Unbeaten novice Ally Morrison, with old favourite Chris Aston in the corner, took on James DeGale tonight – the 2008 Olympic Gold medalist to whom the British public is slowly warming to. Very slowly. Continue reading “James DeGale round by round LIVE”
Fagan back on track
Strange how fighters flicker in and out of boxing’s VIP lounge. Irishman Oisin Fagan has twice dipped beneath the ropes dividing the obscure and the revered, first in a razor tight defeat to Mum’s favourite Paul Spadafora and then more recently by knockout to Lightweight star Amir Khan – a defeat tinged with melancholy as Oisin broke an ankle on the way to the canvas. On Saturday night, he continued his attempt to build toward a third chance.
Continue reading “Fagan back on track”
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Boxingwriter.co.uk Fighter of the Month; June 09
This award, which has laid dormant since Shane Mosley’s richly earned January residence as the BoxingWriter.co.uk fighter of the month, is the one fighters really clamour – forget Ring championships or PPV figures, the award they’re all looking for is this one. Selected unscientifically by a panel of one, the award seeks to recognise the eye-catching result or performance of the month. There is usually a splash of non-conformity about the choice and a sprinkling of sentiment over the significance of the bout or bouts the winner has participated in. Continue reading “Boxingwriter.co.uk Fighter of the Month; June 09”
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Give OntheGrindRadio.com a whirl; James Toney live on the show this Sunday
I’m not usually one to advocate these fan-led Radio shows, too often they’re so poorly conceived, so uncomfortably amateurish that any meaningful content is lost amongst the cringing I’m doing. However, while still a little rough around the edges, the OntheGrindRadio.com crew are smoothing out the wrinkles and in their weekly show have attracted some interesting voices, Shannon Briggs last week, James Toney this week. Tune in and try it. Continue reading “Give OntheGrindRadio.com a whirl; James Toney live on the show this Sunday”
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Boxing relies on Don King and Terry Dooley for sense and integrity!
For a man accused of just about every sin possible within the parameters of boxing and capable of bamboozling writers with quotes and sentiments drawn from Twain to Churchill it says a lot about the sport he inhabits, that veteran promoter Don King is the sole voice of reason in the aftermath of the Khan v Barrera contest. Well, alongside Terry Dooley at BritishBoxing.net at least. Dooley is a fearless, if slightly dishevelled, writer who can always see through the mist, and is unafraid of running against the grain. Dooley titled his review of the fight; “Say what you like but Khan should never have won”. Continue reading “Boxing relies on Don King and Terry Dooley for sense and integrity!”
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Archive: Old Man Thompson Stops Unbeaten Haye in 5
ARCHIVE: 10/09/04
David Haye is the toast of the boxing media presently thanks to his shrewdly selected but nevertheless impressive debut at heavyweight, sinking Tomasz Bonin in a round, title triumphs at Cruiserweight and latterly his destruction of the seasoned Monte Barrett. He has subsequently emerged as a loquacious rival for Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko to embrace or avoid – depending on the prevalent press release at the time of reading.
However, there was a time when his confidence took him into territory from which his right hand couldn’t provide escape. He took on Carl ‘The Cat’ Thompson in 2004 before he was ready and came unstuck. It was one of the most enthralling, absorbing and punishing contests I’ve had the privilege to cover from ringside.
Continue reading “Archive: Old Man Thompson Stops Unbeaten Haye in 5”
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Silent Assassin Nuumbembe back on track
Namibian Welterweight Ali Nuumbembe became something of an iconic figure during his six years in the hilltops of Derbyshire. His wandering life story, from war torn Africa to sleepy Glossop warmed the hearts of the entire town and all those who met him. His return to Namibia didn’t bring to an end his fighting career and I’m pleased to report Ali added his 21st victory to his professional slate over the weekend. Continue reading “Silent Assassin Nuumbembe back on track”
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Guest: Barrera’s bloody mess obscures the true worth of Khan’s victory
Having clung tight to my £14.95 last weekend, Amir Khan is not presently a pay-per-view attraction regardless of the affection with which I hold his opponent – in this case Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera, I’m delighted to provide a forum for guest writer Ben Carey’s view of the contentious clash between the aspiring Khan and the jaded Barrera. Continue reading “Guest: Barrera’s bloody mess obscures the true worth of Khan’s victory”
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Not to be or not to be, Jennings falls to Cotto in 5.
It is a while since I’ve perched on the end of the sofa to watch a fight, a while since I’ve felt the rush of a heart-felt connection to a fighter but on Saturday night, as 31-year-old Michael Jennings strode to the ring, that familiar surge of anxiety raced through me. I recall this was a feeling I had when Frank Bruno retreated toward the ring for his rematch with Tyson and I felt it when Dennis Andries kept rising from the canvas against Thomas Hearns. When Brian Hughes asked between the 4th and 5th rounds if the twice floored Jennings was okay, Mick’s response of “Sound, yeh” it just warmed this fan’s heart a little more. Continue reading “Not to be or not to be, Jennings falls to Cotto in 5.”
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A Muscovite’s view of the Executioner’s song
It doesn’t matter where you sit. It doesn’t matter from where you viewed Saturday’s spectacle, Bernard Hopkins victory over Kelly Pavlik is arguably one of the most complete boxing clinics since, Barrera schooled Naseem Hamed perhaps? Andrew Mullinder captures the major emerging points from the fight in his regular summary from the chilly confines of his Russian residency.
Continue reading “A Muscovite’s view of the Executioner’s song”
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The Great Guzman and the WBA’s weight of responsibility
It might be the stiff wind from the Urals which makes guest writer Andrew Mullinder such a cantankerous observer of the noble art. Mullinder is not implored to write by the science or the beauty of boxing, only the muck, the politics and the fractious infrastructure of the sport evoke his withering invective. His latest target is the WBA, for whom the dietary plans of Joan Guzman appear to have been but a distant theme from a distant land. Mullinder thinks its time governing bodies started, well, governing. Continue reading “The Great Guzman and the WBA’s weight of responsibility”
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BoxingWriter Fighter of the Month; September 08
Thus far the BoxingWriter.co.uk Fighter of the Month award has been won by Monte Barrett for his destruction of Tye Fields’ flimsy standing as a heavyweight contender, Antonio Margarito’s thrilling suffocation of Miguel Cotto’s resistance and latterly Cedric Boswell’s destruction of pampered prospect Roman Greenberg. I found the stand out performance in September was much harder to select. Continue reading “BoxingWriter Fighter of the Month; September 08”
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Every cloud; Timothy Bradley arrives as a major player
Contrary to some curious commentary from Col Bob Sheridan, who tried hard to make the fight more competitive than it was, Timothy Bradley delivered another complete, considered and positive performance to repel the challenge of Edner Cherry this weekend. In defending his WBC 140lb strap Bradley showed development from his victory over Junior Witter and emerged, in my eyes at least, as a world-class performer of real merit. Continue reading “Every cloud; Timothy Bradley arrives as a major player”
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Boxing: Nate Campbell deserved better than Guzman, an unreliable commodity
I feel vindicated in picking Nate Campbell to prevail in this encounter despite flying in the face of popular opinion and more crucially, that the fight didn’t actually take place. However, I did comment that Guzman was not a safe pick. Despite his unbeaten record, he had a patchy level of activity and often jumped from championship bouts to magically appear a division higher. Continue reading “Boxing: Nate Campbell deserved better than Guzman, an unreliable commodity”
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Sexton wins Prizefighter 2; is it really drawing new fans?
Always enlightening to watch an event like this with those not keenly interested in the sport. Spend too much time on Internet forums and it is entirely possible to succumb to the assumption EVERYONE is interested in boxing. Of course they are not. An evening at my old local, The Windmill in the former coal-mining town of Thorne near Doncaster, reintroduced me to this harsh reality, it left me wondering whether this supposedly fan-friendly concept really could attract new fans? Continue reading “Sexton wins Prizefighter 2; is it really drawing new fans?”
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Boxing: Frank Maloney’s cold-shower for Belshaw’s prospects
Every press release I’ve read about big Scott Belshaw has been heavily doused in salt. Frank Maloney is a wise old hand at generating attention for his fighters and he’s used every reference possible to project Belshaw as a raw puncher with a big future. Last week Belshaw was calling out Audley Harrison, who for all his vulnerability and idiosyncrasies, would walk through Belshaw in less than a minute.
Yes, that Audley. Okay maybe two.
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Boxing: Natural order is restored – Forrest dominates Mora
The Contender series wasn’t a reality show in the popular sense of the word. I’m always disgusted when mainstream reporters refer to its contestants, when partaking in significant out-of-show bouts, as “reality show winners”. It misleads the uninitiated, implying those who featured were not ‘real’ boxers but talented wannabees, celebrities even. Fighters like Steve Forbes, Peter Manfredo and Alfonso Gomez were professional fighters long-before their participation in the ground-breaking series.
Continue reading “Boxing: Natural order is restored – Forrest dominates Mora”
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Setanta, Skywalker and Bunce; Boxing’s New Hope
Watching Steve Bunce’s Boxing Hour last night on Setanta Sports 2, I was struck by a number of things. Firstly, how good it is to see a magazine show for the sport where debate, discussion are preeminent over the gloss Sky once applied to their weekly Ringside presentation. True, big Buncey isn’t to everyone’s taste and it took me a while to ‘get’ his role, persona and style, to understand that enthusiasm and energy were his USPs and his tongue was firmly in his cheek. But I do now and it works.
A boxing night isn’t the same without his animated contribution. But the Setanta hour is more than just Bunce let loose.
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Spitting blood; the forgotten victims of cancelled fights
At a time when Vitali Klitschko is trying to lash his crumbling ligaments together for one last hurrah, Jamie Moore’s is frustrated in his wait for a European shot and Nicky Cook, twice jilted by a troubled Scott Harrison, finally wins a version of the world-title Andrew Mullinder delves into topical subject of fight pull-outs. Away from the spotlight, the personal, emotional and financial costs can be far-reaching. Continue reading “Spitting blood; the forgotten victims of cancelled fights”
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Oliver Harrison, Amir Khan and the final word; blame
I’m struggling to summon a fight in recent memory to which more attention has been paid. Certainly, the column inches afforded to Amir Khan’s humbling defeat is entirely disproportionate to the superficial importance of the Inter-Continental bauble he and Breidis Prescott scuffled over on Saturday night. Of course, Amir Khan is not merely ‘just another’ fighter, Andrew Mullinder provides one final analysis of the fight, the aftermath and that most emotive of topics, blame. Continue reading “Oliver Harrison, Amir Khan and the final word; blame”
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Cedric Boswell, a fighter with momentum
At 39-years of age with a stuttering career away from the spotlight, heavyweight Cedric Boswell is well advised to capitalise on the belated surge his destruction of the Roman Greenberg myth has afforded him. Next on Boswell’s list of targets appears to be forward-marching contender Chris Arreola. Speaking with Jose Santiago over at Fight News, the BoxingWriter.co.uk Fighter of the Month for August spoke of the Greenberg fight and his aspirations for the future. Continue reading “Cedric Boswell, a fighter with momentum”
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Audley, Audley, Audley
Love him, hate him, ignore him, beat him, write him off, mock him, chastise him, heck, tie an anvil to each ankle and drop him in the Thames. It wouldn’t matter, Big Audley would still be believing, still fighting, still chasing the dream. I’m beginning to think Harrison has special powers, the hide of a Rhino, the defiance of the Black Knight and will of Arnie’s Terminator. Despite being jeered to and from the ring, despite failing to overwhelm a man he outweighed by 3 stone and despite the proximity of his 37th birthday, Audley will not give up. Continue reading “Audley, Audley, Audley”
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Kellerman breaks from the pack
It is a cliche to recognise the judgement of a fight is a subjective undertaking. But like all cliches, it is forged in fact. True, two observers can arrive at different results from different sides of the ring and no matter how self-disciplined, it is close to impossible to be truly impartial. Certainly as fans, we all view the spectacle of a fight with some conscious or sub-conscious bias. Its human nature. Its also human nature to be influenced by those around us, and Juan Diaz was the ‘home’ fighter in his split-decision victory over Michael Katsidis. Continue reading “Kellerman breaks from the pack”
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Video: Amir Khan mimicks Judah’s ‘chicken dance’
Seeing Amir Khan laid out like a flat-packed bookcase on Saturday, with his head propped against the ring post in the style of a teenager watching Batman re-runs on the portable reminded me of one of the first times he came to the public’s attention. Coincidentally, he was mimicking the Zab Judah inspired ‘chicken’ dance he show-cased when hit by a Prescott punch on Saturday following a less formidable left-hook from Craig Watson back in the Amateurs. Continue reading “Video: Amir Khan mimicks Judah’s ‘chicken dance’”
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“Nobody is invisible” Amir Khan explains
It is hard to know where to begin any reconstruction of the shattered remnants of Amir Khan’s carefully constructed reputation. Following four years of cautious match-making, three trainers and a deluge of column inches, platitudes, award ceremonies and celebrity television appearances, the 21-year old demonstrated holes in his fistic education large enough to drive even his own ego through.
In a slip of the tongue, Khan suggested, by way of earnest explanation, “nobody is invisible”. He meant invincible of course, but invisible seemed to fit very well too.
Breidis Prescott certainly found him easily enough.
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Monday digest: Khan, Diaz and all that
An amazing weekend of action, nothing like a good upset to stir boxing fan’s interest. Pampered protege Amir Khan was unceremoniously exposed as a chinny, naive pretender, while there were good wins for Nicky Cook, American heavyweight Kevin Johnson and Juan Diaz among others. Continue reading “Monday digest: Khan, Diaz and all that”
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Archive: Scott of the anarchic
The sorry tale of Scott Harrison lurched to a new low this week when he was sentenced to a total of 8 months imprisonment for assaulting his girlfriend and a police-officer alongside being found guilty of driving whilst 4-times over the legal limit. Should Harrison remain at Her Majesty’s service for the entire sentence, he will emerge, squinting at the crumbled remnants of his life, a fast-approaching 32nd birthday and over 3 years of professional inactivity. Not to mention a destructive thirst he can never quench.
Continue reading “Archive: Scott of the anarchic”
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August Fighter of the Month: Cedric Boswell
It may appear a theme or pattern is being established in the selection of the BoxingWriter.co.uk fighter of the month, the first winner Monte Barrett was selected for extinguishing the flicker of respect Tye Fields had ignited by rubbing the two sticks of his talent together and last month Antonio Margarito triumphed having snapped the unbeaten record of Miguel Cotto. August’s victor, Detroit born Cedric Boswell trumps Joshua Clottey for the most eye-catching performance of the month by destroying pampered heavyweight protege Roman Greenberg in two rounds. I had custard with my humble pie. Continue reading “August Fighter of the Month: Cedric Boswell”
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Green horn Greenberg dumped by Boswell
Having spent a great deal of Friday lampooning the American heavyweight picture and in particular Cedric Boswell, the 39-year-old recruited to provide a benchmark for Roman Greenberg’s often soporific progress as a heavyweight, it is with humility I report that the veteran, despite age, and the lack of anything other than a TKO defeat to Jameel McCline in 2003 on his record, proved too much for Greenberg.
Boswell demolished the highly touted prospect in the second round.
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Gammer succumbs to Pianeta and broken hand
Welsh hard-man Scott Gammer was forced to retire from his absorbing contest with German based prospect, Francesco Pianeta, due to a suspected broken hand. An injury he must have sustained very earlier in the fight as he threw precious few during the 8 completed rounds. It was particularly hard on the returning former British Heavyweight champion, as he looked well placed following 3 or 4 rounds to get the job done. Pianeta looked pleased not to be forced to accrue any further damage to his right eye, left damaged by Gammer’s meaty left hook.
Continue reading “Gammer succumbs to Pianeta and broken hand”
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