First published at BritishBoxers.co.uk in November 2016.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Some are shared by thousands or even millions. Others are more personal; grandfathers with ‘snap’ tins filled with medals and ribbons or a father marching for his community beneath a colliery banner. Usually, their place is earned in endeavour we believe to be beyond us or undertaken in our stead.
Occasionally, a figure enters my consciousness from an apparently innocuous encounter or anecdote or due to the most obscure or seemingly trivial of reasons.
One such occurrence happened six years ago as I witnessed a humble coin toss occur in a boxing dressing room with a potentially career changing prize at stake. The toss was necessary to select one of the two unused reserves to replace an injured finalist in the Featherweight edition of the then popular Prizefighter show and a chance to win £32,000. Continue reading “Life on the right hand side of the bill; Ian Bailey and the toss of a coin”
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.
Poor old 
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. 
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 
Now I’m not a regular over at Eastside Boxing, but young James Slater is a dedicated servant to the site and now and then puts together some interesting thoughts. A recent interview with Lamon Brewster – another of my favoured fighters – provided further evidence of just how far the big Irishman has come. The former two time world-title belt holder is eager to move from Michael Sprott to the current darling of the British fight scene. 
BOXINGWRITER.CO.UK 
