Domestic Violence
By: Andrew Harrison
Category: amir kahn, andre dirrell, billy joe saunders, carl froch, courtney fry, danny williams, darren sutherland, derek chisora, frank warren, james degale, jason booth, jimmy ellis, john murray, jon thaxton, kell brook, manny pacquiao, martin rogan, michael hunter, michael jennings, muhammad ali, nathan cleverley, paul smith, ricky hatton, sam sexton, tony jeffries, tony quigley, trevor crewe
Well friends, that’s another weekend chalked off the calendar, two more to go before I embark upon a month like no other.
Safesideoftheropes is hitting the road in October and taking in six domestic fight cards across the length and breadth of the country. The idea is to get in a bit of practice posting timely fight reports before putting something good together for submission to the dreaded mags………well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. The small matter of it being one hell of a boon is just coincidental………ahem….
From Altrincham to Liverpool via Bolton, Sunderland, Nottingham and London, I’ll be running the rule over countless fighters, venues and promotions, there’ll be a lot to tap keyboard keys over, that’s for sure.The planning has been a pain and I’ve entered my card details online way too often for comfort in booking trains, digs, tickets etc. The cancellation of the Rogan-Sexton card was a blow also, a hit on non-refundable flights was galling, however the rescheduled York Hall card has more than pacified me (great work by Frank Warren).
Here’s my itinery:
October 3rd Altrincham: Jon Thaxton v John Murray
October 9th London: Nathan Cleverly v Courtney Fry (also featuring Derek Chisora, James DeGale, Billy Joe Saunders)
October 16th Sunderland: Michael Hunter v Jason Booth (also featuring Tony Jeffries, Darren Sutherland, Trevor Crewe)
October 17th Nottingham: Carl Froch v Andre Dirrell
October 23rd Bolton: Jamie Moore v Ryan Rhodes (also featuring Gary Davies v Ian Napa)
October 30th Liverpool: Paul Smith v Tony Quigley/Kell Brook v Michael Jennings (also featuring Frankie Gavin)
If anyone has any accommodation tips and more importantly, which watering holes are worth a visit, be sure to drop me a line. I just hope my mate Clarkey’s bone shaker makes the return trip to Nottingham, it’s only one step above this bad boy:
At the risk of coming over slightly obsessed, my flatmate left his regular tabloid lying around yesterday and a quick flick through (I shouldn’t really) led me to Frank Warren’s weekly column. I’ve already gone over this previously however I have to mention his lead story (entitled Manny isn’t everything), an artful attempt to explain away why Amir Khan turned down a Manny Pacquiao fight (if you’ve never read this stuff, you should seek it out for comedy value alone).
The major stumbling block, explains Warren, is that Freddie Roach trains both boys and that he’d publicly stated he’d be in the Pacman’s corner should the fight come off.
“All the advantages would lie with Pacquiao as when Angelo Dundee stuck with Muhammad Ali before his fight with Jimmy Ellis”.
Ahhh, I see……hold on though…..didn’t Dundee actually stand by Ellis……and didn’t Ali win anyway? Isn’t the real reason the offer was declined due to the fact that it would be like throwing the Bolton speedster into a wood chipper?
The article ends: “Besides, the WBA have ordered the Dmitiry Salita fight as Amir’s first defence”.
That settles it then.
Incidentally, Khan and Warren had been reported to be taking legal action against social networking site Facebook due to ‘defamatory and racist’ content on some of its pages. These reports have now proven to be false, Khan’s lawyer issuing a statement to the Bolton News refuting the claims. Seems that the complaint came directly from FW, not Khan……….I better be careful what I write……. “Smithers….release the hounds”….
The only big domestic card I’ll be missing in October is the latest Barry Hearn promoted Prizefighter event, this one pitting heavyweights against one another. Hearn, always with an eye on the theatrical, drafted in a bemused looking Mike Tyson to make the draw which pans out as follows:
Michael Sprott v Danny Hughes
Danny Williams v Carl Baker
Audley Harrison v Scott Belshaw
Scott Gammer v Coleman Barrett
My initial cynicism at the bigger names avoiding one another has now abated………the draw was actually seeded………keep up Andrew…..they had to do something to avoid another Williams-Sprott encounter didn’t they?
Anyway, betting from bet365 is as follows:
Williams 15/8
Sprott 2/1
Harrison 3/1
Gammer 10/1
Barrett 20/1
Hughes 20/1
Holden 25/1
Belshaw 25/1
Williams is not a bad pick, he’s weathered enough to handle the unusual format, although all eyes will be on big Audley, the villain of the show, although very much in the panto sense these days.
I’m not a fan of these things but the wider public are lapping them up.When I quizzed my non boxing fan acquaintances, they cite the fact that it’s quick, action packed and decisive. Another strike for the faster, quicker, more generation (damn you MTV!!) and another pointer as to why MMA continues to grow.
I’ve been banging on and on for years now about how boxing needs clarity, recognisable rules and guidelines for the public to be able to access the sport, it’s become too niche. One champion per division will do it, the Ring’s championship policy, which has floundered of late in all honesty, needs to succeed now more than ever and that probably means HBO getting behind it and denouncing alphabet belts once and for all.
Don’t worry Haz, Jose Sulaiman’s new “Diamond Belt” will sort all that out.
In all seriousness though, although The Ring Championship policy is far from perfect, it sure beats the hell out of these ludicrous governing bodies. Remember when people complained about having four versions of the world title (oh those were the days)? Nowadays, it’s possible to have four versions of the SAME FREAKIN’ BELT thanks to the disgraceful WBA. “WBA Super-Champion”, “WBA Regular-Champion”, “WBA Interim-Champion”, “WBA Champion-in-recess”!
Pass the sick bucket…… I’m gonna puke!!!
On a brighter note, that is some schedule you got there Haz, fair play to you mate. All crackers as well. Really looking forward to Froch vs Dirrell. I’ve seen a lot of the American and he’s arguably the most naturally talented of the bunch, but this is a HUGE step up in class for him and he’s also fighting away from home so I’ll lean towards Froch……. but only just.
Pick of the bunch, for me anyway, is Moore vs Rhodes. Potential bannana skin for Moore as well. On a side note, how the hell is Moore not yet in a position to fight for a world title? Frank Maloney has a lot to answer for in regards to where Moore’s career is going right now, but then this is the same promoter who priced Rendal Munroe out of a mega-bucks showdown in Dublin against Bernard Dunne. That’s another example of Maloney’s ineptness as a promoter. Munroe twice trounced the man who destroyed Dunne and yet Dunne is now a “world” champion sitting on a lofty number 5 ranking in The Ring’s ratings and is about to defend his title against The Ring’s number 3 ranked fighter in front of over 9,000 fans. Whereas Munroe is still defending his European title in leisure centres against guys who aren’t even household names in their own house! There’s a lot to be said for good promoting, let me tell you.
If Jamie does the business against Rhodes and is still no closer to a world title shot, then it’s time for Moore to bid Mr. Maloney adieu.
I’m interested in seeing Dirrell fight, he looks a good fighter but we won ‘t know how good until he fights Froch. He’ll be looking to make this one a boxing match and Froch has looked awful at times in his last two, his technique puts me on edge….bit like fingernails down a chalkboard!!
Moore-Rhodes should be a tough fight, similar to Thaxton-Murray in a way, pressure fighter against the herky jerky Ingle inspired puncher.
I’m sure Moore has intimated something similar to what you’ve written about his promoter’s tenuous position!!Maloney also made a right pig’s ear of Lennox’s career, he was in the wilderness for ages.
I didn’t realise Dunne was so highly rated Dave, he’ll take the Thai’s spot if he wins and if Lopez and Caballero do the foxtrot off to featherweight, he could see himself in line for a Ring championship fight, great stuff after he was written off not so long back.
To be honest Haz, I think that rating flatters Dunne a little bit…. actually quite a bit. But fair dues to him, he has shown great character to bounce back from that defeat. His career mirrors Khan in many ways. A talented but vulnerable boxer who’s career was seemingly derailed when he was blown away in a round by an unbeaten and unheard of puncher (Kiko Martinez). Martinez, like Prescott, is hyped up as the next big thing but is soon exposed for his technical limitations. Meanwhile Dunne, like Khan, gets his career back on track by beating a faded, blown-up former world champion (Felix Machado) before winning the WBA title from a solid but unexceptional champion.
Hmmm, is Brian Peters Frank Warren in disguise?