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When Billy Joe Saunders and Tyson Fury had their hands raised in victory after their respective fights at the Excel last weekend, they did so as proud members of a much maligned and put-upon Travelling community.
Saunders’s victory earned him a place in history as the first Traveller to win a British title belt outright, after registering his third successful defence against Eubank Jnr and now both he and Fury are on track to claim world titles at their respective weights in 2015.
Fighting is embedded within the Travelling culture. Some of the most legendary bare-knuckle fighters have been Travellers and still today the settling of grievances within the Travelling community is commonly done using fists rather than the courts.
It is a hard tradition, regressive in some respects, but one synonymous with a people accustomed to fighting to maintain a way of life, dignity and culture.
Used to being castigated, marginalised and unwelcome by mainstream society, the Travelling community — in the UK some 250,000 strong — has continued to survive as a distinct people in the face of tremendous odds.
Fury and Saunders are living proof that this is a community that rather than merely survive will thrive for years to come.