Popcorn & Punches
By: Andrew Harrison
Category: andre dirrell, carl froch, courtney fry, floyd mayweather, frank warren, jason booth, joe frazier, juan manuel marquez, kell brooks, martin rogan, michael hunter, michael jennings, miguel cotto, muhammad ali, nathan cleverley, paul holborn, paul smith, sam sexton, tony jeffries, tony quigley, trevor crewe, Uncategorized
In a time of change……this summer…..two men….one ring…four fists….one immense marketing campaign…..from the people who brought you…. ‘The Dream Match’… and… ‘The World Awaits’….comes an event like no other……hold onto your hats….batten down the hatches…..for the blockbuster of 2009……one’s dangerous…..the other’s stinking rich……together……they’ll have a boxing match…..’Numero Uno’….starring Pretty Boy Floyd and Juan Manuel Marquez…(certificate PG)…..
Boxing returns to the big screen next month for the Mayweather v Marquez rumble, with the contest to be beamed live into selected cinemas across the States (and in HD no less). You have to hand it to Golden Boy, they’re promoting the arse off this one, the show already has a new and improved undercard from the original concept, the one before Mayweather’s mysterious injury forced a rethink.
Whatever you may think about the actual notion of popcorn with your fisticuffs, the brainwave that the promoters have had in advertising the battle via 30 second preview trailers before showings of mainstream feature films is a godsend. The more the man in the street is exposed to the high end of boxing’s product, the better for the sport’s health. More importantly it could create an avenue into the youth market, a way to access the kids who frequent cinemas of a weekend purely to escape the olds before they reach that magical age which allows them to begin frequenting bars.
I have no qualms in saying that if boxing (and I’m talking about the highest quality matches the sport has to offer) were to return to terrestrial television, it would be a huge success and this could well be the next best thing. If Money v Dinamita results in a quality fight (big ask here I’m afraid, answers on a postcard for when Floyd was ever in a real good ‘un?) then Shaeffer and the chaps may just have tapped into a whole new bountiful market.
I’ve always been a tad jealous of folk who describe watching epics such as Ali-Frazier on closed circuit, for those who had zero chance of being in attendance (99% of fight fans for clashes of that ilk) it was the next best thing. Unfortunately I can’t see the suits managing to branch out over here in the UK, due to timing differences the idea’s a bit of non starter. The local UCI isn’t going to open it’s doors at 4am I’m afraid and even if they did, just what sort of audience would it likely attract? Sitting next to the geordie Travis Bickle (are yee talkin’ terrus leeeiikee) doesn’t particularly appeal, regardless of how good the dust up is.
Elsewhere, October looks to be shaping up as a month to remember for boxing in the UK with a glut of quality fights in the pipeline.
John Murray and Jon Thaxton meet in Altrincham on the 3rd in a long awaited scrap for the vacant British lightweight title, whilst over in Belfast on the 9th hopping mad Marty Rogan rematches Sam Sexton in what should be a bad tempered and highly charged affair. The heavyweight rivals will also have support from rising Welsh star Nathan Cleverly, who reportedly tackles former Olympic representative Courtney Fry at light heavyweight.
There’s a stacked Frank Maloney card in Sunderland on the 16th headlined by Hartlepool buzzsaw Michael Hunter’s return to arms against Jason Booth for the British super bantamweight title. The undercard is crammed also with Darren Sutherland lining up alongside the cream of North East talent, featuring the likes of Tony Jeffries, the Dickinson brothers, Trevor Crewe and Paul Holborn.
Carl Froch then kicks off his hugely anticipated Super Six campaign on the 17th in Nottingham against American Andre Dirrell, ‘The Cobra’ hoping that home advantage will see him instantly racking up some tournament points.
On top of that lot, Frank Warren has put together a fascinating card at Liverpool’s Echo arena on the 30th . Paul Smith (of Contender fame) takes on Tony Quigley in a local derby in tandem with Kell Brooks’ British welterweight title defence against recent Miguel Cotto victim Michael Jennings.
I’ve already booked tickets to the Belfast bill and quite fancy the Froch card a week later…….in fact I quite fancy the lot of them!! After a summer to forget, things are finally on the up.
9 comments on “Popcorn & Punches”
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Floyd and Juan are great fighters, but methinks Floyd is a bit better, a bit bigger and a big performer. Can’t wait to see the fight!
Hi Kelsey, yep I’d never bet against Floyd (when sober at least, I tipped JMM whilst inebriated on another site!!). I’m not sure where I am with this, will Floyd be too rusty to deal with a smaller, quicker guy than he’s been used to fighting? Will JMM be able to carry the weight? Word is he’s fleshy around the midrift, a welterweight he aint. There are good judges tipping JMM mind you, it may not have been selling but it’s a good one for the purists this. At the mo, I’d go with you, Floyd has more advantages but we’ll see how it develops closer to the event. Wish it was showing at cinemas over here though, what a great night out!! You live near any showing the fight in the States?
Yeah, looking forward to the new season as well Haz. Things looking up on the boxing front in Ireland too. Bernard Dunne has a ridiculously tough first title defence against Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym. I’ll be there ringside for that and no doubt will be screaming at Dunne, once again, to “keep your F’N hands up”. Seems like that’s all I shout when Dunne is fighting.
Elsewhere, a mouthwatering clash between Andy Lee and John Duddy looks set to happen in my hometown of Limerick sometime around November. Duddy’s camp are reportedly playing hardball at the moment, but hopefully they’ll see sense and accept Brian Peters’ offer. Duddy’s going no place at the moment and needs a big win to revitalise his career.
Also looking forward to seeing how Darren Sutherland will progress. I’m of the opinion that he’s carrying too much bulk at the moment and could end up being another Jeff Lacy. A real shame if that happens to a man of Sutherland’s talents. But we shall see.
Duddy v Lee will be a cracker Dave, weirdly I think Duddy has a chance in that one, I guess Lee will start favourite though?
Well Dave, after writing the above schedule out I had a bit of a brainwave, I thought I’d attend EVERY domestic card in October and write about it.
Got to work Thursday after lengthy diplomatic discussions with the missus (how do you explain you want to go galavanting for a month?!!) and got tickets for the lot………..I’ve had to twist my mate’s arms to come along to different cards, fitting them in so that I’m not trekking about on my todd!!
I couldn’t believe it yesterday (after I’d spent an entire evening buying tickets online) when I saw they’d slotted in Moore-Rhodes on the only spare weekend I had, 23rd………..but what could I do? I’m in too deep now so I’m going to that too!! Just hoping I don’t sicken myself off by the time November rolls around.
Think I’m most looking forward to Rogie-Sexton, hope Martin can pull it off, he’s certainly up for it.
I like Sutherland, think he’s the best of the young SM’s, although he’s older than Jeffries, DeGale et al isn’t he? I don’t imagine DeGale will want to go near him for the foreseeable.
I don’t remember having it so good on the UK fight scene, the recession has obviously forced the promoters to up their games, win-win for us eh?
Absolutely. After a summer of dross, the autumn/winter schedule is looking sunnier than ever!
Just had a quick look at Poonsawat Dave, he’s looks a tough cookie, Dunne’s gonna need your support big time in that one, should be a cracking atmosphere on the night.
Yeah for sure Haz. This is an unbelievably tough first defense for Dunne. It was a shame he couldn’t get a voluntary first, especially when you consider how tough the Cordoba fight was. But in fairness to Poonsawat, he’s been waiting 18 months for his shot (Dunne jumped ahead of the queue to face Cordoba) so I guess fair’s fair.
Home advantage is crucial I think here. Thai’s don’t generally perform well away from home and to further that point, Poonsawat’s only defeat came away from home. Plus, the Dublin crowd really does raise Dunne up a level. I think the crowd got into Cordoba’s head and lifted Dunne to rally in the fifth when Dunne was down twice and looked to be on his way out.
The Thai is also quite small so I think if Dunne stays on the outside and boxes to an intelligent gameplan (his trainer Harry Hawkins is a master tactician) he can win this on points.
But I have no doubt that there’ll be stages in this fight that I’ll be watching through my fingers!!!
New Boxing Monthly has an article by Mick Gill ‘The Irish Revival’, pretty good stuff.
If I need any info on Irish fighters, I’ll be bending your ears Dave.
Looking forward to experiencing the partisan Rogan crowd, I imagine it’ll be lively to say the least, wonder what they’ll make of three merry Geordies in ‘Rogie’ T-Shirts?…..!!
Yeah I read the article the other day. Great read, really enjoyed it.
I have no doubt you’ll love the atmosphere at the Rogan fight. They love their boxing up in the North. I just hope Dave Parris isn’t the referee this time.
Be sure to ask if you need some info on any Irish fighter. I’ll be only too glad to fill you in.