Bred in a tough 1930s Manchester neighbourhood, Jock McAvoy was a ferocious fighter who fought hard to give his family a better standard of living. Many older boxing journalists believe that the romance of the ring and its hungry exponents rest, almost entirely, in the years gone by. The 1930s were, without doubt, the greatest period in British boxing history. For working people this period was hard and desolate: no welfare state, often oppressive conditions of employment, the working family lived on wages that allowed no margin for illness. McAvoy was one such ordinary individual with a ferocious desire to succeed put food on the table for his family.