Throughout Tyson Fury’s embryonic boxing career he has embraced and wrestled with more media attention than his exploits in the ring have thus far merited. In part due to his eye-catching name, part due his back-story as a 6 foot 7 inch giant from travelling stock and in no small part to the potential he showed. On the surface, Fury has revelled in the attention and seemed naturally quotable whenever a camera was pushed in his face. Youthful charisma or an arrogance waiting to bite him on his not inconsiderable posterior? Depends how you like your fighters, respectful and humble or brash and loquacious? In the run up to his much required rematch with John McDermott the normally omnipresent Fury has been uncharacteristically quiet. A cause of some concern to Frank Maloney, who has to sell tickets for the clash and for fans, who want to buy them. Continue reading “Maloney: “As far as we know, Tyson Fury is OK for the fight””
Exclusive: Tyson will not fight Holyfield says David Payne
I have consulted with my much ignored common sense, accessed with the help of a strong mug of Yorkshire tea and low-lighting, and I can confirm that this fight is not going to happen, I’d encourage you all to breathe, take stock and have a similar internal conversation. It will save you time and energy for other more credible activities, like washing the car or painting the back-bedroom. And please don’t read or believe anyone who tells you different because they’ve probably got an accomplice entering your home through the back door to rifle through your purse.
In other news, Prince Naseem Hamed will not be returning to fight Justin Timberlake at catchweight, Joe Calzaghe will not be fighting Robert De Niro (though the curmudgeon is old enough to qualify) at Light-Heavy and Ricky Hatton is as likely to share a ring with Floyd Mayweather again as he is to play wide-right for England on Friday. I think my work here is done.
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Flying over the cuckoo’s nest for the last time? Oliver McCall defeated
Anyone with a passing interest in heavyweight boxing over the past twenty years will hold a mental image of one sort or another of heavy punching former WBC champion Oliver McCall.
Whether it be the crunching right-hand which felled Lennox Lewis, his emotional implosion in the rematch or the various drug fuelled episodes which have blighted his attempts to construct another run at the championship he lost to a grateful Frank Bruno in 1995. One of them will be reside with you.
Last night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel he dropped a clear decision to peripheral contender Timur Ibragimov, a loss that spells the end of any championship hopes the now 45-year-old may have held.
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Harrison, Haye and Klitschko. Among the madness, bluff and silence is there a fight to be found?
In an era before nutritionists, public relations and conditioners, during that simplistic period when heavyweights ran, hit-bag, sparred, chopped wood and often took a stiff drink or three the night before a fight it is hard to imagine how they would have viewed the flimsy media battle being contested by heavyweight trio David Haye, Klitschko and heaven help us Audley Harrison. It may be nostalgic romanticism to suggest fighters like Jack Dempsey or Jim Jeffries simply signed to fight an opponent, trained and then settled it in an often gruelling, unforgiving fight, but it is with some confidence that I propose they wouldn’t have been comfortable with the shallow misinformation all parties appear to be peddling even if avoiding opponents is an oft-overlooked aspect of boxing at the beginning of the 20th century too. Continue reading “Harrison, Haye and Klitschko. Among the madness, bluff and silence is there a fight to be found?”
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McCloskey smashes Lauri to the canvas in the 11th
Irishman Paul McCloskey plucked a world-class right hook to knockout veteran Italian Giuseppe Lauri in dramatic fashion to retain his European title and preserve his aspirations of securing a world-title shot in the near future. Just moments before there had been concerns about his swollen right eye between rounds and he’d had a point deducted for persistent use of his head. It had served to nudge the partisan Kings Hall crowd to the edge of their seats as the points verdict looked likely to be close. Then, with Lauri lowering his guard momentarily, McCloskey stepped forward and thudded his pet right hook on to his chin and the famous old Hall erupted in delight. Continue reading “McCloskey smashes Lauri to the canvas in the 11th”
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Gavin Rees added to McCloskey v Lauri card
I was interested to read that pocket battleship Gavin Rees has been added to the under card of Paul McCloskey’s encounter with veteran Italian Giuseppe Lauri this weekend. Rees has fought once since winning the Prizefighter 140 pound tournament, defeating three former European Champions in the process, and appears to be a promotional free agent in the absence of Calzaghe Promotions and his departure from the Sports Network stable. His last tune up being deep on the Harrison v Sprott under-card put together by Matchroom Sport. Continue reading “Gavin Rees added to McCloskey v Lauri card”
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Boxing: Mayweather, the showmen who leaves them wanting more
Presently, there is no hotter commodity in boxing than Floyd Mayweather. Fresh off a crushing victory over Shane Mosley I can no longer summon an obstacle which bears scrutiny to the now overwhelming argument that Floyd Mayweather deserves to take a place among the sport’s all time greats. Mayweather’s name can sit snugly among the Ali, Armstrong and Leonard’s as one of the finest prizefighters ever seen. In fact, the only thing which could be more commercially desirable than the Pretty Boy right now…is a retired Pretty Boy. Continue reading “Boxing: Mayweather, the showmen who leaves them wanting more”
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Larry Olubamiwo to face Big Dave Ferguson on June 25th
Likeable, affable heavyweight Larry Olubamiwo announced overnight that his opponent on the big Maloney bill later this month, June 25th at Brentwood, will be the North East’s Dave Ferguson in a cracking contest that serves as a title Eliminator for the British and Commonwealth titles. Great news for both fighters and a boom for Frank Maloney who now manages or promotes a crop of the division’s most viable talents. Continue reading “Larry Olubamiwo to face Big Dave Ferguson on June 25th”
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Boxing: Barrera. The pudgy-faced geriatric.
As a white-collar worker with the thinnest of fistic endeavour behind me I cannot ever bring myself to discourage professional fighters from doing what they do best whether a fathom removed from their prime or not. The likes of Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins all earned the right to make their own decisions and though a shadow of their former selves they remain steadfastly more capable than a plethora of younger fighters for whom world-titles will always remain a pipe-dream. You cannot make a fighter retire simply because of their age or the evident decay in their performances. However, as an independent observer with a soft spot for the Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera I’d be happy to whisper quietly that its time for him to stop. If I could get close enough.
Continue reading “Boxing: Barrera. The pudgy-faced geriatric.”
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Ian Bailey, Prizefighter’s cruelest loser, looks to upset Carl Frampton
Despite his diminutive stature and win some lose some record, 26 year old professional fighter Ian Bailey is a handy little battler and deserves a degree of good fortune and good will this Friday as he travels to Belfast to tackle touted prospect Carl Frampton on the under card of Paul McCloskey’s attempt to encourage veteran Italian Giuseppe Lauri to retire. For international readers or those with a more headline orientated interest in boxing Ian Bailey is Berkshire born, 5-4 (0) thus far, and missed out on a big Prizefighter pay-day on the spin of a coin last month.
Continue reading “Ian Bailey, Prizefighter’s cruelest loser, looks to upset Carl Frampton”
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John McDermott: “I don’t want any favouritism, just whoever WINS, wins!”
I met John McDermott once. He was standing at the back of the press rows the night David Haye got beaten by Carl Thompson. An evening more notable for him because he saw Mark Krence flattened by an imported journeyman that looked likely to rule the boxing butcher out of their proposed Eliminator, a contest, John lamented, for which he’d already sold £10,000 of tickets. And that snatched conversation typifies the kind of circumstantial misfortune he has laboured under for his entire professional career. In his forthcoming rematch with Tyson Fury I have a growing suspicion the genial giant may yet have his moment in the sun and overcome that sense of never being in the right place at the right time once and for all. Continue reading “John McDermott: “I don’t want any favouritism, just whoever WINS, wins!””
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Ricky Hatton, Danny Williams and the search for common sense
Contrasting stories surround two of British boxing’s favourite sons this week. Firstly, and most satisfactorily, is Ian McNeily’s piece at BoxRec News dutifully reporting Ricky Hatton difficulty in summoning the will to commence training while the same site also records a summer fixture for Danny Williams on the other side of the world. News of this proposed clash comes just days after the genial Londoner promised retirement in the aftermath of his capitulation to Derek Chisora. Continue reading “Ricky Hatton, Danny Williams and the search for common sense”
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Old? Check. Fat? Check. Unambitious? Check. Brian Nielsen next for Vitaly?
Did you hear the one about Vitaly Klitschko and the hungry, young contender? No, nor did I. Admittedly, Vitaly Klitschko hasn’t fought during a particularly glowing period for heavyweights. His tenure, interrupted by a now mysteriously cured knee problem, as the leading heavyweight began when Lennox Lewis retired and has continued through soporific contests with Danny Williams, Kirk Johnson, Corrie Sanders, Sam Peter, Juan Carlos Gomez, Chris Arreola and latterly Albert Sosnowski. So maybe, the revelation Danish pastry Brian Nielsen is making a comeback aged 45 will be welcome news in the Klitschko castle if nowhere else. Continue reading “Old? Check. Fat? Check. Unambitious? Check. Brian Nielsen next for Vitaly?”
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Sosnowski, Subbuteo, Sanders, Snooker and me
I’ve always found an attic or loft to be a fascinating place. It probably originates from the joyous isolation it provided me as a child, resplendent with snooker table, dart board, train set and Subbuteo it was a place of dreams, solace and make-believe. On the baize I was Davis AND Higgins, on the Astropitch I was everyone from Peru to Peterborough and with darts in hand I was toothless Jocky Wilson and the Crafty Cockney.
Continue reading “Sosnowski, Subbuteo, Sanders, Snooker and me”
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Feted, hated, fated? Is Audley stepping closer to defining Haye fight?
There has been something of the David Icke about Audley Harrison throughout his decade as a prominent heavyweight. Fuelled and demonstrated by a paradoxical cocktail of delusion, acute self-awareness and paranoia. Qualities which ostracised him from the boxing public and allowed the media to portray him as the villain, the idiot and the clown in his own one-man pantomime. But like all cabaret shows, it aint over til the fat lady sings and maybe, just maybe, said fat lady is back stage sipping honey and lemon as talk of a Harrison v Haye contest gathers pace. Continue reading “Feted, hated, fated? Is Audley stepping closer to defining Haye fight?”
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Boxing: Say what you like, but Holyfield v Botha caught your eye, didn’t it?
Francois Botha has tried many things to stay relevant and keep earning including a hapless foray into that form of combat that needs no introduction beyond its initials. The veteran South African is in the Autumn, arguably Winter, of his fluctuating career. A career, lest we forget, which has variously included Michael Moorer, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and shortly, Evander Holyfield too. For some reason his proposed match with fellow heavyweight grandfather Evander Holyfield has me intrigued. Regulars will know I have some curious vices.
Continue reading “Boxing: Say what you like, but Holyfield v Botha caught your eye, didn’t it?”
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Manny from Heaven set for fair-weather Floyd
So the scene is set. Boxing has risen from the canvas to offer the viewing public a fight of such dramatic potential it already draws comparison with the magnetic contests boxing was once able to supply from a position of long forgotten significance on an annual basis.
Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino with the smile and an entire people in his corner, neutralised Miguel Cotto with such aplomb last weekend he is now widely projected as the sport’s pound for pound number one. That most unhelpful of yardsticks. And in Floyd Mayweather, he has an opponent of equal brilliance and renown against whom to push his abilities to their limit and in doing so, just maybe, entice and ignite a whole new generation of prize fight followers.
Continue reading “Manny from Heaven set for fair-weather Floyd”
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Barry Morrison out of Prizefighter
I’m hearing, thanks to the power of Facebook – so as yet unconfirmed – that fan friendly Light-Welterweight contender Barry Morrison is out of December’s tournament with an unquantified injury. Globe trotting contender Ashley Theophane is one option it would seem.
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Holding out for a hero, is a new dawn really here?
There was a time, not so long ago, when boxing fans were entitled to wonder if a next generation of top-level fighters were ever to materialise. The class of the 90’s hung on, clung on and drove back any upstarts hoping to push them down the stairs and claim the house as their own.
Television networks stuck with the veterans, providing platform to those who reflected back the ageing demographic still pursuant of their boxing fix. Boxing, in a tale almost as old as the sport itself, is struggling for survival. Nefarious sanctioning bodies slowly dissembling its inherent hierarchy from within while the interloper from below stairs, the UFC, grew its appeal with the younger audience.
Boxing stuck with what it knew. Hopkins. Mosley. Oscar. Roy.
Maybe, almost a decade too late, the new class is here. I hope a rejuvenated Kelly Pavlik is among them.
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John Ruiz v David Haye will be a thriller
It will not prove as easy for newly crowned WBA Heavyweight champion David Haye to sell tickets to his mandated clash with American John Ruiz in the spring as the David v Goliath showdown proved last weekend. But for all the doubters, I’d like to encourage everyone to visit YouTube and refresh their preconceptions about the 37 year old former two-time WBA champion. In short Ruiz is a different beast to the much maligned jab and grab merchant he’s often described as. Continue reading “John Ruiz v David Haye will be a thriller”
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In the shadow of giants, Sexton wins
Poor old Sam Sexton, not enough that he derailed the Cinderella Man story of Belfast hard man Martin Rogan once, controversially of course, but last weekend he returned to the white hot atmosphere of the Odyssey Arena to thoroughly dismantle the Rogan again. And within 24 hours his considerable achievement was completely outshone by some David v Goliath showdown. Continue reading “In the shadow of giants, Sexton wins”
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David Haye, boxing’s new Barnum, continues to sell
If promoting a fight is craft, then David Haye has used every tool in the box to generate interest in this Saturday’s fight with Nicolay Valuev. He is an effervescent self-promoter who has used eye-catching gimmicks, distasteful commentary about Valuev’s personal hygiene, appeared on every talk-show, press event and personal appearance in order to force this fight to transcend the confines of the boxing audience. And, glory be, its working. Continue reading “David Haye, boxing’s new Barnum, continues to sell”
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No electricity like Tyson electricity
During the dim days of his post Buster Douglas career, I would maintain in the face of often fervent opposition that Mike Tyson was over-rated. That he succeeded in a weak era and through the many attempts to recycle the myth he tip toed around any of the risk-laden contenders of the 1990’s. Fighters like Ray Mercer, George Foreman, Shannon Briggs, David Tua were all punchers and held a shot** – Tyson wasn’t allowed near them. Evander Holyfield and latterly, Lennox Lewis further undermined the theory in emphatic triumphs over the ageing former champion. Continue reading “No electricity like Tyson electricity”
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Chris Aston grooming the next generation
For those among the readership who frequent the virtual watering holes of boxrec.com, Eastsideboxing.com or the pop-up ridden DogHouseboxing.com then the name of Huddersfield trainer Chris Aston is a familiar one. Once a gutsy circuit pro, the flame-haired trainer enjoyed a golden period at the start of the decade as he provided stewardship to the notable careers of Mark Hobson, James Hare and Dale Robinson. Of late, Chris has been in the corner on the right hand side of the bill with under card tricksters like Youssef El Hamidi but I was delighted to read in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner that his newest batch of young fighters are now emerging. Continue reading “Chris Aston grooming the next generation”
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The art of attracting web hits: Put Tyson in the title
He remains a media phenomenon, even now two whole decades removed from the last of his boxing peak and with a whole generation of boxing fans for whom he was never a consensus world-champion now fully grown. The time when the word Tyson was part of the language of the playground, of bars, of water-coolers (not that they were present in Blighty til after he lost) alongside Rocky Balboa is a distant memory. Tyson’s name became short-hand for power, speed, aggression, brutality and pain. Today’s vague, shallow and generally transparent suggestion that the 43 year-old may yet return to the ring only serves to prove the fascination with Iron Mike has proven timeless. Continue reading “The art of attracting web hits: Put Tyson in the title”
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Smith v Quigley as it happens: Live
Genuine electricity in the air as fellow Liverpudlians clash for the British Super Middleweight title, thankfully officiated by Richie Davies – the most respected referee in the country. Each time these two have met in the build up to this fight, sparks have flown. It could be about who holds their composure in the red-hot arena of the Echo arena. If it does, Smith holds the greater experience. Continue reading “Smith v Quigley as it happens: Live”
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James DeGale round by round LIVE
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”
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Come in #13, Daniel Rasilla gets the nod for McCloskey
Spaniard Daniel ‘Rasilla, ranked #13 at 140 pounds by the EBU has agreed to step in to tackle Paul McCloskey for the European crown next week. While it will underwhelm those hoping speculating about more mouth-watering contests with everyone from Junior Witter to Gavin Rees the Spaniard – according to Barry Hearn – is close to weight, in the gym and eager to take the chance. Continue reading “Come in #13, Daniel Rasilla gets the nod for McCloskey”
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M’Baye pulls out, Lauri says no; McCloskey still waiting
Paul McCloskey is still looking for an opponent following the withdrawal of Frenchman Souleymane M’Baye – the former WBA Light-Welterweight champion – from their European title fight next week. The shopping list of potential opponents is seemingly rich, with many of the possible domestic replacements in the gym ahead of the Prizefighter 140 pound tournament next month. One fighter who wont be answering the call is EBU #4 Light-Welterweight Giuseppe Lauri. The Italian, who has the rare distinction of having fought Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter, couldn’t make 10 stone in a week. [Update available]
Continue reading “M’Baye pulls out, Lauri says no; McCloskey still waiting”
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Tua; beginning to sound like a contender again
I’m not quite in the camp with the Tuamaniacs, a kind of derivative of the fanaticism Mike Tyson was able to evoke even after the flush of his youthful best had passed, but I must confess to more than a passing interest in the fortunes of the once destructive Samoan. Following an apparent eternity in the wilderness of legal, financial and promotional entanglements he’s back to doing what he once did better than almost anyone. Knocking out heavyweights. Continue reading “Tua; beginning to sound like a contender again”
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