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Boxing - A Match Between Kid Pancho And A Jeyamoney

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Subject :Boxing - A Match Between Kid Pancho and A Jeyamoney
Published By : None 
Location : Malaya
Estimated Year : 1942
Media Type : Photograph
Source : Edwin Siebal, Ipoh
Remark :

These three images form an interesting but confusing story. On the left is a photograph of Kid Pancho (to give him his boxing name), on the right is A Jeyamoney (also not his real name) and in the centre is the handbill or poster that advertises their forthcoming fight at the New World Amusement Park, Kamrar on Monday 5th October 2602, which using the Imperial Calendar or Koki translates to 1942. The time of the bout was given as 7pm local time and 9pm Nippon time. The reverse of the handbill repeats the information in Chinese.

However, we cannot identify 'Kamrar' and believe this should have been 'Kampar', but then again there was no New World Amusement Park in Kampar as far as we know. But in the same year another boxing handbill for a fight in Ipoh, gave the venue as Sin Thien Tse Amusement Park, Ipoh. We believe that this is a poor spelling of the Chinese Sin Tian Di which means New Heaven and Earth (equals world) and which was the new Japanese era name for Jubilee Park. It may well be therefore that there was a similar name given to some existing building in Kampar.

Turning to the boxers pictured above:

  • Kid Pancho was born in Ipoh in 1923. His father was Joseph Cyril Cubinair an immigrant of Filipino origin, which accounts why the Kid was billed as a Philipino. He was educated at St Michael's Institution and St Lourdes School in Taiping. Not of an academic bent, he was lured into boxing at age 15, becoming the sparring partner of his brother Kid Cabanella, 19, who was becoming famous in the fly, bantam and featherweight categories across Malaya. He was an unbeaten fighter up to this bout, but unfortunately this result is not known.

    Living across the road from Yuk Choy school in Ipoh, the family set up a boxing gymnasium where the two younger brothers Baley Garcia and Little Pancho also took up boxing. Finding boxing a monetary advantageous sport, Kid Pancho turned professional and became known in boxing circles as the "Golden Boy of Perak".

  • A Jeyamoney was born in Thiranvelu District, Southern India 1919 as Jebamoney s/o Jesudian s/o Asirvatham and came to Malaya with his brother Ponnusamy in the 1920's. His father sent the two boys to join their grandfather in Ipoh, where they were educated at ACS, Ipoh, himself preferring to remain in India. The family lived in Kidd Lane, Buntong amd Falim. He was billed as "like a mountain goat coming down the mountain to teach his opponent to fight like he has never fought before".

    Professionally a cattle breeder from 1940, Jebamoney soon took up boxing as a second career and chose the name A Jeyamoney which apparently translated to luck or good fortune in Tamil. A successful boxer, he fought all over Malaya and was matched against Kid Pancho more than once. Lucky he may have been as a boxer, but as a cattle breeder he struck seriously bad luck when his entire herd of cattle were wiped out by Foot and Mouth disease in 1978 and he retired a broken man. He passed away five years later in 1983 and was survived by his widow, Mdm Pushpam and five children.
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    The supporting bouts that evening featured:

    S Manikam (Indian) Vs H C Lui (Chinese), 8-2minute rounds, and

    Golden Roberts (Red Indian) Vs Fighting Chinako (Malay), 6-2minute rounds, and

    V Suppiah (Indian) Vs Little Barney (Malay), 4-2minute rounds.


    Admission to the fights ranged from 60 cents for the ringside to 20 cents for gentlemen entering by the main gate and 5 cents for ladies. These latter prices were for viewing the fights from the grounds.

    To read about a second bout between Kid Pancho and A Jeyamoney, click here.

    To read more about St Michael’s Institution, click here.

    To read more about ACS, Ipoh, click here.

    To read more about Yuk Choy School, click here.

    Filename : 20100328-006