dock, and I had another interesting venue for my 101st, and final, bout was when I boxed in an open-air show near Angle, something that wouldn't be allowed to happen today - and there were huge crowds at shows all over South Wales because there wasn't so much other entertainment in those days.

Top advice from a top coach

"I was lucky to be coached in Amman Valley by Johnnie Vaughan, who was rightly regarded as the top trainer in South Wales and he showed me from the start how important it was to learn a good defence as well as being able to jab, hook and upper cut; also making me aware of how important fitness was.

"He always used to tell me that a boxing ring is the loneliest place in the world if you are not in top form, and he was dead right!"

Schoolboy and senior Welsh success

"As time moved on I was so delighted when I reached the Welsh Schoolboy Finals for the first time and even more thrilled when I won the final, which took place at Dumfries Hall, in Dumfries Place in the centre of  Cardiff.

"As a young adult I also reached the Welsh Finals but I lost the welterweight title to Eddie Avoth, who went on to win the British professional title and became a household name."
"I also qualified for the British finals, against Colin Humphreys, whom I had already beaten earlier in the year," Mervyn told us, "but I broke my hand a week before in training and so was unable to box there - and I was really disappointed because I had trained so hard!"

International honours as reward for hard graft

Dilwyn is also rightly proud of the fact that he represented Wales on a number of occasions, including bouts against France, Holland (twice), Italy and Luxemburg, sometimes doing well despite boxing up a weight to help out - and he finished his career at 28 with an excellent record of 75 wins from his 101 contests !

Such was the dedication that Dilwyn showed to his sport that straight after his work in the fire brigade it was off to the gym for a two-hour training session that included some serious sparring against tough opponents.

Saturdays and Sundays were supposed to be his rest days but it wasn't unusual that over the weekend he might do up to 25 miles in his quest for top fitness levels!

Other sports

Perhaps that is why Dilwyn was also a very good cross country runner, as he proved on one occasion when he was one of 130 participants in the Welsh Cross Country Championships which took place around the picturesque grounds of Cardiff Castle.

"It was perfect weather for me and it was a great thrill when I came first in the under 17 category - and I completed an unusual double just a week later when I won a Welsh boxing title in the same age group."

During his younger days Dilwyn also enjoyed watching some top-class professional boxing at Porthcawl and Carmarthen, dabbled in some rugby and he played snooker for the Lamb Inn in the Pembrokeshire League.

Great time in Haverfordwest

Dilwyn retired from boxing at 27 years of age and worked hard in his role as a fireman, ending up as deputy chief fire officer at the Gulf Refinery near Milford Haven.

"It was during this time that I bought Highgrove in Haverfordwest and spent a huge amount of energy taking it from an almost derelict building to being a hotel and restaurant over the next 18 years - but then I retired to Carmarthen to look after my elderly parents.

Back in boxing after a chance meeting

"And then some 20 years ago I bumped into John Phillips from Narberth, arguably the best-known boxing referee and judge in Wales, who persuaded me to return to amateur boxing as a judge in the South-West region, run then by Ray Allen and Jack Burgess.

And Dilwyn has been heavily involved as a judge, officiating all over the Western Division at least twice a week ever since, putting his wealth of experience to good use.

"I've also been a judge at every age group for Welsh Championships," Dilwyn told us, "and one of the top boxers in that time was Colin Jones from Gorseinon, who came so close on three occasions to winning a world professional title, and is now the manager of the Welsh amateur teams.

“Joe Calzaghe was another terrific boxer I judged in amateur bouts and he retired unbeaten as a wonderful world champion.

"Chris Lawson, from Cardigan, was an amateur boxer I enjoyed watching and he came very close to winning a British light heavyweight title in the pro ranks."

And finally . . .

Ask Dilwyn Griffiths how long he will carry on and he is quick to answer:
I'm 76 now but still enjoy my involvement with much younger officials and referees now on our
circuit so I'll keep going as long as I feel I’m doing a good job or it gets too much for me.

"Over three years ago I was diagnosed with cancer and given three years to live at the most - but I'm still going strong and have learned to take each day as it comes, so perhaps that is what I should also do with regard to my involvement with amateur boxing," said Dilwyn with a typical chuckle to end our fascinating walk down the sport's Memory Lane!