Sydney Greve was born on 9th September 1925, in the Indore State of India and he ducked through the ropes for the first time at the tender age of seven years. The young pugilist won the Interscholastic Championship at that age, and he was hooked. He trained like the champion he was later to become right from the beginning. Entered every available competition and by 1943 he was the Flyweight Champion of India. He held this reign for three consecutive years with wins in 1944 and 1945. He then went on to hold the Bantamweight title in 1946 and 1947. He also won the Golden Gloves Tournament at Karachi in 1947.
SYDNEY PHILLIP GREVE
Born on 9th September 1925
Died on 7th December 2015
Pakistani Boxer
In 1948 he won the Pakistan Flyweight Championship and was selected to represent the country in the London Olympics that same year. Although representing his team well Sydney failed to make it to the medal rounds. Nevertheless, he was invited back to represent Pakistan in the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. Again he was robbed from a position on the pedestal. Everybody thought that it would be the end of the open invitation to the prestigious Olympic Games, but this went wrong and he was once again asked to attend and represent his country in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.
In Helsinki he demolished the Argentine Champion A. Leyes in the second round, he crushed the Japanese Champion Toshihito Ishimaru and gave up ten pounds to the “Brown Bomber” and another KO. One that left the Brown Bomber headed for early retirement.
At the age of 27, he was known throughout Asia as pound-for-pound the best amateur fighter in the sub-continent. He was dubbed by sports writers as the “KILLER” and the KO KID. An outstanding record of over 500 documented fights which is probably the longest record of any amateur boxer in the world.
He was often referred to in the press as the most destructive fighting machine on the continent Sydney’s lightning-fast fists and his patented “Pay off Punch” was the crowd-pleasers. He was described as having Herculean shoulders and an unmatched ring sense that made him a formidable opponent, no matter who he faced.
For all his prowess Sydney was very jovial outside the ring and in, one headline read “THE KILLER REFUSED TO KILL TONIGHT” Instead of punishing his already-beaten opponent Sydney asked for the fight to be stopped.
In one of his highly publicized bouts, Sydney faced the more experienced Star Dunn, a match that everyone was predicting Sydney to take a beating in. In the second Round with Dunn trying to confuse Sydney by switching from his natural right to a southpaw and back, Sydney swiftly delivered his patented haymaker. It was described by the announcer like this: “you cannot divert the course of a swiftly flowing stream with a small pebble”
Described by another sports writer as the “widely travelled fistic marvel” and by the same writer later as the “fistiana King” was the young Pakistan who knows what he wants and has the deadly fists to get it.
Sydney spent his life in Calgary Canada where he has lived and raised a large family for over thirty years. He is still the shy pleasant man, he may be older and a bit rounder but those who know him they can still see that gleam in his eye that petrified and astounded over five hundred of his opponents.
Sydney Greve passed away peacefully on 7th December 2015 in Calgary (Canada). He is survived by Adrianna his wife of 64 years; his five children Kurt, Phillip, Lorna, Darren, Sherry and their spouses. His 90 years were shared with many friends and a large family including 13 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild. He is loved by many and will be greatly missed.
His funeral service took place at the Lower Spring Bank Road, Calgary on 13th December 2015 and later he was buried at Eden Brook Cemetery in Calgary (Canada).
