Random Ramblings, Funk and Turkeys
By: Andrew Harrison
Category: amir kahn, bernard hopkins, billy joe saunders, breidis prescott, david haye, felix trinidad, floyd mayweather, frank warren, frankie gavin, gary sykes, george groves, james degale, joe calzaghe, kevin mitchell, librado andrade, lucien bute, manny pacquiao, marvelous marvin hagler, ricky hatton, roy jones jr, trevor crewe, yuri foreman
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I should be reporting on last night’s happenings, which include Bute’s astonishing stoppage of Andrade and the reportedly shocking decision in the Funeka-Guzman scrap but I’m in a bit of a funk regarding all things fistic at present. I knew from the get go that my quest to make it as a boxing writer was going to be tough, however it’s proving to be even more difficult than that, it’s Librado Andrade tough (can I still use that expression after Bute’s beat down?).
I very nearly cried ‘No Mas’ this week. You have to be plenty secure in your abilities to take the repeated knock backs and not feel like one of those deluded X Factor hopefuls who pollute my television. Justifying the amount of time required is also proving tricky, I feel a tad like Sisyphus rolling that damn rock up and down his hill, only my fingers aren’t quite as grubby and my back admittedly doesn’t pain me as much as his however I’m probably just as mardy.
After a long, hard think, I summoned the spirit of men like Gene Hatcher and Steve Robinson, dudes who must have wondered why the hell they were bothering to get up at 3.30 am to run at times. I sucked it up, gave myself a slap and drew up a plan of attack. Next year (in the best traditions of Del Trotter) I’m going to go for it and if I’m still labouring for attention and affection in 12 months, I’ll assess whether or not to follow Marvellous Marv and retire full of ire……admittedly leaving slightly less of a trace on the sport…..ahem…..
Touch too self indulgent? Well it is a blog after all and it could be worse, I could be writing about how I’m developing shoulder hair and have an intolerance to aubergine, both of which are true yet are unlikely to keep you entertained overly. So instead, I’ll have a quick random ramble about the sport (which is probably why you’re reading) which will hopefully blow away the cobwebs and I can then go back to working on an article for eastside which will hopefully surface some time during the week (warning, this ramble could go anywhere).
- Manny Pacquiao seems to have started a trend for handing out Xmas turkeys. There’s Oscar doling out bird….and Money May……and Yuri Foreman……err and B’Hop. It’s all very commendable and an obvious PR exercise, however no-one likes affluent dudes who do their bit for charity and then brag about it (told you I was mardy). Seriously though, it’s good to see fighters giving back, they’re a different breed to other sport stars.
- As blog readers will know, I attended a fair few promotions throughout October, a couple of which were provided by Frank Warren. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing his crop of Olympians and amateur stars such as James DeGale, Frankie Gavin (my favourite of Britain’s young hopefuls alongside George Groves) and BJ Saunders strutting their stuff, however the matches were less than competitive. I’m taking my life in my hands with that statement, Warren having banned Danny Flexen from Boxing News recently from attending his bills thanks to a similar remark. Thankfully, I’m irrelevant as far as FW is concerned, so I should be fine.
Anyway, due to this, along with the fact the Khan-Salita fight looks a grade A dud, I neglected to purchase fight tickets for the now sold out event, even though the fight is in Newcastle, which is my neck of the woods. I’m starting to rue my decision however, thanks to the addition of a really intriguing battle between Khan conqueror Breidis Prescott and Dagenham hotshot Kevin Mitchell.
Bugger.
I’ve now left myself at the mercy of the online ticket touts, with the cheapest ticket ready to sting my pocket for 90 odd beans. I’ll be struggling with whether to attend all week hmmmmmmm…..
- Sticking to the subject, is it me or does Salita look less like a prize fighter than anyone ever has…..ever? I’m not one to judge a fighter on how he looks but a quick gander at footage of him, leaves me wondering how he got the gig. He looks awful which is good news for Amir and FW.
- Although is it? Rumours are rife that Khan is ready to fly the Warren coup just as Hatton and Calzaghe did towards the end of their pretty poor alphabet title tenures (back when Ricky was the mighty WBU champ). If the whispers hold water, Khan better be prepared for some scorn in Warren’s tabloid column, worse even than that which he currently pours upon Hatton, Froch and Haye.
- This week’s Hopkins-Jones showcase threw me earlier, I hadn’t connected the 2nd December to Wednesday, do the Aussies always watch fights mid week? Incidentally, does anyone give Green a chance? I’m thinking he has one here, albeit slight.
- It was good to see Frank Bruno looking well and featuring in a BBC snippet on sports stars battling depression. Big Frank has had it tough since hanging up the gloves, yet was able to discuss his problems in his usual candid and affable manner. It reminded me why we loved him so much on these Isles; it was the big guy’s heart more than his fighting prowess (which looks better with each passing year thanks to the absolute dross fighting in his old division). I’d take Bruno over big Wlad no problem if they ever build that boxing time machine (just how far along are they with that thing anyway?).
- The prospective Pac-Money mega match reminds me of the Oscar-Tito showdown back in ’99 in terms of magnitude and the personalities involved. Let’s hope this one doesn’t stink as bad as its historical relative, although I see a similar fight strangely.
- Anyone who hasn’t yet purchased the Boxing News special centenary edition should do forthwith. It’s invaluable for boxing buffs. Nice to see Lennox Lewis getting props as our best since 1970 however I was surprised Roy Jones placed ahead of Whitaker, Hagler and Monzon as the 4th best fighter of the modern era (which included Ali at number one).
- Former prospect watch subject Trevor ‘Wrecking’ Crewe is in action this afternoon, hoping for his third successive win. I’ll update on the result and will be following both Crewe and Gary Sykes as long as I haven’t cursed them unduly by tipping them for the top.
- Incidentally, Gary may profit from Kevin Mitchell’s departure from super featherweight with a pop at the British title. Stay tuned.
- How much potential does Joe Murray have by the way? No-one who looks that young should be able to fight in that manner.
And I think that’s it. There, I’m feeling happier and I’ve worked the funk off, which should really have been a James Brown song.
Right, now where can I get me one of these turkeys?
8 comments on “Random Ramblings, Funk and Turkeys”
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Hey Haz, good stuff mate and definitely don’t give up. You’ll get there in the end, I’m sure of it.
Who you got in the Mitchell/Prescott fight? Unless Mitchell has improved his defence considerably, I can’t see past Prescott. Although the Colombian might struggle to get down to 135.
You’re right about how Salita looks. Have you seen his legs? Last time I saw legs like that they were hanging out of a nest. He’s not that bad though. Good jab, puts his punches together well and has a smart boxing brain. But he lacks the foot speed and power to give Khan any major problems. I reckon it’ll go to points, but I expect Khan to be a wide points winner.
Joe Murray looks really promising. Saw him out in Vegas on the Hatton undercard and I was impressed by him (and considering he stood out on a really LONG undercard like that, it speaks volumes about his talent). He’s also stopping guys that normally don’t get stopped which is a major bonus. Definitely one to watch.
Incidentally, did you see that Moroccan boxer Yassine El Maachi last night? He looked the business in stopping Alex Spitko and considering all the trouble Spitko gave BJ Saunders last month, it definitely makes El Maachi one to keep on an eye on.
Lastly, how sad was it to see Michael Broadie get stretched the other night? I mean honestly, there has to be some sort of pension fund that can be set up to prevent former world-class boxers being embarrassed like that (I assume Brodie only came back for the cash). Just thinking as well, whenever there’s a discussion about the best British boxers never to win a world title, how come Michael Brodie’s name never gets into the discussion? I mean, unlike Graham and Lang, Brodie SHOULD have been world champion, but was blatantly robbed against Willie Jorrin and a dubious point deduction cost him a points victory against In-jin Chi (although I did think that Chi deserved the verdict).
Hey Dave, cheers for the pep up, I’ll give it more effort after Xmas and see where it ends up, getting into print would legitimise the hard work but it’s not easy.
Are you still writing for 411? I looked for a pick from you for the writer’s picks post but couldn’t find anything.
Mitchell’s got his work cut out there, he’ll look to box, he’s admitted as much, he could get blown away if he doesn’t. He’s with Jimmy Tibbs now who did a marvellous job with Nigel Benn. He’ll have Mitchell jabbing, moving and holding in close, which is what he needs to do. I’ll have to have a think before I can pick a winner, it’s a great fight, Warren must feel he’s slipped since blowing Khan away, he doesn’t usually risk his fighters in bouts like this. Khan must be slated to face the winner, Khan-Mitchell would be a good fight, I’d pay for that one alright.
I think Khan may stop him, not until he’s jabbed him to death of course, although he’s always just one punch away from disaster. If Manny Pacquiao turns up I’ll throw myself off the Tyne bridge for not getting a ticket!!
I saw Joe at his brother’s fight with Thaxton, he looks really scrawny, you wouldn’t believe he can fight as he does!! Hopefully they’ll appear on double headers as I’m a big John Murray fan and I’ll be looking to attend future bouts. It’d be good if he can get in on the Mitchell-Khan sweepstakes.
I didn’t see El Maachi. Poor Spitko, I saw him take a pasting three times in three weeks in October, thinking of doing a feature on him maybe.
I’m not sold on Saunders, he looked a bit average to me in comparison to DeGale and Gavin.
I knew Brodie’s comeback would end in tears. He was always a bit of a hard luck story and he took some massive beatings. Remember his scrap with Neil Swain? Brutal.
It sucks that fighters like Brodie end up potless, there should be something done as you say. Sickening to see the money footballers are on far a fraction of the effort.
I still do the occasional piece on 411 Haz, but due to work commitments I’ve had to scale down my contributions. In today’s climate, money always gets first priority, lol.
Yeah I remember Brodie’s scrap with Swain very well. Along with Spencer Oliver v Patrick Mullings and Colin Dunne v Billy Schwer, it ranks right up there with some of the best domestic battles I’ve seen. His fight with that Pastor Maurin definitely wasn’t one for the squeamish either.
Whoever wins the Mitchell-Prescott fight, it should be a cracker. Much better on paper than a fight with Mitchell’s original Dec 5th opponent – pereinnial spoiler Ricky Burns. That would have been a stinker!
Yeah, Mitchell-Burns sounded rubbish. I’m hoping Gary Sykes manages to nail a Burns showdown now Mitchell’s departed and gets rid of him.
I’ve just read that Khan’s on a fight by fight contract with Warren, I wonder if that’s why he’s trying to slip Mitchell into contention?
I’m sure Khan wants a move Stateside. He’s reportedly pissed off from all the abuse he’s getting from some fans and I can’t say I blame him. I’m not his biggest fan don’t get me wrong, but the booing he received at the weigh-in for Hatton/Pacquiao was just plain nasty. No-one deserves that, let alone a bloke who, for the most part, appears to be level-headed. I won’t even repeat some of the comments I heard shouted at Khan at the weigh-in. Let’s just say even Nick Griffin would have been embarrased by them!
I heard that Alex Arthur is moving up to light-welter to face Nigel Wright. That could be a bit tasty. Always thought Wright was very underrated. Of course, us viewers won’t get to see that. We’ll be “treated” to watching the Olympians blow over more tomato cans. Aren’t we the lucky ones?
Khan does receive a lot of grief from a bigoted monority, no question about it, I saw it first hand at the Barrera fight. There were some absolute morons hurling abuse that night.
I was an Amir fan initially, I loved his Olympic exploits, (he made amateur boxing temporarily exciting again!!) however after Limond flattened him I just lost faith in the lad, you kind of feel let down a bit don’t you? The matchmaking he’s been on the end of doesn’t help either, how can you respect that nonsense, PPV to boot?
He’ll win Saturday though (although with his whiskers, anyone has a puncher’s chance……even non-punchers like Limond!!) which may set up a Hatton fight which would still be immense here.
I don’t see Arthur doing much at 140, now there’s a fighter who disappointed his whole career, surely Warren’s not thinking of wheeling him in front of Khan? Bleeeurgh.
Oh yeah and Crewe lost yesterday…..that’s it, Prospect Watch is officially cancelled…..for Gary Sykes’ sake!!
Glad you’re staying in the game, Andrew. I really do like your work. You seem to have what it takes to me.
Cheers mate, appreciate it. Think I was a tad put out that no-one had picked up my ‘October travels’ article, another one for the scrap heap!! The glass is half full, the glass is half full……..