Micky Gluckstad - The Devil Shook My Hand

M icky Glckstad is one of the hardest men in Britain, no argument.

We grew up together in the East End in the fifties and sixties and he has had my back from the day we met. They were tough times but we stuck together and weve never fallen out or fought each other.

Mickys always been a quiet type, not one for bragging or bluster. Anyone who mistakes that for weakness deserves what they get. In his day, Micky was a renowned bare-knuckle fighter and a proper corner merchant, as we called those on the con game. He could buy and sell anything, and he was having people over all the time. He had no scruples. If someone had a few quid and they were greedy and gullible, they were fair game. As a result, he used to get in a lot of fights.

Some of his victims came after him firm-handed and hes been beaten, shot and stabbed on many occasions. He tells people his scarred face is the result of a car accident. But his mates know that each of the scars tells a story. And almost all of his opponents came off worse than he did.

There have been plenty of books about the old East End and the faces who ran it. Hard men such as Roy Shaw and Lenny McLean have already had their say, and claimed theyd never been beaten. Thats not true. Micky Glckstad beat both those men. I was there when he fought Roy Shaw to a standstill. People still talk about the fight to this day. Thats why its time now for him to tell his own story.

The Shaw fight alone, told here for the first time, was a classic. Shaw was the guvnor then, the best unlicensed fighter in the world. But Micky wouldnt be beaten. He took everything Shaw could throw at him, soaked it up and hit back hard. Quite simply, it was one of the greatest fights I have ever witnessed. The hairs on the back of my neck still stand up thinking about it. Shawy was a mighty man in those days and could have a terrible fight. Micky wasnt doing so well at the time. This was a warm-up: Shawys promoter Joey Pyle thought Micky would be easy meat before Roy went off to conquer America.

Everyone thought Shaw was going to come out and knock Micky straight into tomorrow. At the weigh-in, Shaw snarled: Im going to do this c**t. But Micky wasnt having it. He just laughed Shaw off. If Im honest, I probably thought Micky would have bested Roy on the cobbles, but in the ring the older man would be likely to have the strength, stamina and technique to win.

Roy had been boxing for a long time and training for months. I never saw Micky train for anything. His idea of getting into shape was drinking shorts rather than pints. But he stood his ground like a champion. You have never seen a fight like it, before or afterwards. The crowd was right in the ring with them; everyone was hyped up on adrenalin. It was crazy, a night to be remembered for a long time. But Ill let Micky continue the story. Its his to tell and a good one, too.

Reggie Kray used to say Micky could have been a proper champion if hed concentrated on boxing, trained properly and kept out of trouble. Reg saw real talent in Micky and only ever had good words to say about him. But he was always a street fighter at heart, and that suited him fine.

A lot of the old faces are dead or live outside London now. Theyve got big homes in Essex or Kent where they enjoy a comfortable retirement. Weve all grown up, settled down and changed. Not Micky. He still lives within a stones throw of where he grew up. Hell never leave the East End, no matter how much it changes, and it wouldnt be the same without him.

It was always easy come, easy go for him. He was more interested in enjoying himself than in making money and keeping it. But he never let his mates go short either. When he was flush, everyone was flush.

Now you can catch him in a pub, reminiscing about old times. Hes got hundreds of stories and they are genuinely incredible. No one has seen or done more than Micky Glckstad. When he told me he was writing a book and asked for my recollections, the memories came thick and fast. I didnt know where to start. But his story gives an insight into a whole generation of men who came from nothing and made something of themselves through hard graft.

Micky knew everyone back in the day, and his experiences shine a real light on a world that probably isnt there any more.

I know thousands of people but there is no one Id rather have watching my back than Micky because he is never going to run out on you it doesnt matter who youre facing. If youve got a bit of trouble, Micky wont ask who with. Hell ask what time and where you need him, and hell be there. His friends would do the same for him. When you read this book, youll see why.

Danny Woollard, January 2012