The belt that Dave Sands won when he knocked out Dick Turpin in a British Empire title fight in 1949 never materialised, and the legendary boxer never got the chance to hold it. Now, 73 years later, the great man’s family has something tangible to show, and the story of the world champion boxer can be told again. Sands’ nephew Phil Dotti was the man behind the push to make this happen. This is how he tells it. 

My Uncle Dave Sands was never given a title belt following his win in England in 1949 but last week we got something from people in England who wanted to correct that oversight.

Uncle Dave was born in 1926 and came from humble beginnings to rise as a world champion in the ring. He was one of six brothers who carved out incredible careers in Australian sport as boxers, a feat unlikely to ever be matched again. 

Those brothers, my uncles, were Dave, Ritchie, Clem, George, Alfie and Russell Sands. They all became main-event fighters who enriched this nation’s boxing history…