USYK

‘All I want is to fight’

SHAKUR
‘No one will beat me’
MINTER
‘The best days of my life’

JULY 2 2020 THE WORLD’S BEST FIGHT MAGAZINE EST. 1909

WWW.BOXINGNEWSONLINE .NET

EDDIE YOUNG vs
HEARN FOREMAN
The rules of Bedlam in
Fight Camp San Juan

The man who was

not allowed to be king

DARK DAYS Racism, cruelty and the

final days of Sam Langford
By Springs Toledo
£3.99 VOL. 76 NO. 27

BRIAN LONDON + PAT McCORMACK + GLEN JOHNSON

Available in newsagents, or order at
www.boxingnewsshop.com
 Contents July 2, 2020

30 SAM LANGFORD
Springs Toledo tells a dark tale of cruelty and discrimination

Photos: GETTY IMAGES

UNMISSABLE HIGHLIGHTS

>> 12 OLEKSANDR USYK >> 4 EDITOR’S LETTER

The former undisputed cruiser king Positive signs of changing for the better
opens up on his heavyweight hopes
>> 5 GUEST COLUMN
>> 18 ALAN MINTER The Jack Dempsey vs Joe Louis debate
A first-hand account of what it is like to
become a world champion in Las Vegas >> 16 JOSHUA FRANCO
Andrew Moloney is on the wrong end of
>> 26 SHAKUR STEVENSON an upset behind closed doors in Vegas
How the fast-rising American prodigy
intends to ultimately rule the sport >> 22 FLYWEIGHTS
The 15th instalment in our series sees
>> 36 GLEN JOHNSON
Catching up with “The Road Warrior” –
a fighter who never shirked a challenge
12 the 112-pounders take centre stage

>> 40 AMATEURS
Pat McCormack on boxing’s long delay

SAVE £££ WITH A SUBSCRIPTION >> 42 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Frank Bruno vs Mike Jameson, Jack
For more details visit Dempsey vs Jess Willard and more
WWW.BOXINGNEWSONLINE.NET/SUBSCRIPTIONS
>> 46 60-SECOND INTERVIEW
‘GENNADY GOLOVKIN IS HUMBLE
OUTSIDE THE RING BUT HE’S A
MONSTER WHEN HE’S INSIDE IT’
Daniel Morley

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 3

 EDITOR’S LETTER

Photo: MARK ROBINSON/MATCHROOM

Time to
subscribe
l DURING
this time of
uncertainty
we’re keen to
ensure all of our
readers manage
to get their
weekly issue.
Cover photography
GETTY IMAGES
l THERE are
numerous ways
to subscribe,
including
KING OF HIS CASTLE: special offers.
Hearn’s Fight Camp
is full of l WE offer
enticing fights
print-
subscriptions on
a no obligation,

BE BRAVE AND MOVE FORWARD monthly pay-as-

you-go contract,
meaning you
can stop the
The sport is showing signs of cleaning up its act but there’s still a long way to go subscription
at any time. If
it’s just single
S BOXING takes its opposition. Furthermore, the contender bending over backwards to accommodate editions you
first steps down a or prospect who is beaten will learn more nonsensical policies is now. There has to want, we can do

A long road, plenty
of imperfections
remain but there is
an obvious desire
to change for the
better.
It’s been three
months since the
sport was plunged
into lockdown. Back
then, we hoped
for a period of
Matt reflection where
Christie the powerbrokers
@MattCBoxingNews looked in the mirror.
Editor So when the green
light to return was
switched on, the sport – refreshed and
reenergised – would come back stronger
while acknowledging where it had gone
wrong in the past. There is some evidence
of that desired soul searching.
Eddie Hearn, one week after Frank
Warren announced his plans to return
with a series of 50/50 domestic scraps,
confirmed his own comeback. He will
stage four events on the grounds of
Matchroom HQ and they are loaded with
quality fights.
Hearn has promised he will not be held
to ransom by any fighters demanding
top purses for meaningless contests. The
mismatch trend had indeed gotten out of
hand. Boxers must now prove themselves
before they get to the next level. Beating
a fellow contender or prospect will now
be the way to move forward as opposed
to five or six victories over vastly inferior
from that defeat than they possibly could
from thrashing a selection of no-hopers
themselves.
Sanctioning bodies may find life in
post-lockdown a little less fruitful than
before. While making the case for Dillian
Whyte to get his long-awaited shot
at the WBC heavyweight title, Hearn
slammed the organisation’s mind-boggling
Franchise championship after suggestions
that Tyson Fury might be elevated to such
spurious heights to accommodate Whyte.
It should be seen as a positive
development that Hearn has criticised
a sanctioning body without fearing the
consequences (the other fighters he
represents not being ranked favourably,
for example).
If promoters stopped recognising these
ridiculous belts by plastering them all over
their marketing material, if broadcasters
stopped using them to sell their product
and fighters were encouraged to not pay
the sanctioning fees attached to them
these daft titles would disappear.
The need to keep sanctioning bodies
happy is understood to an extent
because fighters still want to own belts
and therefore have to be seen taking the
necessary steps. But the ultimate desire
for an undisputed champion, a status so
rare it’s laughable, only underlines how
the sport mindlessly fuels the problem by
wasting so much time trying to keep the
sanctioning bodies happy.
It will take more than a worldwide
pandemic to kill off the chaotic structure
atop the sport, but the time to stop
be a starting point otherwise we simply that too.
plunge back into a vicious circle with no
way out. l YOU can save
Likewise drug cheats. Jarrell Miller last 60 per cent
week failed yet another test and should on the cover
not be accommodated in the sport again. price with a
Yet the outrage we now feel will pass. Give print and online
it a year and a promoter will recognise subscription, or
the value in the villainous heavyweight a huge 81 per
and lobby for a governing body to let cent if you opt
him back in. One only has to look at the for digital only.
cases of Luis Ortiz and Alexander Povetkin
as proof of that. Hearn promoted both l FOR more
after indisputable drug test failures and, information
on August 22, Povetkin will face Whyte in on all the
the headline slot of Matchroom’s three- subscription
week fight festival. This is Povetkin’s fifth options, plus
consecutive appearance on a box office our special
event. Each came after he was busted for bookazines,
cheating. That is not a deterrent. please visit
Those in the boxing media need to www.shop.
be brave. If more came out and spoke of kelsey.co.uk
the ills in the sport it becomes harder for or call 01959-
those ills to exist. 543-747.
Which brings us, finally, to Daniel
Kinahan. The notorious Irishman, only l THE next
a fortnight ago, was being hailed as a issue will be in
vital component in the making of a 2021 shops on July
showdown between Fury and Anthony 9 and available
Joshua. What followed was a deep dive to download on
into his links with grotesque criminality. July 7.
This week it was announced, as the heat
surrounding Kinahan reached boiling
point, he has taken a step back from the
boxing world.
Follow us and keep up to date
@BoxingNewsED BoxingNewsOnline

4 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

 GUEST COLUMN

THE ORIGINAL DREAM FIGHT

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

LEGENDS MEET:
Dempsey offers
some advice to
young Louis

Long before we debated Ali vs Tyson we argued about Dempsey vs Louis

REAM FIGHTS, It goes to prove that time moves on. find anyone who would pick the John L. Sullivan box in exhibitions
those that Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis were “Brown Bomber” to prevail. Again, at carnivals.

D match boxers
from different
eras, is
always a fun
intertwined for decades as not only
two of the greatest heavyweight
champions in history, but a favorite
subject of debate as to who would
conversation to have beaten whom. Dempsey, the
have. And since champion from 1919 to 1926, had
they can’t take the more explosive career while
place, opinions Louis the more distinguished one
can never when he reigned from 1937 to
be proven 1949. Dempsey vs Louis stood out
wrong. In above the rest until Ali came along
that scenario, and joined the conversation.
Jack everyone By proclaiming himself as “The
Hirsch becomes an Greatest”, Ali was injected into the
Senior US expert. debate. So much so, that in the
Correspondent Go on social February 1967 issue of The Ring,
media and Louis granted an interview that
you’ll see thousands of them. They was headlined, How I Would Have
will talk about Mike Tyson and Clobbered Clay. In giving his reasons
Muhammad Ali and argue about why, Louis questioned both Ali’s
the outcome of a fight had they courage and ability to fight off of
met in their primes. On Boxing the ropes. Of course we now know
News’ channels, it’s the fantasy fight that both turned out to be among
that is unquestionably the most Ali’s greatest strengths.
debated. During Ali’s whole career the
But there was another dream consensus was that Louis would
fight that is now scarcely mentioned have beaten him in a hypothetical
that once invoked great discussion. matchup, but today you can scarcely
it speaks of time passing and an
inevitable deaprture from the past.
Louis once had an iconic
status as great as Ali’s. And as
unimaginable as it sounds now, the
day might come when the public
undervalue Ali’s impact.
As for Tyson, the public won’t let
go. Even at age 54 there are those
who actually think he could cause
havoc in the heavyweight division
thanks to seeing some carefully
edited clips of him whacking bags
and pads.
Plenty of other great
heavyweight champions enter
the arguments but it is the most
charismatic ones that stir the
emotions.
Nat Fleischer was the founder
and editor of The Ring and knew
more than most about the sport
yet his opinions would today be
scoffed at. He lived from 1884 to
1972, seeing every heavyweight
champion box at ringside from
James J Corbett through to Ali.
Fleischer also claimed to have seen
Fleischer always favoured the
old-timers that shaped his younger
days. Ali was not even in his top 10
list of heavyweights. But Fleischer
was willing to gently bend once in a
while. He had Dempsey at four and
Louis in sixth, but surprisingly said
he thought that Joe’s superior ring
generalship would have seen him
prevail in a head-to-head matchup.
It is highly doubtful that if
Fleischer were still around his views
on the modern boxers would have
changed. I recall a conversation
with Fleischer where he said Ali
might have given Jack Johnson a
good fight for six rounds. It was
intended as a compliment toward
Ali, being that Johnson was number
one on Fleischer’s list.
Former world heavyweight
champion Jack Sharkey once said
how wonderful it would be if all
the dream fights discussed could
actually take place. I beg to differ,
because it would then eliminate the
healthy arguments that we so much
enjoy having.

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 5


LETTERS
LETTER OF THE WEEK
RJJ RECOLLECTIONS
READING the Roy Jones Jnr
feature in last week’s edition
( June 25) took me back, as
I was fortunate enough to be there for
his fight against John Ruiz. The weigh-in
will always stick in my mind. A scuffle
broke out between the trainers, but all
the while Roy was calm and relaxed. He
even went over to Ruiz to shake his hand
and show full respect. Although people
may say that it wasn’t the greatest fight,
throughout the duration you were on
the edge of your seat, wondering if Roy
would get caught. All along he played a
cautious game, yet when the moments
presented themselves he took advantage
by sticking in solid blows. It was masterful
and although he is never talked about
in heavyweight debates, I firmly believe
that Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis and Rocky
Marciano would have struggled against
Jones and may even have lost to him.
Mark Davies
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
6 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
MAKE MILLER PAY
WHILE the finding of PEDs once again in
the system of Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller is
not a shock, it would be scandalous for
him to now not receive a lengthy ban
across the board. It is time boxing made
an example of what the consequences
of cheating are and even more so if, like
Miller, a second chance is given only for
the fighter to be caught again. I was at
MSG last year and he walked up the steps
to a mixed reaction from the crowd there,
which surprised me, as I expected him
to have a cold shoulder from the fans or
even a chorus of boos. The fans seemed
undecided, which I believe is due to the
way cheats are inconsistently dealt with.
It is time that all the powers that be in
boxing stop sending out mixed messages
and make it clear that if you are caught
using, then you will pay for it in a lengthy
exclusion from the sport.
Paul Thorpe
ON TWITTER ON FACEBOOK
@BoxingNewsED www.facebook.com/boxingnewsonline
SPORTING CLUB ETIQUETTE
REGARDING having shows with no live
crowd and noisy atmosphere, I remember
as a boy watching some great fights on
Grandstand in the 1970s, which were
shown on Saturday lunchtime. The crowd
were quiet during the fights and were
only allowed to applaud at the end of
each round. I particularly remember
watching Paddy Maguire winning the
British bantamweight title by beating
Dave Needham in a great fight at the
World Sporting Club in 1975. My dad was
a regular at the Anglo-American Sporting
Club and always came home saying
that he’d had a great night. There have,
of course, been thousands of fights at
sporting clubs, going back to the late 19th
century. The members are always very
well behaved and the shows are never
ruined by drunken supporters fighting
and deafening music between rounds.
Anthony Bowyer, Essex EBA
www.boxingnewsonline.net
 ON INSTAGRAM EMAIL POST
boxingnewsonline bn.ed@kelsey.co.uk Boxing News Letters, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL

10 COUNT
THE PANEL
OLEKSANDR THE GREAT
On pages 12-13, we speak to unbeaten pound-for-pound
WHO IS THE BEST FIGHTER TO NEVER WIN star Usyk. Below are the best wins of his pro career so far

A WORLD TITLE? 1. MURAT GASSIEV (UD 12)

In the WBSS final, Usyk put in a masterful performance
against the undefeated Gassiev in the Russian’s home
nation. The Ukrainian’s victory saw him become the
undisputed cruiserweight king.

2. TONY BELLEW (RSF 8)

In defence of his undisputed crown, Usyk travelled
to the UK to take on an in-form Bellew. The contest
was a close one until the southpaw marvel produced a
stunning stoppage to end matters in style.
Ronald Tris Ron Steve
3. MAIRIS BRIEDIS (MD 12)
McIntosh Dixon Lewis Lillis
Usyk unified his WBO title with Briedis’ WBC belt by
Sports Author and Boxing Writer and conquering the Latvian on his own turf. Prior to this
commentator journalist journalist broadcaster bout, Briedis had never tasted defeat, but Usyk spoiled
Given my love of Herol Graham Teofilo Stevenson. Stevenson. His his spotless résumé in an enthralling encounter.
amateur boxing, always springs to You can make a three World
I’ll pick Teofilo mind but so many case that he would amateur 4. KRZYSZTOF GLOWACKI (UD 12)
Stevenson. George have come close, have been the best championship Up against Glowacki in the Pole’s native land, Usyk
Foreman declared like Yaqui Lopez. heavyweight in a successes, a hat- secured his first world championship – the WBO strap –
he could be world But fighters like glorious 70s era. trick of Olympic by coming out on top over the distance. It was the first
champ in the Harry Wills and He didn’t just poke golds, wow. loss that Glowacki had experienced.
pros ‘whenever Charley Burley at his opponents, Getting denied the
he wanted’. High never had a shot he smashed them chance of a fourth 5. MICHAEL HUNTER (UD 12)
praise indeed. Of so it’s probably to bits. George in 1984 because of Another fighter had his perfect record snapped in
those who boxed someone who Foreman watched the Cuban boycott his own country when Usyk got the better of Hunter
pro my pick would was denied an him knock out is criminal. 6ft 5in in America to retain his WBO title. Hunter has since
be Sam Langford opportunity John Tate in 1976 tall, speed and gone on to establish himself as a contender up at
who was denied altogether. then named power - the DNA heavyweight.
the opportunity Stevenson as the for the perfect
6. MARCO HUCK (RSF 10)
to even fight for a best fighter he’d heavy. Brits Herol
Boxing in Huck’s backyard in Germany, Usyk kept hold
world title and a ever seen – that’s Graham and Dave
of his WBO belt by overwhelming the former long-
terror from light good enough for Charnley deserve reigning champion. Huck was past his peak at the time,
to heavyweight. me. a mention too. but it was an impressive win nonetheless.

CAN OLEKSANDR USYK GO ON TO BEAT THE LIKES 7. THABISO MCHUNU (KO 9)

A significant player in the cruiser ranks, Mchunu was
OF TYSON FURY AND ANTHONY JOSHUA? Usyk’s opponent in what was the 2012 Olympic gold
medallist’s opening world title defence. The Kiev
maestro held on to his WBO crown with an emphatic
Ronald Tris Ron Steve triumph.
McIntosh Dixon Lewis Lillis
I first saw Usyk We know nothing I’ve stood next One win in at 8. CHAZZ WITHERSPOON (RTD 7)
from ringside in is impossible but to both and he’s heavyweight On his official heavyweight debut, Usyk – weighing
the 2006 European I’d have him a certainly taller over Chazz in at 215 pounds – systematically broke down veteran
championships handy second than Andy Ruiz Jnr Witherspoon is American Witherspoon in the US to send out a warning
in Bulgaria where favourite against who gave Joshua hardly the stuff to the big guns in the sport’s glamour division.
he won bronze Fury and Joshua. so many problems. to make you a
9. JOHNNY MULLER (RSF 3)
at middleweight. I think he could Usyk is startlingly nailed on world
In only his eighth outing, Usyk made short work of
He seems to have present both with brave and a tough, champion in the
the rugged Muller, who was coming off successes over
carried the same real problems tough man. He’s division. I can
notable names in Kevin Lerena and Mateusz Masternak.
fluid, dynamic but I think Fury clever and would envisage him It was a ranking-boosting victory.
style all the way is too rangy and have a good game giving ‘A J’ plenty
up to heavy. Given clever and I’m not plan to tuck up of bother, but 10. DANIE VENTER (RSF 9)
all his attributes, sure he will have and manoeuvre ultimately worn Just over a year after turning professional, Usyk was
he presents the strength to around his taller down. Fury’s size given a useful test by 2000 Olympian Venter. The
a problem to keep Joshua off opponents. I’m not let alone his style seasoned slugger made it to the penultimate round
anyone in the him. But Usyk is a saying he wins, but will be a major before being forced out by Usyk’s spiteful skills.
division. fascinating addition I’d give him a huge problem. A fat NO
to the big men. chance. from me.

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 7

 THE BUNCE DIARIES

BEDLAM IN SAN JUAN

When Jimmy HEY no longer
make rounds like DRAINING:
Young made
George
Foreman
T the seventh in
fights like the one
that took place
in March of 1977
at the Roberto
Foreman and Young in
the midst of their
punishing encounter
Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Clemente Coliseum
froth at the in San Juan, Puerto
mouth Rico.
It was Jimmy
Young against
George Foreman,
Steve endless promises,
Bunce there was brutality,
@BigDaddyBunce outrageous skill and
Voice of boxing confusion on too
many faces. There
was pure brilliance in that fight and a
final-round knockdown. In the stormy
close, one man believed he died and
was reborn in a fitting epiphany to end
a remarkable fight.
Young was meant to lose, Foreman
was meant to win. Don King had
spoken to both of them before the
fight; he wanted to be sure that Young
understood and he needed to make
sure that Foreman made the massacre
look acceptable. These are the raw facts
before the fight.
Here are some others: Foreman
had lost just the once, the beating in
the Rumble to Muhammad Ali, in 46
fights, just 28 and looked untouchable
once again. Young, well, he had fiddled
through 15 ugly rounds with Ali the
previous year and had lost five fights in
total. He was smart, crafty and had to
defend himself against harsh claims that
he had no heart. “What do you know
about my heart?” he asked reporters
a few days before the fight. It was
probably a loaded question and it is
easy to imagine Foreman, King and Gil
Clancy, Foreman’s corner man, smirking
when Young was forced to defend his
heart. Young was so unfashionably pure
then that is hard recognise the man that the shoulder, the chest, the groin; you Young from the start was that the crowd
followed. let him stick his elbow in your mouth, 12,000 was on his side. Poor Foreman,
The drugs and chaos and moral his head in your ear and you let him nobody loved the big dope.
abandonment would come later at a scare the life out of you. You took his Foreman is warned for hitting and
time when he was helpless and hopeless uppercuts, you tasted your own blood holding, his elbow and pushing Young’s
to prevent the unravelling of a great and prayed to a god that you had lost a head down inside the first minute of
career. He made and lost two million long time ago. If you got to round eight, the opening round. The crowd liked
dollars; it is not, trust me, the “usual the fight was yours. Easy, well, that’s the that, they liked the massive underdog.
story” and that is because Jimmy Young thinking. Foreman’s thumping jab is crashing
really was a little bit special. Jimmy Young knew what he had to home, his wild rights to the body, side
It was easy to beat Foreman in do, knew the sacrifices he would have and Young’s back are connecting often
the Seventies: You let him hit you for to make, knew the pain he would go enough. Foreman is dismissive of Young,
seven rounds in the liver, the head, through. The only encouraging sign for pushing, pulling and snarling. Foreman

8 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net


slaps Young at times.
However, Young is keeping it
together, firing in jabs, leaning away,
moving back, not taking any risks and
nicking early rounds. Foreman never
adjusts, never listens, he seems to
never learn and his corner simply can’t
reach him; Young is fiddling in the first
five or six rounds, surviving. It’s not
a classic at this point, too technical,
but it is gripping. Also, if Foreman hits
your body for six rounds, whacks away
at your elbows and arms, it hurts – it
www.boxingnewsonline.net
really hurts.
In round seven, it looks over;
Foreman lands with a cracking short left
hook and it has his full power. Young
should have toppled like a tree, but he
staggers, hurt, he looks out the ring,
panics for the first and only time in the
fight. Foreman has about two minutes
and 30 seconds to finish his man. The
fight is over. The crowd stand – they
never sit down from that point.
Young holds, ducks, dives and is
thrown about by Foreman’s huge fists.
The crowd chant “Jimmy Young, Jimmy
Young” and then Jimmy Young starts
to throw punches of his own, a single
right, a left, another right and Foreman
is caught. Foreman often wipes his
face after Young connects, a slow act
of belated cleansing as his fist strokes
his own cheek. It’s a slugfest, make no
mistake. Young survives the round.
The rounds continue, the crowd
never sits, the noise never drops and the
fall of Foreman is compulsive viewing.
Young lands with jabs, moves to his
right and away from a counter and then
whips in fast rights of his own. Foreman
is still capable of breaking a rock at this
point, don’t imagine that Foreman is
finished. Young is having to fight out
of his skin in rounds nine, 10 and 11.
Foreman is a weary man by the start of
the 12th and last round – perhaps the
voices are there in his head already, a
lullaby to counter the hateful screams
of the crowd. Foreman had turned on
ringside abusers a few times.
Young lands with a right, moves his
feet, lands with another right, Foreman
is wilting, struggling to stand and then
Foreman tumbles down. Foreman’s right
knee and right glove touch the canvas
in the 12th round. There is bedlam in
San Juan as the ghost of Foreman gets
up. Foreman is walking on ruined legs,
looking at Young through haunted
eyes. Young is magnificent. What a final
round.
The bell. A unanimous decision for
Young. Foreman leaves the ring and the
horror starts. The men in the Foreman
business try to hold him down. He
screams, he froths at the mouth. He
speaks to Jesus, he argues with the devil.
He sweats, he shakes. They take George
Foreman to hospital. He is convinced
that he has died. He takes 10 years out.
He refuses millions to return to the
ring. He joins a wild church, he starts
to speak in tongues and he walks the
streets penniless in Texas clutching a
bible. The tigers, lions and Rollers are
gone. He builds his own church. And
then he returns in 1987 and the rest is
history.
Young never got the second Ali
fight, he never got the offer of millions.
He fought too long in bad fights. He
vanished and he also walked the streets
penniless. He died lonely and forgotten
in 2005. He was just 56.
Jimmy Young was a truly great
heavyweight in San Juan that day.
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 9
 BOXING MEDIA REVIEW Examining the best and worst
of the sport’s weekly coverage

Photo: RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTY IMAGES

GOOD RIDDANCE:
Shut the door on your
way out, Mr Miller

GET OUT OF HERE Drug cheat Miller should

not be allowed to fight again,
and neither should Oscar
De La Hoya who is plotting
a comeback at the age of 47,
writes George Gigney
WEBSITES
BAN Jarrell Miller for life – it’s as simple as
that. Or… is it? The 300lb heavyweight has
once again tested positive for a banned
substance, a report from The Athletic
revealed.
He was scheduled to fight on July 9,
before he reportedly popped for GW1516,
a substance that modifies how the body
metabolises fat, which Miller also tested
positive for prior to his aborted fight with
Anthony Joshua last year.
Back then he avoided any ban as he
didn’t hold a licence with any athletic
state commission in the US, however this
time he is licensed by Nevada, who have
provisionally suspended him according to
BoxingScene.

10 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

 Obviously, they have to do their due
diligence and investigate fully, but should it
transpire that he did in fact test positive for
a banned substance then the commission
should ban him from fighting in Nevada
for life. Therein lies the problem – Miller
and his travelling pharmacy could just
stumble into another state and fight there.
This is usually where arguments for a
worldwide, overarching governing body for
boxing come in, but we don’t have one and
we likely never will. Theoretically the best
we can hope for is Miller being completely
ostracised if it’s confirmed he has once
again ingested banned substances.
However, that would require all
athletic commissions, sanctioning bodies
and even promoters taking the same
stance – to never work with ‘Big Baby’
again; commissions refuse to licence
him, sanctioning bodies refuse to rank
him and promoters refuse to give him
fights. That includes Top Rank, who still
promote Miller after signing him last year
AFTER his failed tests, for reasons I’ll never
understand.
Former lightweight champion Anthony
Crolla suggested to TalkSPORT that Miller
face criminal charges for his actions. I’m
not legally savvy enough
to know if there’s actually
grounds for that, but it’s ‘THIS NEWS
not the worst idea I’ve
heard. IS SHOCKING
Miller himself has not
responded publicly to the
TO ME. I WAS
news, but his co-promoter,
Dmitriy Salita, released a
LOOKING
statement to Sky Sports: FORWARD TO
“I am disappointed. I was
looking forward to July 9
HIS RETURN’
and Jarrell’s return to the
ring. This news is shocking to me as well.
“Hopefully soon we will find out more
facts. As Bob Arum said, we’re all going to
be guided by the decision of the Nevada
Athletic Commission.”
Sergio Martinez confirmed that, at
the age of 45, he will return to the ring
in August. He hasn’t fought since Miguel
Cotto wrecked him in 2014 and long-term
knee injuries got the better of him.
I hope he somehow decides, like Nigel
Benn did last year, to stay away.
The Asian Boxing Council, alongside
the WBC, announced that Wanheng
Menayothin is actually not retiring, and
will defend his strawweight title sometime
this year. Menayothin had apparently hung
up the gloves after reaching 54-0 as a
pro, but that decisions has been reversed,
perhaps after all the attention he received
after so many people realised he had
surpassed Floyd Mayweather’s famous
50-0 record.
The clear difference is that while
NEVER CAN SAY
GOODBYE: Mayweather was beating future Hall
De La Hoya is of Famers, Menayothin’s ledger is
back in training predominantly made up of unheralded
opposition, none of which he faced
www.boxingnewsonline.net
outside of is native Thailand.
YOUTUBE
Oscar, don’t do it. Oscar De La Hoya,
speaking to The Ring Magazine’s YouTube
channel, stated he is seriously considering
a comeback at the age of 47. He said he’s
intending to see what happens with Mike
Tyson’s proposed return first, but wants
a “real fight” against a top guy at super-
welter/middleweight.
Tyson – who may not actually return
to professional boxing – has opened the
floodgates to retired legends looking to
cash in, having seen the headlines Tyson
made worldwide with his own intentions
of a comeback. Stay retired, folks.
Commenting on the ongoing
disagreements with his charge Ryan
Garcia, De La Hoya said “Advice [he
received] was obviously not good. We’ll
see when he fights again, we just don’t
know at this point.”
He then quickly turned the focus to
welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jnr,
who he labelled as Golden Boy’s “next
world champion.” Reading between the
not-so-subtle lines, De La
Hoya may have already
pivoted from Garcia to
Ortiz who, admittedly,
looks to have a higher
ceiling in terms of in-ring
success, though Garcia is
certainly on the path to
stardom.
Hearn, after the
Matchroom Fight Camp
announcement, told
SiriusXM than Katie
Taylor could still fight Amanda Serrano,
as the deal is still in place. He also cleared
up reports that Serrano’s purse for the
fight was slashed in half because of the
coronavirus pandemic, claiming that she
will still receive the whole thing.
He later told IFL TV that Serrano’s team
were making negotiations “difficult” and
that he’s already reached out to Delfine
Persoon for a rematch with Taylor instead.
As I wrote last week, it would be a genuine
shame to lose Taylor-Serrano, but a
Taylor-Persoon rematch is an excellent
replacement. Their first encounter was
brutal and bitterly close; there’s unfinished
business there.
Hearn also revealed that Joshua’s
mandated clash with Kubrat Pulev could
take place at the O2 Arena in London in
November. In normal circumstances the
fight would fill a stadium, but that will not
be an option anytime soon, until a COVID-
19 vaccine is created and rolled out.
The thinking appears to be that, come
November, live sporting events will
be able to have some sort of crowd in
attendance, as long as social distancing
measures are in place.
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 11
 READY AND WAITING:
Usyk is eager to
return to the ring

12 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

 Highlighting the best
of the week’s stories
NEWS AND OPINION
‘I LIKE FIGHTING BIGGER
GUYS. IT’S FUN FOR ME’
From isolation Oleksandr Usyk
explains to John Dennen how
he’ll fare among the biggest
and best heavyweights
HE wildcard in
the heavyweight
T division is Oleksandr
Usyk. The excellent
Ukrainian became
the undisputed
cruiserweight
champion before stopping Tony Bellew
in Manchester and then stepping up to
heavyweight.
He’s only had one pro fight
as a heavyweight, retiring Chazz
Witherspoon, but he had been due to
box Dereck Chisora this year, facing the
Londoner in March in the last boxing
press conference to take place in the UK
before the coronavirus lockdown. Those
plans have been put on hold for the
time being.
But Usyk has been keeping himself
active in isolation. “I am doing ok, just
making sure that I try to stay busy and
keep myself in control, but every day it’s
becoming more and more difficult.
I want to box. Now,” he tells Boxing News.
(For anyone curious as to what
Oleksandr Usyk is like in isolation he says
he’s “been spending a lot of time reading
and I have even began gardening a bit.
I am doing all kinds of work around the
house.”)
However whenever he is outside
of the gym he always is keen to
get back to camp and back to
competition. “I live a very normal
life, spending quality time with
my family and friends. Even in
those times though, I get bored very
quickly and want go back to
training and boxing,” Usyk
said.
While he is adapting
to heavyweight, Chisora
would be a intriguing fight
to see how Usyk handles
the larger division. “I
have a professional
nutritionist, and it his
job to make sure that
I am putting on the
weight properly,” he
www.boxingnewsonline.net
WWW.BOXINGNEWSONLINE.NET
points out. “I have been preparing for
this since the amateurs. The success I
have had at cruiserweight is exactly what
I plan to achieve now at heavyweight.”
He has indeed taken a strategic
approach to his career. He did not turn
professional immediately after winning
his Olympic gold medal at 91kgs. Instead
he did a season in the World Series of
Boxing at super-heavyweight. The WSB
is the quasi-pro league that pits elite
amateurs against one another with
smaller gloves, no vests and over five
rounds. It was a testing ground for him
but Usyk was still the series’ leading
super-heavy, going 6-0 that season
and beating the likes of Magomedrasul
Majidov, an amateur World champion,
strong Romanian Mihai Nistor and
London’s own future Olympic silver
medallist Joe Joyce. Usyk beat Joyce in
an active five rounds on a raucous night
at York Hall in Bethnal
Green. “I have good
memories of that fight
and one that I often ‘EVERY DAY
review. It was very
intense. I like fighting
IS BECOMING
and beating bigger MORE AND
guys. It’s fun for me,”
he said. “I managed MORE
to perform well in
amateur boxing thanks
DIFFICULT,
to the performance of
a strong team led by
I WANT TO BOX’
Anatoly Lomachenko.”
Boxing in the UK also hold special
memories for him. His success at
London 2012 was pivotal for him. “After
the Olympics my life changed forever.
I was in a much better place financially
and I became very popular in my
country. For me, it is hands down the
best thing that has ever happened to
me in my sports career. Winning
gold at the Olympics, it was an
absolute dream come true,”
Usyk said.
Chisora could be the
test for the next step
in his development
as a professional
heavyweight. Usyk
however remains
focused on himself.
“The most difficult
opponent is myself,”
he says. “I don’t think
about him [Chisora]. It is my coaches job
to analyse and come up with a game
plan. It is my job to execute it and come
out victorious.”
That fight could still be rearranged for
this year but in the long run, while Usyk
remains the mandatory challenger for
the WBO heavyweight championship,
he will be pushing for his shot at that
title, especially while it’s held by Britain’s
Anthony Joshua. The WBO, IBF and
WBA titlist is very much in Usyk’s sights.
The Ukrainian has thought about how
he would fight Joshua, though declines
to reveal his hand at present. “I can’t
disclose all the secrets about Anthony
Joshua because I should fight with him
soon,” he said.
Usyk has already been obliged to
accommodate Kubrat Pulev’s shot at
Joshua as the IBF’s mandatory challenger.
He’s not going to want to wait too long
for his own chance.
That makes him a
stumbling block on
the road to the much-
discussed and much-
anticipated Anthony
Joshua vs Tyson Fury
clash, potentially
for the undisputed
heavyweight
championship. But
Usyk is hardly going
to bow out. Expect
him to insert himself
into the narrative. He could end up
fighting for a vacant WBO title, he could
challenge Joshua. He could ultimately
find his way to a fight with Tyson Fury
too. It’s something the Ukrainian has
certainly considered. “Tyson is not very
conventional,” Usyk admits. “He has a lot
of tools, as do I. You will see everthing in
the fight, if I am going to fight with him.
“For the rest of the boxers [in the
heavyweight division]: I cannot assess
their strengths and weaknesses. They are
good athletes and do their job well.”
Usyk though has been exceptional. His
plan from the Olympic Games through
the World Series to the professional
cruiserweight division has worked to
perfection, so far. The obstacles for
him at heavyweight will be even more
challenging. But Usyk himself appears to
have every intention of seeing his vision
through.
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 13
 Highlighting the best
of the week’s stories
NEWS AND OPINION WWW.BOXINGNEWSONLINE.NET

‘No easy fights’

Eddie Hearn DDIE HEARN is
promising “hype and
reveals the
details of his
August Fight
E excitement” when
he opens his Fight
Camp on Friday
August 1. Super-
Camp, writes welterweights Sam
Eggington and Ted Cheeseman collide in
Matt Christie a domestic crossroads battle in the first
event on the grounds of Matchroom’s
HQ in Brentwood, Essex.
The culmination of the audacious
outdoor project will see Dillian Whyte
and Alexander Povetkin clash in a
heavyweight pay-per-view show on
August 22. There will be a further
two cards – topped by Terri Harper
vs Natasha Jonas (August 7) and Felix
Cash vs Jason Welborn (August 14) –
in-between.
Photo: MARK ROBINSON/MATCHROOM
As things stand, the only media
in attendance will be those from TV
broadcasters Sky Sports and DAZN and
the radio commentary teams.
The first event will
come three weeks after
Frank Warren’s first post- ‘I’M NOT
lockdown show on July
10 at the BT Sport studios COMING BACK
and two months after
Bob Arum’s Top Rank
IN A DARK
brought boxing back to STUDIO,
Las Vegas in his air-tight
‘Bubble’ inside the MGM IT’S NOT A
Grand.
“Big props to Top Rank
GAME SHOW’
for bringing boxing back,”
Hearn said during an online conference
call with the British media on Friday
( June 26). “But no one is watching it
because no one knows about it and the
fights aren’t good enough. I don’t want to
come back in a dark studio in the middle
of nowhere, it’s not a game show,” he
added in a swipe at his
promotional rivals.
“I want to come
back with a visual and
project that people can
get excited about. It’s
about hype but most of
all it’s about the fights.
We will have five fights
every night and they
will be 50-50 fights or
thereabouts… The first
rule of Fight Camp is no
easy fights.”
There was some resistance to his
plans. He claims Chris Jenkins’ contract

RETURN OF HEARN:
The promoter
stands in a ring
outside Matchroom
HQ where his first
post-lockdown
shows will occur

14 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

with Queensberry Promotions stopped
him from fighting Conor Benn on the
first card. Hearn added that the concept
SCHEDULED FIGHT CAMP EVENTS
of performing without a crowd was not AUGUST 1 AUGUST 8 AUGUST 14 AUGUST 22
appealing to all but those wanting to Sam Eggington v Terri Harper v Felix Cash v Jason Dillian Whyte v
fight and earn have little choice. Ted Cheeseman Natash Jonas (10 Welborn (12 rounds, Alexander Povetkin
“Initially, every fighters’ reaction (12 rounds, super- rounds, WBC super- Commonwealth (12 rounds,
was, ‘I’d rather fight in front of crowds’. welterweight) featherweight title) middleweight title) heavyweight)
When this [lockdown] first happened we James Tennyson v Chris Billam- Zelfa Barrett v Eric Katie Taylor v TBA (10
presumed we would bring boxing back Gavin Gwynne (12 Smith v Nathan Donovan (super- rounds, undisputed
in July or August with crowds. So fighters rounds, vacant British Thorley (12 rounds, featherweight) lightweight title)
wanted to wait. But now they’ve realised lightweight title) Commonwealth Keiron Conway v Martin Bakole v
the uncertainty of the situation we’re in Jordan Gill v Reece cruiserweight title) Navid Mansouri Sergey Kuzmin (10
– there is a chance we won’t see crowds Bellotti (12 rounds, Anthony Fowler v (super-welterweight) rounds, heavyweight)
this year – but now is your opportunity. featherweight) Adam Harper (super- Shannon Courtenay Luther Clay v Chris
You come out and fight. I believe the [TV] Fabio Wardley vs welterweight) v Rachel Ball (super- Congo (10 rounds,
audiences for these fights will be huge. Simon Vallily (10 Aquib Fiaz v Kane bantamweight) welterweight)
It’s a chance to come and make a name rounds, vacant English Baker (lightweight) John Docherty v TBA
for yourself.” heavyweight title) Ivan Price v TBA (super-middleweight)
Some fighters were concerned that Dalton Smith v Nathan (featherweight)
they could not guarantee their own Bennett (lightweight)
fighting fitness after the constraints (and
potential excess) of lockdown.
“There’s no excuse in terms of
preparation,” Hearn said. “The private one that makes the most noise.”
gyms have been open now. The British Hearn – who this week announces
Boxing Board of Control have enabled us his first Matchroom USA show will be
and boxing to return in the gyms. It’s one on August 15 – does not plan to extend
of the reasons we went a little bit later Fight Camp beyond the Whyte-Povetkin
because I felt like going earlier might not show but has not ruled out “quirky
give fighters the best chance of getting venues” should crowds not be allowed to
decent preparation and sparring.” return after that.
Expect fireworks and razzmatazz and The heavyweight clash between
excitement, says Hearn. He also expects Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev is
to lose a lot of money during the 22-day being targeted for November, with
fight festival which will take place behind Cardiff ’s Principality Stadium still the
closed doors. desired location but the O2 in London
“There is no gate,” Hearn explained. and the Manchester Arena are also under
“A show with no gate, you want to keep consideration.
those to a minimum. It’s not like we’ve
been asking fighters to accept less
money. A lot of fighters are taking harder
fights than they thought they might have
to take and that’s a good thing.
“But if you look at the challenges [we’re
facing]. If you look at the Whyte-Povetkin
CALZAGHE vs FROCH!
fight, the gate there would have been The Ringside Charitable Trust come up with great new competition for boxing fans
a million quid. So we’re a million short.
Where’s that going to come from? THE team who are raising money to open a Rocky Marciano; Ken Buchanan v Ricky Hatton; Carl
“We’ve got a canopy, we’re going to be residential home for ex-boxers have come up with Froch v Joe Calazaghe; Jimmy Wilde v Benny Lynch.
teraplasting the garden, we’re going to a new competition for fans to enter. The rules are Contestants will be awarded one point for getting
be building changing rooms, we’re hiring simple: Stake £5, pick the winner and mode of the right winner and another point if the mode
hotels. It’s 30-grand, just for one event, victory in 16 fantasy fights and whoever gets the of victory also matches the views of the judges,
for the [coronavirus] testing. most right - in the eyes of the experts - wins £100. meaning there are 32 points to play for.
“I was talking to Bob Arum and he was The fights are as follows: Jack Dempsey v Rocky The judges are Boxing News’ Miles Templeton,
ranting about how bloody expensive it is. Marciano; Primo Carnera v Jess Willard; Alan Colin Hart, Harold Alderman MBE, Terry Knight and
But you can’t cut corners. We’ve got no Minter v Rocky Graziano; Floyd Patterson v Ezzard Alec Johnson.
choice. You either sit and wait and say Charles (; Floyd Mayweather Jnr v Sugar Ray Entrees should use the form on page 47 of this
we’ll come back in October or November Leonard; Bob Foster v Archie Moore; Marvin Hagler week’s issue and send to Dave Harris, Willow
or you give it a crack. v Carlos Monzon; Sugar Ray Robinson v Harry Greb; Stream, Fourteen Acre Lane, Hastings, TN35 4NB.
“Everyone will give it a crack in their Muhammad Ali v Joe Louis; Naseem Hamed v Willie The £5 fee is payable via cheque to Ringside
different way but this is our way of giving Pep; Benny Leonard v Roberto Duran; Sugar Ray Charitable Trust or via paypal at PayPal.com/gb/
it a crack and I think it’s going to be the Robinson v Floyd Mayweather Jnr; Mike Tyson v fundraiser/charity/3795439.

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 15

ACTION ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ O U T S TA N D I N G ★ ★ ★ ★ G O O D ★ ★ ★ FA I R ★ ★ D I S A P P O I N T I N G ★ RU B B I S H
Re p o r t e r s ’ s t a r r a t i n g s fo r m a i n e v e n t s a n d u n d e rc a r d s a r e b a s e d o n i n - r i n g e n t e r t a i n m e n t , c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s a n d w h e t h e r o v e r a l l e x p e c t a t i o n w a s m e t

FRANCO UPSETS MOLONEY

Paul Wheeler EAVY pre-fight and swollen after a punishing battle. showing. The former IBF bantamweight
favourite Andrew Julie Lederman scored 115-112, while title challenger attacked Baez with
rounds up
the latest
behind-closed-
doors action
H Moloney suffered
his first defeat in
what was only his
second appearance
outside of his native
Patricia Morse Jarman and Dave Moretti
both had it 114-113. Tony Weeks was the
referee. With the victory, Franco claimed
Moloney’s WBA secondary super-fly
strap. The organisation’s true champion is
gusto from the get-go. Despite boasting
considerable advantages in both height
and reach, Baez was unable to keep
Moloney away from him.
The energetic Moloney (117 3/4lbs)
Australia. Making his US debut at the four-weight world titlist Roman Gonzalez. peppered Baez with fierce flurries on the
MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Franco’s record now reads 17-1-2 (8), inside, including painful body blows and
Vegas, the 29-year-old super-flyweight while Moloney’s stands at 21-1 (14). sharp, short hooks that left the 24-year-
came unstuck against Joshua Franco on “I knew that little by little I was old battered and bloodied. Baez (118
Tuesday June 23, with the Texan receiving breaking him down,” Franco said post- 1/4lbs) demonstrated his toughness by
a close and hard-earned unanimous fight. “The knockdown was crucial.” soaking up significant punishment, but
decision. At the same venue just 48 hours after seven sessions, his corner decided
Moloney (114 1/2lbs) began the bout later (Thursday June 25), Top Rank that they had seen enough. Referee
brightly but Franco’s consistent pressure staged another show headlined by a Kenny Bayless accepted the retirement.
saw him steadily chip away at the Moloney twin. Andrew’s brother, Jason Moloney improved to 21-1 (18) with the
Aussie. Franco, 24, certainly finished the Moloney, faced off against in-form win. Baez dropped to 18-3 (9) 1NC.
stronger of the two with his eye-catching Mexican Leonardo Baez in a scheduled “Baez is an absolute warrior, but
combinations. In the 10th round, he cut 10-rounder. Moloney’s original opponent nothing was going to stop me,” Moloney
Moloney by the left eye with a solid right was set to be Oscar Negrete – a three- stated afterwards. “This is a big, big step
hand. In the following frame, a salvo of time rival of Franco. However, a detached towards me fighting for another world
shots forced Moloney to touch down by retina rendered Negrete unable to title. I want that belt so bad. I’m ready for
the ropes. This knockdown ultimately compete, so Baez stepped in as a any of the champions at 118lbs.”
proved decisive on the scorecards. replacement at late notice. Top Rank’s third promotion of the
At the end of the 12 rounds, Franco Jason cheered the Moloney family’s week took place at the TV Azteca studios
(115lbs) was declared the winner over spirits by putting in an impressive in Mexico City on Saturday June 27.
Moloney, whose features were bruised performance in his second stateside The star attraction was WBC super-
featherweight king Miguel Berchelt.
Opposing the explosive Mexican in a
keep-busy lightweight contest over 10
PLANTED:
Andrew Moloney rounds was his countryman, the 25-year-
swallows a right old Eleazar Valenzuela.
from Franco It was one-way traffic throughout,
as Berchelt, 28, bombarded his game
but outgunned foe with powerful hooks,
straights and uppercuts both upstairs
and down. Just before the bell rang to
signal the conclusion of the first round,
Valenzuela was decked by a thumping
left hook. The underdog was given time
to recover in the third after being caught
by a low punch, but the reprieve did not
last long. Following a pounding series
of unanswered strikes from Berchelt in
the sixth, referee Cesar Castanon halted
proceedings at the 1-13 mark.
Berchelt, who weighed in at
135lbs, recorded his 38th victory (34
early) against one loss. The 135 1/2lb
Valenzuela saw his statistics decline to
21-14-4 (16) 1NC.
If Berchelt has his way, it won’t be long
before he is sharing a ring with Oscar
Valdez – the ex-WBO featherweight
boss who is now operating up at super-
feather. “It’s time for me to box Valdez,”
Berchelt declared. “The fans have asked
for it and I’m ready for that war.”

16 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

Photos: MIKEY WILLIAMS/TOP RANK

RATTLER:
Jason Moloney
cracks Baez in
the jaw with a
right hand

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 IN THEIR OWN WORDS

‘THAT LAS
VEGAS FEELING’ Alan Minter explains what it’s like to win a world title in Sin City as he looks back
on a famous career that really gathered pace at the Olympic Games in 1972
INTERVIEW: MATT CHRISTIE

I AM so proud doubt in my mind about that. a huge smile on my face.

when I look back
on my boxing
career. Even the
bad times are
good times now
I’m older and
have the time to
reflect.
Getting picked for your country, wow,
what an honour. It wasn’t just that I was
competing in the Olympic Games, it was
what that meant and what that stood for.
Actually getting selected made me the
happiest. I loved going to Munich in 1972.
The whole world knows you’re the best
in Britain and you’re representing your
country – that sense of pride feels terrific.
Winning a bronze medal is nice but
I should have got the gold. There’s no
HEARTBREAK:
Minter is forced to accept
the bronze medal at the
Olympics in 1972 while
Kottysch gets the gold
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Dieter Kottysch didn’t beat me out
there in Germany even though the judges
said he did. That’s not sour grapes, that’s
a fact. When I watch that fight now, and I
still do from time to time, I have no idea
whatsoever how they gave it to him. But
you can’t let these things get you down
too much. Back then, we went out and
celebrated. We didn’t get the decision but
you still have to make the most of it!
On the way back, I was picked up at
Gatwick Airport by a coach and four
horses. They took me all the way through
Langley Green and Crawley High Street
and the crowds were everywhere. It was
unbelievable. In Crawley town centre
there was a bandstand overflowing with
people cheering for me. I think back to
that now and all those people and it puts
I remember fighting Maurice Thomas
in my professional debut. I was on the
undercard of a John H Stracey fight at
the Royal Albert Hall. There were some
nerves before that fight. It was different
as an amateur, there wasn’t the pressure
somehow, you just got on with it. But then
you’re suddenly a professional and you’re
fighting in front of people who have been
around the game and who are watching
you make your debut. I certainly wanted
to impress and I think I did that. It felt
good to show everyone what I was like
after the Olympics.
The Kevin Finnegan trilogy was one
of the highlights of my career. I used to
spar him and his brother, Chris Finnegan.
Two great fighters and really good men.
Not to mention characters. I remember
going to the Thomas A Becket for sparring
with them. It was lunch-time and I had to
be there to start the sparring at 1pm. To
get to the gym you had to pass the bar
downstairs and Chris and Kevin got a little
sidetracked. I walk in, ready to spar, and
Chris and Kevin are there necking pint
after pint of Guinness at the bar. It didn’t
seem to affect them in the ring.
Kevin was one of my toughest
opponents. He used to spar his brother
too, and from that he worked out how to
fight me because Chris was a southpaw
like me. I won each of them by half-a-
point which sounds ridiculous doesn’t
it? Three fights for the middleweight
championship of Great Britain over 15
rounds and they couldn’t separate us by

more than a half-a-point in any of them.

They were hard, hard fights but I deserved
to win them all.
I’ll never forget going out to Las Vegas
in 1979 to challenge Vito Antuofermo

18 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2 , 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 19
 IN THEIR OWN WORDS
UNDER ATTACK:
Minter
struggles with
the versatile
skills of Hagler
for the world title. Kevin and Chris were
there too. We got out there three weeks
before the fight. What immediately struck
me was that desert heat. I went out early
in the morning to do my roadwork and
I couldn’t breathe. It’s a different kind of
air over there, it’s almost like there’s no
air. That worried me a bit, but I soon got
used to it.
The atmosphere in Caesars Palace was
incredible. The amount of English fans
who travelled out was phenomenal. I got
a sense of it in the week leading up to the
fight. Everyone I was talking to was English
it seemed. But that moment when I stood
in the ring for the first time and I heard
the crowd and their reaction to me is one
of those things I’ll never forget. You can’t
buy memories like that.
When you’re fighting in your
hometown, you expect the crowd. But
when you’re thousands of miles away
in Las Vegas, it’s fair to say you don’t. It
was a tough fight but the fans helped me
through it. That Las Vegas feeling really is
something special.
It was another close fight. I think the
bookmakers in Las Vegas were hoping
Antuofermo would get the decision but
he didn’t. I felt I’d won at the final bell. I
thought I’d done enough. As soon as they
announce me as the winner I turn round
and who is the first person I see? It’s Kevin
Finnegan. He’s smiling. “I’m next,” he says.
We went out that night to celebrate,
blimey. Can you imagine what it feels
like to be in Las Vegas and be world
20 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
champion? You win a fight in England and
the atmosphere drifts away but in Vegas it
follows you around somehow.
Antuofermo wasn’t happy with the
decision. So we gave him a rematch
in England and I stopped him in eight
rounds on cuts. There was no arguments
after that one.
I used to suffer from cuts myself. That
used to drive me mad and I went to see
the doctor about it. There wasn’t anything
I could do about it apart from not get
hit in the first place and in boxing that’s
not easy! It would always be at the back
of your mind when you were in a fight.
‘Don’t get cut, don’t get cut.’ But I had to
get used to it. It really was as simple as if
I got caught with a punch, I got cut. I was
like Henry Cooper, who suffered in the
same way that I did. It makes you tougher.
Mentally, you know you can get through it.
But to lose the world title on cuts was
frustrating. I watched that 1980 fight with
Marvin Hagler again recently. All the
time his head is in my face and he wasn’t
warned. But he was a special fighter, very
intelligent in the ring.
I didn’t know he was a southpaw until
I was deep into training camp for that
fight. Someone had seen him training in
London. He was going from orthodox to
southpaw to orthodox to southpaw. He
did that in the fight and, believe me, it’s
hard to fight someone like that. What a CHAMPION:
fighter. His sense of timing and distance Minter cracks Vito
was perfect. He hardly missed with any of Antuofermo
his punches and because he was always
www.boxingnewsonline.net
switching his stance you didn’t know what
was coming next.
Right now, I am looking at a huge
photo of myself that Hagler presented
to me. It was long after we’d fought at a
function out near Dartford and he was
the guest of honour. The photo sits about
three-foot high and it’s two-foot wide. I’m
wearing all my belts: The British, WBA,
WBC, European. On it says, ‘To Alan, Best
Wishes in life and health,
Marvelous Marvin Hagler’.
Ain’t it lovely? I told him, ‘THE AIR IS
‘When I fought you, you
were shorter than me but DIFFERENT
now you stand so tall.’
After that fight, I knew
OUT THERE,
the end of my career IT’S ALMOST
was approaching. I had
done it all. But I went LIKE THERE’S
out to Las Vegas again to
fight Mustafa Hamsho.
NO AIR’
Again, there were so
many British fans over there. I think about
seven or eight plane-loads came out
to support me. I couldn’t go anywhere
without getting recognised. That wasn’t a
bad thing, I remember walking through
Caesars Palace and the British fans were
all over the place. Hamsho was tough.
Another close fight but he nicked it and
got the decision after 10 rounds.
www.boxingnewsonline.net
By the time I fought Tony Sibson in my
last fight, I was worn out. Look at my reign
as world champion. As soon as I won the
title I was back into training camp for the
next fight. I had three world title fights
in quick succession, not like today when
fighters get months and months between
fights to rest and recover.
But Sibson got the better of me. I hit
him and he didn’t budge. He hit me and
my nose nearly exploded.
After the fight
I went to hospital and the
doctors found an infection
that would have killed me.
If it hadn’t been for Tony
smearing my nose all over
my face it would never
have been found.
Before that fight I
wanted to pack up, I’d had
enough. But I gave Tony a
chance knowing if I won
I’d get another world title shot. Though
deep down, I’d lost that fight before it
began. I knew it was all over even though
I was still a young man. It made it easier
to retire and I never missed it. I certainly
RETIREMENT:
don’t miss it today. It’s a hard, hard sport. Minter remains a
If you can walk away after winning popular figure in
and defending a world title, you’ve done British boxing
something special. bn
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 21
Divisional Analysis
112lbs
FLYWEIGHTS
In part 15 of our weekly series, Paul Wheeler analyses the
fighters who make up the current top 10 in the flyweight division
10
MAXIMINO
FLORES (MEX)
RECORD: 25-4-2 (17) 2NC AGE: 29
HEIGHT: 5ft 7ins
PRIOR to his clash with
Carlo Caesar Penalosa in the
Philippines in August last year,
Flores had only fought outside
of his native Mexico on two
occasions. Both of these outings
had resulted in decision defeats
– first to Milan Melindo in the
Philippines, then to Andrew Selby
in the UK. Despite his previous
poor form on the road, Flores
was able to overcome Penalosa
on a technical verdict after seven
rounds to pick up the lightly
regarded IBO strap.
STRENGTHS:
A pro for over a decade, the
aggressive Flores puts his head
down and charges forward,
looking to smother his opponents
with incessant two-fisted assaults.
22 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
WEAKNESSES:
With his front-foot approach,
he can leave himself open to
counters at times, while his attacks
can also be rather wild.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
Going into their bout, Angel
Francisco Ramos was unbeaten in
17 contests, but Flores forced him
out inside the course.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
Suffering an opening-round
reverse to Mario Lara Rivera – who
had won one fight out of 11 – was
a considerable setback.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
His hailstorm of punches that
accounted for Ariel Guzman.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
His inconsistency is likely to hold
him back.
9
WEAKNESSES:
He can sometimes stifle his own
work by getting in too close, rather
than maintaining a slight distance.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
Knocking out ex-amateur standout
Paddy Barnes on the Belfast
JAY boxer’s home turf.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
Journeyman Brett Fidoe pipped
HARRIS (WAL) him to one session and shared
two in their six-rounder.
RECORD: 17-1 (9) AGE: 29 WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
HEIGHT: 5ft 5ins The clinical and ruthless manner
COACHED by his father, in which he dispatched Barnes.
former British featherweight HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
champion Peter Harris, this He will have gained invaluable
unassuming Welshman collected experience from his ultimately
Commonwealth and European unsuccessful shot at Martinez.
belts en route to securing a Winning a world championship
WBC title tilt against Julio Cesar should still be his goal.
Martinez in February. In his first
appearance away from the UK,
he left it all in the ring in Texas.
Martinez retained his crown
unanimously on the cards, but
he was well aware that he had
been in a fight, as Harris battled
valiantly until the end.
STRENGTHS:
With his quick and busy fists,
the classy Swansea man delivers
sharp and snappy combinations.
His honey punch is the left hook
to the body.
www.boxingnewsonline.net

8 7
GIEMEL
MAGRAMO (PHL)
RECORD: 24-1 (20) AGE: 25
HEIGHT: 5ft 4ins
EMANATING from a fighting
Filipino family, Magramo has
been victorious in his past seven
bouts – all inside schedule –
following his sole defeat at the
hands of Muhammad Waseem in
South Korea. In January last year,
he travelled to China and wrecked
the perfect record of local
favourite Wenfeng Ge. Nicknamed
“Pistolero” (Gunslinger), his fine
form has seen him move into the
number-one spot in the WBO’s list
of leading contenders.
STRENGTHS:
Out of all of the fighters in the top
10, the heavy-handed Magramo
boasts the highest knockout ratio.
His strikes to the midsection are
particularly punishing.
WEAKNESSES:
6 5
CRISTOFER
ROSALES (NIC)
RECORD: 29-5 (20) AGE: 25
HEIGHT: 5ft 6ins
ROSALES gave a decent account
of himself when being outpointed
by Kal Yafai and Andrew
Selby on visits to the UK. The
Nicaraguan demonstrated his
improvement by upsetting Daigo
Higa in Japan to become WBC
king. He surrendered his crown
to Charlie Edwards in his second
defence in the UK, before being
stopped in nine rounds by Julio
Cesar Martinez when gallantly
attempting to regain the title in
Arizona in December last year.
STRENGTHS:
Seasoned, tough, tireless and
tenacious, he comes forward with
looping hooks, jolting uppercuts
and hurtful left-rights.
WEAKNESSES:
When up against accomplished
www.boxingnewsonline.net
As he possesses considerable
power, he is happy to stay in the
pocket and exchange punches.
Due to this, he often has to
swallow a few shots.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
Registering a late retirement win
over Ge on unfamiliar and hostile
territory.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
Being outpointed by Waseem,
who had been a successful
amateur but was inexperienced
as a pro.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
His rib-crunching stoppage of
Petchchorhae Kokietgym.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
He has the chance to become a
world champion in August when
he takes on Junto Nakatani for the
vacant WBO title.
adversaries with fast hands,
he can be beaten to the punch.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
Higa was 15-0 (15) prior to his bout
with Rosales, but the fearsome
Japanese was halted in nine.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
Being deservedly defeated on
points by Edwards.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
The debilitating right uppercut
that he drove into Paddy Barnes’
solar plexus in Belfast, leaving
the Northern Irishman writhing
in agony.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
He is young enough to make
another run at a world
championship, though his recent
sequence of two losses in three
fights is a worry.
VINCENT
LEGRAND (FRA)
RECORD: 31-0 (17) AGE: 29
HEIGHT: 5ft 8 1/2ins
THE owner of a glittery unbeaten
record, Legrand has twice claimed
the European belt. He first
gained the title by unanimously
outscoring former EBU champ
Valery Yanchy, before notching
the same result against the
overmatched Juan Hinostroza.
Since defeating Hinostroza in April
2018, the Frenchman – who made
his professional debut back in
2009 – has been strangely treading
water in low-key six-rounders in
his home country.
STRENGTHS:
The tallest fighter on this list,
Legrand uses his long levers to
consistently thrust out southpaw
jabs and one-twos.
WEAKNESSES:
He has failed to build any
MORUTI
MTHALANE (RSA)
RECORD: 39-2 (26) AGE: 38
HEIGHT: 5ft 3 1/2ins
A 20-YEAR pro, Mthalane has
competed in seven countries
and has not lost since 2008,
when he was ruled out against
Nonito Donaire due to a cut. He
is currently in his second reign
as IBF ruler. Among those he
has vanquished in world title
fights include Zolani Tete, John
Riel Casimero and Muhammad
Waseem. At the end of last year,
he retained via ninth-round
stoppage against Akira Yaegashi
in what was his fourth straight
away victory.
STRENGTHS:
The experienced South African
leads with a precise jab behind
a tight, high guard. His spiteful
combinations include shooting
rights to head and body.
momentum since becoming a
European titlist for a second time.
His recent opponents have been
uninspiring.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
Halting ex-two-time EBU boss
Andrea Sarritzu on foreign ground
in Italy.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
Thomas Barbier had lost eight
out of 10 contests going into his
rematch with Legrand, yet there
was not much separating them on
the scorecards.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
The lovely left cross that deposited
Sarritzu onto his backside.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
His future more than likely lies
outside of the flyweight division.
Expect to see him settle at either
super-flyweight or bantamweight.
WEAKNESSES:
Nearing 40, he is the oldest boxer
in the top 10 by some distance.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
Mthalane is the only man to have
stopped Casimero, who has won
world honours in three weight
classes.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
In his early years as a professional,
he surprisingly succumbed to
Nkqubela Gwazela inside time.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
His gruelling, action-packed
battle with decorated warrior
Yaegashi.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
Despite his advancing age,
he remains a force to be reckoned
with, though he is undoubtedly in
the twilight of his career.
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 23
4 3
ARTEM
DALAKIAN (UKR)
RECORD: 20-0 (14) AGE: 32
HEIGHT: 5ft 4 1/2ins
AN Azerbaijan-born Ukrainian
of Armenian descent, Dalakian
clinched the WBA title by
unanimously outpointing former
two-weight world titlist Brian
Viloria in the USA in early 2018.
He has posted four successful
defences of his belt – each
time at the Parkovy Convention
Centre in Kiev. Yodmongkol CP
Freshmart, Gregorio Lebron,
Wut Pitakparmuangkem and
Josber Perez were all unable to
dethrone the Eastern European.
STRENGTHS:
Dalakian exhibits impressive
movement and intelligent punch-
picking. His accurate counters
carry significant weight.
WEAKNESSES:
He has admitted himself that
24 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
he needs to string his punches
together more frequently, rather
than relying on single shots.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
The breakthrough win over Viloria
that put his name on the map.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
Sergey Tasimov has 22 KO/
stoppage defeats on his ledger,
but he lasted until the final bell
against Dalakian, who was having
only his second pro contest.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
The barrage of blows that left
Luis Manuel Macias in a heap.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
He has established himself as a
solid champion who would fancy
his chances against anyone in the
division, especially fighting in his
Kiev stronghold.
KOSEI
TANAKA (JPN)
RECORD: 15-0 (9) AGE: 25
HEIGHT: 5ft 4 1/2ins
IT took Tanaka just a dozen bouts
to become a three-weight world
champion – a record for a male
fighter which he shares with Vasyl
Lomachenko. During his spells as
a WBO belt-holder at strawweight,
light-flyweight and flyweight,
he has triumphed against the likes
of Vic Saludar, Moises Fuentes,
Angel Acosta, Sho Kimura and
Ryoichi Taguchi, all of whom have
been world titlists. He has never
fought a rival with more losses
than wins on their CV.
STRENGTHS:
A skilled aggressor who strikes with
speed and spite, Tanaka displays a
good use of angles when landing
swift jabs and vicious body raids.
WEAKNESSES:
Saludar showed that the attack-
minded Japanese can be caught
with counter right hands over the
top of his jab.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
Acosta had won all 16 of his
previous contests inside the
distance, but Tanaka outscored
him in style.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
Although he eventually knocked
Saludar out, he suffered a
knockdown himself and was
behind on all three cards.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
His all-action, toe-to-toe tussle
with Kimura.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
The super-flyweight division is
his next port of call, which is the
reason why he has vacated his
WBO 112lb title.
www.boxingnewsonline.net
2 1
JULIO CESAR
MARTINEZ (MEX)
RECORD: 16-1 (12) 1NC AGE: 25
HEIGHT: 5ft 2ins
POCKET rocket Martinez thought
he had won the WBC belt via KO
against Charlie Edwards in August
last year, but the outcome was
quickly changed to a No Contest
when it became evident that
Edwards had been illegally hit
with a punch while he was down
on one knee. Four months later,
the Mexican actually did win the
title by stopping Cristofer Rosales.
Two months after this, he kept
hold of the strap by unanimously
outpointing Jay Harris.
STRENGTHS:
An exciting and pugnacious
puncher who is full of energy,
Martinez unleashes lashing left
hooks and fierce bombardments
downstairs.
WEAKNESSES:
www.boxingnewsonline.net
The shortest man on the list,
he is so intent on attacking that
he often neglects his defensive
duties.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
He became the first fighter to beat
Andrew Selby when knocking out
the slick switch-hitter.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
His pro career got off to a bad start
when he was bested on points by
the unheralded Joaquin Cruz. This
defeat was later avenged.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
The poisonous left hook to the
liver that did the damage against
Selby.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
He can go on to truly
cement himself as the star of the
division.
CHARLIE
EDWARDS (ENG)
RECORD: 15-1 (6) 1NC AGE: 27
HEIGHT: 5ft 6ins
IN 2016, Edwards challenged for
the IBF title in only his ninth pro
fight, but was halted by a quality
champion in John Riel Casimero.
He dusted himself off and rebuilt
to earn another crack at world
honours just over two years later.
A unanimous points victory saw
him wrest the WBC belt from
Cristofer Rosales’ grasp. In his
second defence of the crown in
August last year, he took on Julio
Cesar Martinez, with the bout
ending in a No Contest.
STRENGTHS:
Boasting a strong amateur
pedigree, the skilful and speedy
Englishman utilises clever
footwork to get into range for
pace-dictating jabs and varied
combos.
WEAKNESSES:
He has the lowest knockout
percentage out of everyone in the
top 10.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
With his educated movement and
sound fundamentals, the Epsom
boxer had too much for Rosales.
WORST PERFORMANCE:
He was too green when he
came up against Casimero, who
took full advantage of his foe’s
inexperience.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
The emphatic overhand right that
led to a conclusive stoppage of
Anthony Nelson.
HOW HIGH CAN HE GO?
After vacating his WBC flyweight
championship, he is aiming to
make his mark up at super-fly.
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 25
 Photo: STEVE MARCUS/GETTY IMAGES

AIMING HIGH:
Stevenson is making
quick progress since
turning over in 2017

26 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

 THE
CHOSEN
ONE

Shakur Stevenson wants to be

America’s next star. He explains
his ambitions to John Dennen

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 27

 HAKUR STEVENSON is meant to be America’s next star.
It’s why promotional powerhouse Top Rank chose him
S to headline their first show back after the coronavirus
shutdown. It’s a role that he is eager to embrace, even
as he entered the quarantine zone in Las Vegas and
stepped into a near empty studio to box without a
crowd of spectators in promoter Bob Arum’s everybody.’ I’m in there, I’m trying to look for
first show from ‘The Bubble’. the right shots, hitting him everywhere
“I love pressure,” Stevenson tells Boxing I can, running through combinations, looking
News. “I love it. I love every moment of it. for stuff,” he continued. “The pressure that
I mean it just made me want to perform. came, it kind of made me want to be a star.
“I think I’m a different type of person. I’m I’m going in the ring thinking everybody’s
rare. I’m not like the rest of these fighters. watching on TV, I’ve got to be a star.”
Pressure makes me perform even better. Stevenson delivered as required, knocking
When they put pressure on me it makes out the overmatched Felix Caraballo inside
me want to oblige towards the pressure. I six rounds. “I’m good at blocking stuff
want to be closer towards the pressure, I out and focusing on what I’m supposed
want to go towards the pressure and face it to be focusing on. So I think I coped with
head up. I think pressure is one of the best everything well and I think it showed,”
things that happened to me. I love pressure Stevenson said. “It didn’t matter, nobody
because it makes me perform a lot better. It being able to come, none of that stuff
makes me want to do more. While I’m in the mattered. I was just focused on my fight. So
ring I’m thinking ‘I’ve got to do this, I’ve got it wasn’t as bad as people would think.
to do that. I’ve got to outdo this person. I’ve “It was actually cool. It was a little weird,
got to be better. I’ve got to be better than the fact that I got him with solid, solid
28 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
punches and I’d be looking for like a reaction
from the crowd [because I usually get that
after like a solid shot]. But I didn’t get no
reaction… I kind of just stepped into my zone
and said, forget it. I focussed more on that
people were watching me on TV.”
He rates the knockout itself as a highlight.
“Just because of the set up. I looked left
first, caught him with a left body shot and
then I look right, touch that side and finally
[punched] through. I caught him in between
his punch. That was one of my favourites,
just the set up, and showing my inside work,
and showing there’s more to my game that
I’m not just a defensive fighter. I’ve got
offence too. That was my main thing going
in there. To show people I can throw these
hands too,” Stevenson said.
He had something to prove. That he
wasn’t just a defensive maestro but that he
“can also fight. I’m a fighter also”.
An Olympic silver medallist when he was
only a teenager, those who have trained
with Stevenson or shared a ring with him
have high praise for him. Shakur has only
just turned 23 too. He is young. His power
will continue to develop, he will continue
www.boxingnewsonline.net
 good. Just so after you can understand. I
DOMINANT: don’t want hear no excuses, I want to hear
Stevenson whips Aelio ‘Shakur is that good’. That’s all I want to hear
Mesquita in 2018 after the fight,” the American said. “That
would be like a setting that I would love. I
think that would be the type of setting to
turn me into a superstar and the kind of star
that I would want to be. But I don’t know
which way Warrington will go. Warrington
seems like he’ll go the Can Xu way. If we
don’t fight now, later we’ll end up fighting.
There’s not too much left at 126 anyway,
so if I move up I’m pretty sure he’ll be right
after me going up to ’30.
“Don’t get me wrong, Warrington’s a good
fighter. I think he’s a smaller fighter. I think
that he’s coming straight forward. He’s
saying he’s going to do it smartly if we fight
but I don’t think that will help him. I think
it will end up being a Floyd Mayweather-
Ricky Hatton type of fight. You’ve seen what
happened with Floyd and Ricky and how it
ended. It’ll have its own different tune to it
but similar styles.”
There are richly appealing targets for
him in the super-featherweight division.
He wants to go straight into fights with Leo
Santa Cruz, Miguel Berchelt or Oscar Valdez,
in that order of preference. “I think I need
to. I think I’m ready. I think that [Caraballo]
fight there showed I need somebody on
my level to be in the ring with me. You
can’t have people that’s not on my level in
the ring with me because it’s going to end
really bad. So I think it kind of showed. I
need that competition. I don’t mind it. I love
competition,” he said. “Those type of [lower
level] guys, they can’t do nothing with me,
they’re just tuning me up and getting me
more ready. So I think that Santa Cruz will
be a fight that will be a big fight for me and I
will enjoy that.
“I think he’s got the biggest name at
130lbs. I think he’s got the biggest name and
biggest fan base. He can sell an arena and
stuff like that so, I think that he’s the perfect
person for me to make my mark at 130.”
to improve. He won his first world title, the Bob Arum, Stevenson’s promoter, told
WBO featherweight belt last year although Boxing News previously that, in this new
his most recent contest was up at super- post-pandemic world, business rivals in
feather. He has plans already to begin a boxing will need to cooperate. He specifically
move up through the weight classes. “I felt referred to working with Al Haymon,
strong. I think 130lbs is kind of my weight. I the influential advisor of Leo Santa Cruz
caught him with a hook early on and I could among others. That’s something Stevenson
feel the body shots I’m sitting down on,” himself is pushing for. “Bob and Al can
Shakur said. “I felt real good at 130. come together and we can make something
“I don’t want no defence of the title unless happen,” he says. “I think we need to start
it’s a big fight. I’ve got to talk with my team looking at Santa Cruz and Berchelt, Valdez
and see how they feel also but I don’t know and all these guys. I think it’s that time.”
if I’ll fight again at 126 unless it’s like [Josh] Stevenson adds, “I think I would go for
Warrington. If it’s not Warrington then I don’t Santa Cruz first and if I can’t get Santa Cruz,
really see the point of fighting at I see a lot of people saying Berchelt,
126lbs. I think ’30 is more my weight Berchelt, Berchelt and they don’t
now.” know if I’m ready for Berchelt. I’d
The thought of travelling to Leeds
to take on Warrington in a WBO
and IBF unification in front of a
hostile crowd appeals to Stevenson. I WILL BEAT JOSH
“I would rather fight him with the
crowd. I wouldn’t even want to fight WARRINGTON JUST LIKE
him without his crowd. I think it’ll
help him to his advantage and I’m
the type of person who’d rather fight
FLOYD MAYWEATHER BEAT
you at your best, when you’re feeling RICKY HATTON”
www.boxingnewsonline.net
tell them the same thing I say. I love people
telling me don’t fight this guy. I think Berchelt
would be the next person I’d go after. I
definitely don’t want to wait around. I’m not
going to get too much out of waiting around.”
He has an ambitious vision for his future.
He wants to take over the sport and is
giving himself about five years to do it. He
explained his forecast: “Five years’ time
I want to be number one on the pound-
for-pound list. I have won several titles in
several different weight classes… I just want
to be the alpha dog of the sport. I want to
be the superstar, the top guy, the last man
standing and they can’t get me out of there.
They can’t find a way to beat me. I want to
be that guy.”
His goals are clear, and he has the talent.
But making it to that exalted level is a long,
hard path and he would have to stick to the
course. “I think for a lot of other athletes
I’ve came across and seen, I think it’s real
hard for them. They get this fame and this
money on the course to stardom they let off
the gas. They start focusing on the wrong
stuff and the stuff that don’t matter. I think
with me, like I told you, I’m different. I love
the sport of boxing so all I think about is the
sport of boxing. I want to be somebody and
[know] what I want to be in life so I think
that that helps me stay focused on what I’m
supposed to do. It helps me not follow the
distractions that you’re talking about and
not go the other route when I know I got
something ahead in my future,” he said. “I
think that I just need to stay focused and
fight the best competition available and I
think I’ll become that superstar, that top
fighter I want to be.”
A superstar though would need a super-
fight. In five years’ time he can see himself
meeting Vasiliy Lomachenko, the leading
fighter in the sport today, up at lightweight.
“Depending on how Lomachenko keep
doing, we don’t know if he’s going to start
slowing down because of his age. But if he’s
still the same Lomachenko, doing the same
things that he’s been doing, I can see me and
him being like that Pacquiao-Mayweather
type of fight and the whole world begging
for that fight and wanting to see that fight
and me and him making it happen for the
right type of money. Me and him have
already been in the ring before so we’ve got
a little history,” Stevenson said.
They sparred one another ahead
of Lomachenko’s fight with Guillermo
Rigondeaux in 2017. “I ain’t going to speak
on sparring but the only thing I will say is
Lomachenko is extremely competitive. He’s
real competitive and that’s one thing I enjoy
about Lomachenko,” Shakur said. “I think
Lomachenko’s the type that does not take no
for an answer. A lot of people will take no for
an answer…
“But he’s the type of person that
will not take no for an answer. He
will not give up control so I like
how competitive he is. He is really
competitive in a boxing ring.”
That competitive drive is
something Stevenson shares with
him. It might just carry the young
American all the way to the top. bn
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 29
 THE END IS NIGH:
Langford in February 1955,
11 months before his death

30 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

 Springs Toledo tells the story of

Sam Langford and reveals the circumstances

of his final days for the first time

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 31

 IT WAS A DUNGEON,” Marvin
Gilmore said about Boston
State Hospital. “Like something
out of medieval times.” Located
on 232 acres of farmland, it
began its therapeutic tenure
in the late 19th century with
promise, with the idea that
a quiet pastoral setting outside the bustling city
would do wonders for the lost and the troubled. Six
decades later, it had degenerated into a brutal place.
Gilmore never forgot the filth, the smell, the danger.
“The worst place you could end up in,” he said. There
were screams in the night.
He took a job there as an orderly after he was
mustered out of the U.S. Army at the end of World
War II to help pay his tuition at New England
Conservatory of Music. He worked the witch watch—
11pm to 7am. His were the clacking shoes in the halls
during security checks, the jangling keys. He cared
for the living and the dead and coped as best he
could with those straddling the hell in between. He’d
restrain those who kicked up a fuss and washed the
corpses of those who’d kicked over a chair, wrapping
them in white cloths, lifting them into the back of
ambulances bound for the morgue.
There was one shining
light during the two years
he walked those dim, dank
halls. One of the patients
in a crowded dorm on his
circuit would wait up for
him; a little man, blind and
black, whose unassuming
disposition belied a craving
for an audience. “He kept
me up through the shift,”
his audience of one recalled,
“telling me about the days
he was ‘upstairs’—in the
money.” Gilmore kept him
awake too, and given the
variety of assaults that could
erupt at any time in those
dorms, that too was a favour.
The man was in his mid-
60s. Gilmore, also black, was
in his mid-20s. “He knew why
he was there,” said the latter.
“He wasn’t mentally ill. He was indigent and aged.
There was no one to take care of him.”
Gilmore took care of him. He washed him, fed him,
protected him.
“I developed a special love for this man,” Gilmore
said. “All those talks helped me begin to do what I
went on to do in the world of whiteness.”
Gilmore lost track of his friend somewhere around
1950. “Low-life white people worked at the Boston
State Hospital,” he said. “Even the superintendents
and the matrons were bad. Dictatorial. When they
came in mornings, they’d take their hate out on
me. Here I am, spent five years fighting for this
country, and they’d treat me worse than they did
the patients.” What irked them, he suspected, was
his decision to continue his education and better
himself. Then a matron began requiring him to scrub
the corridors and every corner of the corridors on
his knees; “—on my knees!” he hollered at a memory
long past. He up and quit one day and looked
back only once, for a face that didn’t
appear in a window.
In 1951, when Gilmore graduated CRUEL WORLD:
Langford’s career lasted
from the New England Conservatory until 1926 when he was
of Music, the patient population at broke and too blind to fight
32 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
Boston State Hospital peaked at 3100, an alarming
30 per cent over capacity. This may explain why the
blind man was no longer there in 1952. He turned up
in seedy old Scollay Square in the West End, by then
a place to get tattoos or a flop for the night, a place
of long shadows and faded signs that hinted at the
glitzy district it once was. The Old Howard was its
centerpiece with “something doing” long after the
haute culture of the previous century had given way
to what the Harvard Crimson called “blue-lighted
anatomical solos” of dubious artistic merit. Sailors
on liberty and fresh-faced college boys hurried in to
gawk at Georgia Sothern or Irma the Body.
They passed the blind man selling newspapers
out front.
He lived alone at the Argonne Hotel and spent
much of the afternoon sitting in his room with a
droning radio and a headful of memories. Sometimes
he talked himself to sleep. At four, akindly sort would
come by and walk him to Bill’s Lunch on Cambridge
Street. The manager let him take his meals at no
charge and made sure he sat in a booth by the
window where he could tell his stories to patrons.
A sign was hung over the door – Meet Sam Langford.
“I REMEMBER a lot of things,” he told Ebony.
At times his memory for
names and details proved
uncanny. The year of his
birth, however, faded with
his vision. Listed variously
as 1880, 1883, and 1886,
researchers agree that he
was born in Weymouth Falls,
Nova Scotia to an ex-seaman
renowned for his physical
strength. It is also known that
he set off on his own before
puberty. He took odd jobs
to earn his bread, slept in
haylofts, ships in port, and at
least once in a chicken coop.
He tried fishing for a living
off of Grand MananIsland,
worked in a logging camp,
and soon drifted into the
United States where he
appears in the 1900 Census
living and working on a farm
in Lincoln, Massachusetts. It is here that the most
likely year of his birth is revealed. He said it was 1885
(“don’t know month”) and it coincides with his age
on the 1891 Canadian Census (“six”) and two ship’s
manifests from 1903.
A peculiar precociousness for pugilism is also
revealed. It cost him his situation. Run off by the
boss after a parade of busted-up white boys pointed
to his cannonball fists as the cause, Langford walked
eleven miles to Cambridge where his sister lived.
He worked in a brickyard until he got fired again for
fighting, then drifted up to New Hampshire to lose
yet another job for the same reason.
In 1901 he was in Boston, scouring the docks
and the West End for work and missing a lot of
meals. A bartender was standing outside a saloon
one day when Langford approached, a half-starved
vagrant with his feet wrapped in burlap. The door
was opened to him. In return for sweeping the
joint he was given spending money and a cot in
the storeroom. Langford never forgot
the bartender’s name: Mike Foley. It
is no easy task to find a name like
that in a city overrun with working-
class Irish, though Langford proves
www.boxingnewsonline.net
 SAM LANGFORD
WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.
I HAD TEARS
CRYING FOR THIS
MAN, FOR WHAT
HAPPENED TO HIM”

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 33


reliable. A Michael J. Foley was living LUNA PARK, PARIS:
in Somerville in 1901 and working at Langford outpoints Joe
Jeanette over 20 rounds
10 Cambridge Street in Scollay Square. in December, 1913
A saloon was at that address, not two
blocks from the site of Bill’s Lunch.
It’s the backdrop for one of Sam’s stock stories—
his first “championship.”
One day, Foley stepped out on an errand and left
Langford, then 16, to mind the store. A local bruiser
sauntered in, tossed back a half-dozen beers, and
refused to pay the tab. “I don’t pay scabs,” he said
and walked out. Langford chased him down and
three knockdowns later the bruiser paid from a prone
position, with apologies. Foley caught the end of it and
for once Langford wasn’t fired. “The fellow you just
licked was the undisputed champion of Cambridge
Street!” he said. Langford recalled his name too.
“Michael J. O’Reilly” was a butcher in his early thirties
lodging just a short walk from the saloon.
Langford was in the wrong trade and everyone
knew it. So he was hooked up with a clerk at W.F.
Nowell’s Apothecary on nearby Staniford Street who
happened to be a boxing manager, and together
they ventured out of the West End to chase down
far more formidable champions—world champions.
If boxing was better organised and the world was
just, Sam Langford would have ruled the lightweight,
welterweight, middleweight, light-heavyweight, and
very possibly the heavyweight divisions. No one in
the history of the sport can make such a claim.
In 1903 he defeated the great lightweight king
Joe Gans over fifteen rounds, but came in over the
weight limit and therefore couldn’t take the crown.
In 1905, he earned a win over Barbados Joe Walcott,
welterweight king, but was given a draw that had
everyone scratching their heads. In 1910, he carried
middleweight king Stanley Ketchel in a no-decision
bout with the understanding that he would get
a shot at the crown in Nevada. Six months later
Ketchel was shot dead in Missouri.
In 1911, he challenged Philadelphia Jack O’Brien
THE FELLOW YOU JUST LICKED
WAS THE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION
OF CAMBRIDGE STREET!”
34 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
in a match The New York Call, New York Sun, Los
Angeles Times, New York Times, and the AP publicized
as the lightheavyweight championship of the world.
O’Brien had become the division’s champion when
he stopped Bob Fitzsimmons in 1905, though purists
said he lost it when he was defeated by then-
heavyweight king Tommy Burns due to the fact that
both weighed at or under the light-heavyweight limit,
even if O’Brien’s crown was not specifically contested.
O’Brien himself saw things differently. “I hold the
light-heavyweight title,” he wrote in a letter accepting
Langford’s challenge. Gentleman Jim Corbett agreed,
but after Langford left O’Brien in a glassy-eyed stupor
in the fifth round, no accolades were forthcoming in
the world of whiteness.
“Nobody wanted to fight me for it,” Langford
shrugged and continued on his quest to win the
heavyweight crown. And that was held by none
other than Jack Johnson. The same Jack Johnson who
once snuck out of a Philadelphia café to get away
from Langford, who publicly drew the
colour line against his own colour and
so became the only human being on
the planet the large-hearted Langford
frankly disliked.
As Johnson’s reign devolved
into a circus with white hopefuls
practically plucked from the nearest farm, Langford
declared himself “the world coloured heavyweight
champion” and began a shadow reign that ran
parallel to Johnson’s. Langford defended his title
against boxing’s answer to the Legion of Doom—Joe
Jeannette, Sam McVea, Jeff Clark—and demonstrated
to Johnson how a real champion behaves.
Standing only five feet six-and-a-half and often
outweighed by 30 pounds plus, Langford brought
down giants whenever he felt like it. It was said that
the impact of his punch sounded like a tree branch
snapping in a storm, and the damage it caused to
the human countenance was obscene. One shot
reportedly broke both cheekbones on Jeannette’s
face and pulverised his nose into a hunk of flesh
flopping this way and that.
Most of the white fighters that appear on his record
would never have gone more than a few rounds had
Langford not been bound by “agreements.” It was
either that or no fight. Some of his losses to black
fighters were tank jobs to build up a return match. It
was either that or start skipping meals again.
Even his wins could have been more than they
were. He frequently wouldn’t bother to train and was
known to down a quart of gin in the dressing room
and gulp it between rounds. His eyesight was poor
from the start and by the end of the 1910s he was
damn-near blind.
Sam Langford sans handcuffs and handicaps?
Think Game of Thrones with one laughing king and
lots of bodies.
England welcomed him in 1907. “I had expected a
gargantuan Negro as big as Johnson himself,” said
James Butler of the Daily Herald. “And what did I see?
A little man.” He made an impression nonetheless
on crowds of curious and incredulous Londoners,
“—a kind of Mister Five-by-Five” with tremendous
shoulders and a barrel chest, decked out American
style in a check suit and bowler.
But it was a costume, not a statement. Langford
stepped off the sidewalk and onto the road whenever
a white man approached.
Years of dehumanisation had taken their toll;
made worse still by the constant ridicule in print of
his appearance. His long arms, which enabled him
to reach heavyweight heights, were called gorilla
arms. The espresso colour and rounded structure
www.boxingnewsonline.net
 of his face, far preferable to angular features when
punches fly, was depicted as an ink blot by sports
cartoonists. None could and none did deny his
prowess—by 1908, newspapers were referring to
him as “the perfect fighting machine” though they
didn’t acclaim it; they ascribed it to “jungle roots.”
Racists back then called him “tar baby.” Many
today who should know better still do. Despite the
fact that the term finds origins in African folk tales
where a figurine made from a lump of tar presents
a sticky problem for dupes, it was routinely wielded
against black fighters in the early 20th century. In
late 1908 Langford was referred to in print as that
“tar baby of Boston” and the term was occasionally
capitalised as if a proper name (“ambitious Tar
Baby”). On New Years’ Eve an article making the
rounds claimed that he was known in Boston as “the
Harry Haggerty All-Tar Baby” and over the first few
months of 1909, an earlier nickname, “The Boston
Terror,” was being supplanted by “The Boston Tar
Baby” on sports pages.
Langford thought he knew what happened.
He said a group of black women in Boston were
overheard by reporters saying,“Our baby will win!
Our baby will win!” and when asked who their “baby”
was, they said, “Sam Langford! He’s our baby!”And
just like that a community’s term of endearment
was recast as a slur. There’s another story where a
cartoonist took one look at Langford, scoffed at the
“Boston Terror” moniker, and said “he looks like a
Boston tar baby to me.”
However it was the name was attached, it stuck,
and like many a fancy slander on social media, it has
come to define a man who deserved better.
LANGFORD finally retired from the ring in 1926,
broke and too blind to fight anymore. He spent most
of the 1930s and 40s living in a municipal lodging
house in Harlem, subsisting on charity and then a
trust fund initiated by the New York Herald-Tribune
that afforded him a small monthly stipend. He grew
old in the dark, his once-uproarious laughter only an
echo in the retreating past. On August 27, 1947 he
bound up his few belongings, tapped his way to the
train station, and bought a ticket for Boston.
He came home, it seems, to die.
“He was so beautiful.” Marvin Gilmore
said seventy years after walking off his NEW YORK GATHERING:
Joe Louis, Tony Canzoneri
job at Boston State Hospital. “I had and Langford visit WNEW
tears, crying for this man, for what radio station in May 1935 where he is a trustee. bn
happened to him.”
Langford, boxing’s greatest shoulda-
been, warned and inspired Gilmore, who went on to
become a five-field champion in music, business,
education, philanthropy, and civil rights. Gilmore
says that his life has been a sort of “vengeance of
love,” a salute to Langford and all those like him
whose ambitions were thwarted. “Years ago, I went
to get a loan from a bank and was turned down,”
he said. “Now, I’d already promised myself I’d never
be on my knees again, so I told that man, ‘I’ll get my
own bank’.” In 1968, he co-founded The Unity Bank
and Trust Company in Boston, the first black-owned
commercial bank in New England. “That man?” he
said. “He came to work for me.”
And he still has some of that stardust left.
In 2010, France awarded him the Medal of Honour
for his heroism during the Normandy Invasion
on D-Day. His biography, Crusader for Freedom: A
Legacy of Battling Discrimination and Building Jobs
was published in 2014. The accolades keep right on
coming. “A renaissance man,” said the chancellor
of UMass. “A servant-leader,” said the president of
Wheelock College.
www.boxingnewsonline.net
Gilmore, now 95, always wondered what happened
to Langford.
He half expected that Boston State Hospital would
be his tomb though it seems their all-night talks had
inspired Langford as much as they had Gilmore.
It’s no coincidence that the old fighter’s last hurrah
was in the very place where he had his first hurrah,
in Scollay Square, where he reassumed his place
among the misfits and the characters. Emmy-award-
winning photographer Lear Levin recalls him selling
newspapers out front of the Old Howard. “What made
you the brilliant boxer you were?” he once asked him.
“I always hit ’em on the oat,” came the gravelly reply.
“The oat” was Nova Scotian for “the out,” which Levin
understood to be the point of the chin.
When Rocky Marciano was getting ready to face
Jersey Joe Walcott for the heavyweight crown in
September 1952, Langford wanted to know about
him—“He walks right in? No backward steps? Not INSPIRED:
afraid of nobody?”—and won $5 betting on him. He Gilmore thanks Langford
took his windfall and treated himself to cigars, beer, for giving him the
impetus to succeed in
and extra hot dogs at Joe and Nemo’s. ‘a world of whiteness’
A month later, the Ring 4 Veteran Boxers
Association held a benefit for him at Mechanics Hall.
Gene Tunney, who took the heavyweight crown from
Jack Dempsey, who took it from Jess Willard, who
took it from Langford’s fleet-footed nemesis Jack
Johnson, sent a $100 check with a note that said, “For
one of the greatest fighters the ring has ever known”
and the Governor, a senator, a son of Franklin D.
Roosevelt, and regular folks tossed bills into the
till. More accolades followed, culminating with his
induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1955.
By then he could no longer get around and was
living in a stately Victorian rest home in Cambridge,
just around the corner from the stately Victorian
Gilmore calls home.
He spent his last days in a wheelchair content with
his radio and wearing a bathrobe not unlike that he
wore during his fabled career.
On January 12, 1956 a nurse was in his room and
heard him take his last breaths. He went quietly.
GILMORE was satisfied to hear that his friend didn’t
die alone and forgotten. “You know, he was my
role model for victory,” he said. “I
carry him with me.” And with that
the former orderly headed out to a
meeting at Mount Auburn Hospital,
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 35
 GLEN
★JOHNSON★
TALKS TO

LIFE
ON THE
ROAD
Photo: JOHN GICHIGI/GETTY IMAGES

Glen Johnson tells

Craig Scott how a series
of setbacks taught him
how to rule the world

36 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

 TYPICAL AWAY DAY:
Johnson attacks
Clinton Woods in
Sheffield in
November 2003 but
only gets a draw

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 37


RENCHED in sweat,  former IBF light-heavyweight
champion Glen Johnson hammers the sizzling concrete
D
pavements with the same youthful aplomb that
accompanied him from Clarendon, Jamaica to South
Florida almost 40 years ago. This routine continues
daily, and his heart continues beating. Now aged 51,
the body still works — some parts of it,
anyway.
He answers my call with that familiar,
Caribbean lilt; relaxed and ready to relive his
incredible career in depth for Boxing News.
Johnson was infamously dubbed the “Road
Warrior” throughout his professional career,
remembered for fearlessly challenging some
of his generation’s greatest champions. But
it was all purely by chance.
After continually delaying his retirement,
the proud ex-professional from Middlesex
County still runs regularly, seeking solace
on the sidewalk. He explains: “The darkest
period of my career, I’d say it was when I
knew it was coming to an end. That’s always
the toughest part, when you see the end is
near and your brain doesn’t want to leave,
but everything else says, ‘It’s time to go.’
Your skills are diminishing. Your energy,
everything inside that’s becoming an old
person is manifesting itself.
“I think the biggest part is just accepting
age. Nobody likes to be old, right? You’re
past your prime, or your best athletic years.
That’s hard to accept. Being an athlete, you
feel so powerful and you feel different than
a regular person. So then, for your brain to
now accept that you’re old and say, ‘I can’t
do this no more’, it takes some getting used
to. It takes time to process.”
The quiet man from Jamaica wasn’t one
for staking outrageous claims of feeling
“stronger than ever” and he stopped shy of
calling out current champions for ridiculous,
dangerous paydays. It wasn’t his style. If
Johnson had experienced a battle with
denial after hanging up his gloves, I got the
impression he’d already emerged the victor.
He never set out to take on the world, but
he certainly wasn’t afraid of it either.
The 77-fight veteran, 54-21-2 (37), took
me back to life on the Island, spending
his childhood with his grandparents in
Clarendon while his mum settled in the
busy suburbs of New York City. When
the teenage Johnson joined her, he was
knocked for six by the vast differences
in culture. That strong accent washed
over his peers, forcing him to alter his
approach when studying for exams,
and later looking for work.
“Everything we did in Jamaica
was outside with our friends;
running around, swimming
and jumping in rivers,” he
explained. “Then you move to a
strange country and you sound
funny — everybody sounds
different. When I started going
to school it was another
tough transition, because
now I’m learning all of
these things that are new
to me. It was a struggle
in those early days,
38 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
Photos: GETTY IMAGES
AGAINST ROY
but I adjusted to the system. As a kid you
just want to fit in.
“I started boxing when I got to the States.
JONES I WAS LIKE,
I was [already] 20 years old and it was after
I had started working in construction. The ‘F**K IT, IF YOU’RE
real reason that I ended up in a boxing gym
was because I wanted to lose weight. The
boxing gym was free and ‘free’ fitted into
GOING TO KNOCK
my budget. I went in there just to lose some
weight and the coach asked me if I wanted
to be an amateur boxer. I said, ‘If you think
ME OUT YOU
I could be an amateur boxer then I will give
it a try.’
“My chest was on fire; my heart and my
BETTER KNOCK
breathing, too. I was like, ‘This is impossible.
There’s no way any human being can
do this.’ Then I fought and won my first
ME THE F**K OUT
amateur fight. I was like an addict after
that — I was hooked. I was searching for BECAUSE I AM
greatness. I always wanted to be great at
something, so everything that I was doing,
I put 100 per cent into it. I was learning
COMING AT YOU’”
boxing and I thought that was my vehicle to
have that better life.”
Debuting as a professional boxer in 1993,
Johnson embarked on an often-unthinkable
career between the ropes, buoyed solely by
the encouragement he’d received from his
coaches. His tenure as both an amateur and
professional was the result of that same,
casual response: “If you think I can do it, I’ll
give it a shot”. I asked Glen what he thought
his life would have meant without boxing.
He answered with a prolonged silence.
After amassing 32 straight wins — 20
by knockout — he would eventually run
into trouble. Facing middleweight king
and feared, former prison inmate Bernard
Hopkins, Johnson suffered his first punishing
defeat, learning more in just under 32
minutes than in his previous 32 contests.
The “Road Warrior” discussed in detail
squaring off against one of the sport’s lot of challenges. When I got to Bernard, he
coldest figures on that humid, Summer was boxing on a different level than I’ve ever,
evening in Indio, California. even seen it. I’ve never seen that in sparring,
“As a young guy I wasn’t never saw it in the amateurs, and never saw
intimidated by anyone because it in any competitive fight. There was nothing
I never thought anyone could I could do with him. Everything I was doing,
beat me,” Johnson laughed, it seemed like he already read my mind.
still oozing the confidence of I was totally outclassed.”
a young challenger. “I wasn’t This initial defeat was shortly followed
intimidated at any point. with a further two losses; watching the
Bernard Hopkins beat hands of Merqui Sosa (December 1997) and
the crap out of me. But Joseph Kiwanuka (August 1998) being raised
that was just another after contentious judges’ scorecards. The
learning process, really. learning continued, and eventually Johnson
I had to go back to the would string together four meaningful
gym, train harder and victories, leading to another shot at a
become more mentally world belt. This time it was German IBF
strong. super-middleweight champion, Sven Ottke
“I fought him when (November 1999), who would topple
I was a middleweight. Clarendon’s great hope on points, before
Obviously coming up sending him hurling into another tailspin,
I was put into fights where resulting in four consecutive defeats.
I was the A-side most of Six fights spread over three years led
the time. So I didn’t have a Glen Johnson back to the away corner,
www.boxingnewsonline.net

challenging for a world title for the third
time, again largely unfancied. But it was
this night in Hillsborough Leisure Centre,
Sheffield that would change the course of
the Jamaican’s career for good, despite only
fighting to a split draw for the vacant IBF
light-heavyweight strap with Clinton Woods.
The pair met again only three months later
and this would be the travelling man’s
crowning triumph. At last he was champion,
winning unanimously on points, again in
Woods’ backyard.
“It was certainly a big relief, because over
the years, many times people said I couldn’t
ever be a world champion, or [told me] I
wasn’t going to make it. When I walked into
the gym at 20 years old, there were boys at
eight that were way better than I was. After
losing and going through some ups and
downs, you have to be strong. So when it
finally happened, it was a big relief to say,
‘Okay, I proved myself right and I proved
all of the people who said I couldn’t do it
wrong.’
www.boxingnewsonline.net
BIG UPSET:
Johnson, the 6/1
underdog, flattens
Jones Jnr in2004
“People knew that I was robbed in many
of those losses. So I would take that glory for
myself because I know I whooped this guy,
even though they gave him the decision.
He’s the A-side guy and that’s the way the
game is played. Times when I would get beat
legitimately, those were my most crushing
because that makes you feel like somebody
was better than you out there. It’s tough
fighting the politics, but it’s a lot easier than
knowing the person is better than you and
just beat your ass.”
The 35-year-old Johnson, proudly
draped in his red, championship belt,
would continue upsetting the odds after
conquering the 175lbs division unexpectedly,
“beating the asses” of his peers on some of
his biggest nights. He famously handed the
great Roy Jones Jnr his second legitimate
defeat, stopping the American favourite
during the ninth round of his first defence in
September 2004.
Beating the pound-for-pound great was
Glen’s highest-profile contest, and one he
remembers fondly even now, explaining:
“I was supposed to fight Joe Calzaghe but he
pulled out of the fight. I told my manager,
‘Screw Joe Calzaghe, let’s move on.’ Then he
came to me with the opportunity to fight Roy
Jones. I remember some years before that, I
was having a discussion with my friends and
I was telling them, ‘If I get a chance to fight
Roy Jones, I’ll beat him.’ And they laughed at
me. I couldn’t believe they were my friends
(laughs).
“He made a poster with my name on it
[and stuck it] on the punch bag. He hit the
bag and every time, sand was draining out of
it. I found that to be so disrespectful. When I
stepped inside the ring just before the fight
was about to start, one of his boys walked
over to me and said, ‘Hey man, just hand
over the belt. You know you lost that.’ That’s
why I came out like that. If I was going to be
knocked out, I’m like, ‘F**k it, knock me the
f**k out because I’m coming at you’.”
After leaving Roy Jones Jnr rigid on the
canvas, Glen Johnson would go on to add
victories over Antonio Tarver, Montell Griffin,
Yusaf Mack and Allan Green.
But defeats were almost as common
as the victories. Tarver beat him in their
rematch, so too Woods in their third scrap
and he also came up short against the likes
of Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud, Carl Froch,
Lucian Bute, George Groves and Ilunga
Makabu.
After suffering his final defeat at the
hands of Turkish fringe contender, Avni
Yildirim in 2015, the Road Warrior was
forced to admit he’d run out of gas. The
body that had carried him further than most
imagined possible was beyond repair.
His brain remains sharp, and despite
battling the best for over two decades,
he was only stopped twice. But it was the
speed of his opponents’ punches that posed
unanswerable questions. Days passed and
months followed. Glen Johnson was always
on the road — he still is. But it just isn’t
enough anymore.
His passion now lies in training fighters,
still basing himself in Florida, and he’d
recently grabbed column inches in the
United Kingdom after briefly working with
Brixton cruiserweight, Isaac Chamberlain.
Their relationship has been put on hold, but
the Clarendon-native hopes they’ll soon be
reunited, with Chamberlain’s future unsure.
Passing on his knowledge to the next
generation had become his new addiction,
replacing the buzz of trying to solve boxing’s
trickiest puzzles.
He told me that his one hope was to be
remembered as “the fighter who’d fight
anyone, anywhere, anytime.”
Glen’s career spanned decades, losing
consecutive fights, suffering painful defeat
when competing for major championships
and ultimately struggling to strip himself
from the sport after tasting unfathomable
success.
He searched for greatness, even shaking
its hand in a fleeting moment, and now
chases his next success up and down the
streets of South Florida, defying the age
that had previously plagued him. It is just a
number, after all. bn
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 39
 AMATEURS

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Best laid plans

Pat HIS was not
the plan. Pat
McCormack
speaks to
John
T McCormack
should have
qualified for the
Olympics by now.
He should be in
Dennen the final of weeks of preparation
for the Tokyo Games. He should
about the be one of the leading contenders
for a medal. But instead everything
long delay has changed. The coronavirus
pandemic, that brought the London
qualification event to an end before
Pat even got the chance to box, has
pushed the Games back a year. And
so all McCormack’s plans had to be
shelved.
He’d been getting tremendous
results, winning the European
Games and a World silver medal last
Photos: GETTY IMAGES
year. But he felt in better condition
than ever by the time he got to the
Copper Box in London for the soon-
to-be cancelled event. “I made sure
I’d done everything right so I was
feeling on fire,” McCormack said.
“I think the team was all on fire,
because it was the Olympic qualifier,
all the boxers were getting behind
each other. Everyone was shouting
for each other... Being at home
as well, with home advantage, we
would have shone out there.”
It was not to be. Pat and the rest
of the team will have to regroup. “I
was buzzing for Peter [McGrail] and
Galal [Yafai] but it was annoying for
me seeing they’re qualified, they
don’t have to worry any more. They
can sort of relax,” he reflected. “It is
what it is. Not much to do really [in
lockdown]. It’s a good time to reset
and have a good rest and give your
mind a rest and make sure that
everyone’s ready to get straight back
into it.”
The GB gym in Sheffield has only
just reopened doors for smaller
than usual groups of athletes. The
Classified as elite athletes, GB boxers
don’t have the same restrictions that
currently constrain other amateur
boxers in the UK. From June 22,
under strict protocols at the English
Institute of Sport, they have been
able to do pads with a coach in
personal protective equipment and
if the boxer is wearing a facemask.
Designated groups of boxers there
are also permitted to spar.
But the road back to competition
will be long and uncertain for

WINNING:
McCormack [right]
has been getting
results at world
level

40 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

 CUT SHORT:
The Olympic qualifier
was called off before
McCormack even got
the chance to box
them all. With the qualifiers to
be confirmed, the Olympics are
scheduled for July 2021. McCormack
himself was “gutted” at that news.
He’d been hoping they might take
place sooner.
“We’re not getting any younger,”
he said. “I think it would have been
the perfect time to go pro after
these Olympics. I would have been
ready. I would have
been physically ready
and mentally ready.”
But there is a
‘I’M NOT
positive. He has just
turned 25 and points
GOING TO
out, “The average FALL AT
Olympic gold medallist
in the boxing is 25. THE LAST
Perfect age.”
“The only
HURDLE’
opportunity we’ve got
is to qualify the Olympics and then
the Olympics,” he continued. “If you
win the Olympics you’re already a
household name. It did cross my
mind to turn pro. But I’ve waited this
long, I’m not going to fall at the last
hurdle. A little set back. I was just
thinking how much better I’ll be in
a year. All them other fighters are
getting older. That Russian [Andrey
www.boxingnewsonline.net
Zamkovoy who beat McCormack in
the World championship final] will
be 33, 34, so I’ll be ready to take
them out.”
During lockdown Pat’s been
training in his garage at home,
with weights and a hanging bag.
But it’s still not the same as a gym
environment. “I can do everything
really but it’s just hard doing it every
day in the garage. I
like going to the gym,
having a bit of craic
with the lads. That’s
what I miss the most,”
he said. “When you
go away with the GB,
you’re in the ring by
yourself but the team’s
there to support you
all the way. You’re
all fighting. You’re all
going through the same thing. You’re
all supporting each other.”
He remains focused on the same
goal. This disruption is “like a reset
button,” he notes, “mentally and
physically like a reset button.”
“It’s been a long time coming,” he
adds of the Olympics, “a long time
coming.” The Games however are
still just that little bit further away.
HOPCRAFT
REMEMBERED
Crawley’s Geoff Hopcraft has passed away
GEOFF HOPCRAFT has
passed away. Born in April
1945 he started his boxing
career with a few bouts
for the Rotax club before
moving to Crawley in 1960. A
year later his father, Arthur,
founded the Crawley Amateur
Boxing Club and Geoff’s love
affair with the sport began.
He went on to have more
than 200 bouts for the club,
and among his illustrious
opponents were former world
lightweight champion Ken
Buchanan and ABA kingpin
and Olympian Terry Waller.
An ear injury forced
Geoff to hang up his gloves
prematurely, and on moving
to Kent he helped to form the
Ashford ABC.
In 1971 he moved again,
this time to Nottingham and
began coaching at the famous
Phoenix gym, home in later
years to Carl Froch.
Seven years later Geoff
was back home in Crawley
and joined his father on the
committee of the club. The
following year he became the
club chairman, a post he went
onto hold for a staggering
36 years. In that time Geoff
became a highly respected
official of the Southern
Counties ABA, a judge and
the highest honour of them
all, an England International
referee. During his mammoth
THE BOYS: Geoff Hopcraft and his sons Peter [left] and Rees
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 41
service to Crawley Boxing
Club he oversaw the careers
of hundreds of the town’s
boxers. Just two weeks ago
Geoff was heavily engaged in
the future plans for the club,
always wanting the very best
for its members.
Funeral arrangements:
Wednesday July 8, 3pm, at
Sussex & Surrey Crematorium.
This will be a private family
service by invitation only.
Due to the Covid situation,
the Government has decreed
that the number of mourners
at the crematorium is severely
limited. Therefore the family
has arranged for the hearse to
stop at the Arthur Hopcraft
Gym, Crawley (RH10 1LQ) en
route for everyone to come
and say goodbye.
Geoff will arrive at the gym
at approximately 2.30pm,
when the hearse will stop in
the car park. Once everyone
has paid their respects, former
boxer and British Boxing
Board of Control timekeeper
Bob Edgeworth will sound the
bells. It’s hoped that the full
service will then be relayed via
video link in the Jubilee Club
next door. Lastly, the family
has requested that it should
be family flowers only, but
donations to Crawley Amateur
Boxing Club can be made via
https://www.cpjfield.co.uk/
services/53006
THIS WEEK IN
Bruno and
Photos: GETTY IMAGES
MUSCLE MAN:
Dempsey score Bruno’s right
uppercut sends
brutal victories Jameson to sleep
and there’s some
seriously
watchable chaos
in Europe, writes
Matt Christie
5 4
FRANK BRUNO w ko 2
MIKE JAMESON
July 9, 1983; DiVinci Manor, Chicago, IL
THE plan for 16-0 Frank Bruno was to go
to America and put the wheels in motion
to take over the world. As it turned out,
this would be the only time Bruno won
in the States (his other two appearances
resulted in stoppage losses to Mike Tyson).
But Bruno looked terrific against the ballsy
Jameson, who tested some of the best big
men of his time during his career. Hall of
Fame scribe Colin Hart called the finish
– conjured with a jab, left hook and right
uppercut – one of the most impressive
he’d ever seen. It’s easy to understand
why. In the space of five seconds, Jameson
went from swarming pressure fighter to
quivering wreck.
DID YOU KNOW? The undercard saw wins
for Barry McGuigan, Lloyd Honeyghan,
American heavyweights James Tillis,
Jeff Sims and a debut victory for future
European champion, Alessandro Duran.
WATCH OUT FOR: The finish from Bruno. Even
better when one considers Jameson would
later go more rounds with George Foreman
and Mike Tyson and last the distance with
Tony Tubbs and Michael Dokes.
42 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
DONALD CURRY w rsf 9
GIANFRANCO ROSI
July 8, 1988; Portosole, San Remo, Italy
IT’S true that much of the once-brilliant
Donald Curry’s post-Lloyd Honeyghan
career was miserable but this victory
over the awkward as hell Gianfranco
Rosi is worthy of significant kudos. Set
in one of the most lavish marinas on the
Mediterranean, Curry went into this one
promising to retire if he didn’t win. The
“Lone Star Cobra” scored five knockdowns
before the Italian retired at the end of the
ninth to forfeit his WBC super-welterweight
strap. While this was as good as it got for
Curry at 154lbs, Rosi went on to win the IBF
belt and remain a factor at or near the top
of the division until 1997.
DID YOU KNOW? Curry tried to call Sugar
Ray Leonard out of retirement to be his
first challenger. Leonard wasn’t interested.
In the end, Curry had to make do with
unfancied Frenchman Rene Jacquot in Paris
where a sizeable upset occurred.
WATCH OUT FOR: The pre-fight footage
where the likes of a young(ish) and slightly
perplexed Bob Arum step off a boat and
immediately get interviewed by the Italian
media.
3
AARON PRYOR w rsf 6
AKIO KAMEDA
July 4, 1982; Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH
AARON PRYOR, as was his custom, reacted
to the opening bell like a man who had
been told the fella in the opposite corner
was on route to kidnap his children. The
“Hawk” was predominantly irresistible
in this form but, as southpaw Kameda
proved, not impossible to hit. With the
challenger being socked this way and that,
the challenger – who would later be Terry
Marsh’s final opponent – scored with a
counter combination that briefly decked the
WBA super-lightweight boss. Embarrassed
and enraged, Pryor leapt to his feet in
cartoon style and windmilled after his foe
before being hauled off by the referee who
then administered the eight count.
DID YOU KNOW? This was the third time that
Pryor had been floored in the opening
round after Antonio Cervantes and Dujuan
Johnson did the same to the American.
WATCH OUT FOR: Pryor’s next opponent
Alexis Arguello respectfully provide
co-commentary. Pryor, eager to take on
Arguello, admitted in the aftermath that his
future rival’s presence at ringside weighed
heavily on his mind throughout this fight.
www.boxingnewsonline.net
HISTORY
2 1
KELVIN SEABROOKS
w rtd 9 THIERRY JACOB
July 4, 1987; Circus Tent, Calais, France
THE riotous nature of boxing is evidenced
beautifully in this thrilling encounter. Inside
the opening 15 seconds, Frenchman Thierry
Jacob is decked by Seabrooks. But the IBF
bantamweight champion cannot sustain the
advantage and is floored himself on two
occasions in the first round and sent to his
knees in the sixth. Meanwhile, Jacob picks
up a nasty cut in the third before the two
go ballistic in the eighth round, exchanging
furious blows. Seabrooks gets on top in
the ninth. At the end of the session Jacob
is retired due to his eye injury and a belief
it will go to the cards. Bedlam ensues:
Seabrooks is named the stoppage winner
before French officials intervene and Jacob
is announced as the victor. Later, the IBF
insist Seabrook is still king.
DID YOU KNOW? The Jacob corner appear to
try and make their fighter’s cut worse at the
end of the ninth round before signalling he
cannot continue. The plan backfired.
WATCH OUT FOR: The action is superb. And
the aftermath is pure soap opera – made
all the more difficult to follow because it’s
in French.
www.boxingnewsonline.net
PLEASANTRIES:
Dempsey smirks at
Willard moments
before beating the
bejesus out of him
JACK DEMPSEY
w rtd 3 JESS WILLARD
July 4, 1919; Bay View Park Arena, Toledo, OH
ARGUABLY the most savage coronation
in heavyweight history. Had this contest
occurred in the modern day, not only
would Dempsey have been called a physical
wonder for slaying a man who outweighed
him by 58lbs and was 5 ½ inches taller,
it would not have lasted longer than one
round. The beating that Willard took in
the opening session remains frightfully
shocking. According to reports from the
time, Willard – who went down seven times
in round one – (just about) walked away
from the bout with a jaw broken in two
places, two fractured ribs, five less teeth,
a swollen shut eye, a squashed nose and
a left ear shredded to such an extent he
never regained complete hearing in it.
DID YOU KNOW? The unprovable story of
Dempsey’s ‘loaded gloves’ is often told but
was not a consequence of sensationalism
or hocus pocus hindsight. It originated
from Willard himself who went to his grave
believing Dempsey had cheated his way to
the world heavyweight title.
WATCH OUT FOR: Willard bossing the opening
30 seconds before all hell breaks loose.
BOXING
ON THE BOX
What else to watch this week
ESPN PLAYER
Muhammad and Larry tells the sad tale of
Ali’s quest to win the world heavyweight
title for the fourth time against his former
sparring partner. The concerns about Ali’s
health, even before the fight, are evident
in this film.
BOXNATION
Remind yourself of the excellent but
curtailed Boxing Matters series, headed
by Alex Steedman. On Thursday (July 2)
he talks about the history and role of the
boxing trainer with Colin Hart and Alan
Hubbard.
NETFLIX
German flick, A Heavy Heart (2012), tells
the story of a retired East German boxing
champion who is reduced to working as a
bouncer and debt collector in retirement
before a fatal disease triggers some
serious self-reflection. Not exactly laugh a
minute but enjoyable enough.
AMAZON
Team Loma is a 40-minute 2018
documentary that goes behind the scenes
with the supreme Vasyl Lomachenko
when he’s at training camp.
FURTHER VIEWING:
Jack Johnson w rsf 15 James J Jeffries
(1910); Juan Coggi w ko 3 Patrizio Oliva
(1987); Julio Cesar Chavez w rsf 2 Roger
Mayweather (1985); Aaron Davis w ko 9
Mark Breland (1990); Razor Ruddock w
ko 7 Bonecrusher Smith (1988).
JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 43
 YESTERDAY’S HEROES
THE BLACKPOOL ROCK
Photos: GETTY IMAGES
Brian in Blackpool
LOOKING UP
Welcome news FOLLOWING last week’s glad tidings
of another that both Home Counties and Croydon
EBAs are hoping to hold a meeting this
scheduled EBA month, the latest Punch Lines – Essex EBA’s
meeting monthly newsletter – announces that they
will be meeting at the Naval and Military
Club on Sunday July 19. Great news
indeed. There’s also an interview with Essex
member (and former President) Danny
Wells, conducted by fellow member Dave
Shindler. Coincidentally, Danny’s real name
is also Dave, but he was nicknamed Danny
when he did his National Service. The man
who renamed him was Wally Swift, who
went on to win British titles at both welter
Simon and middleweight.
Euan-Smith Danny’s also a keen member of the
simonoldtimers London EBA – and in his time he boxed
@googlemail.com both amateur and pro, and also became
EBA a pro referee. His paid career, from 1960
correspondent to 1965, took in 31 bouts, with nine wins
44 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020
Brian
FATHER AND SON:
London
Jack London and
took on
all-comers
during his
15-year pro
career
Miles
Templeton
Boxing
historian
and four draws. He twice met future
European, British and Commonwealth
bantamweight champion (and three-
time world title challenger) Alan Rudkin,
losing in four rounds on a cut and then
on points over eight. The newsletter
also reproduces the programme of his
August 1965 eight-rounder with Dixie
Dean at Shoreditch Town Hall (Dean won
on points), with an action photo on the
front page. Also on the bill were Tooting’s
Ivan Whiter and East Ham’s Chris Jobson,
both of whom won – Whiter beat Mick
Laud over eight, Jobson beat Joe Barnes
over six. Whiter and Jobson would go
on to split two verdicts in bouts for the
Southern Area welterweight title.
The back page has some more “Short
Snippets” on former British champions.
Ron Barton (light-heavyweight) and Terry
Spinks (feather) are no longer with us,
N my last article I
dropped a clanger
I by stating that no
British heavyweight
champion managed
to last the distance
with Ingemar
Johansson. I have been reminded that
Brian London not only went the full 12
with the Swede in 1963, but he decked
the ex-world heavyweight champion
with the last punch of the contest.
Brian fought between 1955 and 1970
and he didn’t duck anybody. He had
excellent victories over some of the
leading heavyweights of the period and
I think his 1967 win over Zora Folley
was the best of them. Folley had fought
Muhammad Ali for the world title earlier
that year and was beaten in seven
rounds in one of the great man’s best
performances. Zora was the favourite
when he met London at Liverpool
Stadium on November 13, 1967. Well-
known to British fans, Zora was having
his fourth bout on these shores, having
met Henry Cooper twice and Joe
Bygraves on his three previous visits.
Brian took his opportunity well, and
finished the contest looking far fitter
and fresher than the American. The
Blackpool man won the decision and
the large crowd, who loved Brian, stood
and cheered him at the final bell. The
referee, Harry Gibbs, only gave Folley a
but Spinks was a great supporter of the
EBA movement, attending London and
Brighton meetings until prevented by
ill-health. Jimmy Batten (super-welter)
regularly attends London meetings,
and regularly organises charity events.
Ralph Charles won European, British
and Commonwealth titles at welter, and
challenged the great Jose Napoles for
the world crown. I had the pleasure of
meeting him at a London meeting a while
ago, and talking to him about one of the
first fights I attended – his points win
over Johnny Cooke for the British and
Commonwealth titles at the Albert Hall
in February 1968. Terry Marsh won the
IBF super-lightweight title and made one
successful defence before being forced
to retire with health issues. Earlier this
year he met up with former opponent
Vernon Vanriel at an Essex meeting – they
www.boxingnewsonline.net
single round and although Brian could
not connect with one of his devastating
right-handers, he boxed his way to
victory.
Johansson certainly felt the power of
Brian’s right hand. The Swede has never
been regarded as one of the better
heavyweight champions, yet the only
man to beat him was Floyd Patterson,
who did it twice. However, with
Johansson winning their first clash, he
managed to beat every man he fought
against.
When he faced
London in Stockholm, LONDON WAS
Ingemar was expected to
win without too much HITTING A BAG
difficulty. He was the
European champion and
WHEN HE WAS
was highly positioned
in the world ratings.
WELL INTO
London was coming into HIS SIXTIES
the fight off the back
of three good victories against middle-
ranking Americans – Howard King, Von
Clay and Tom McNeeley. At the time,
all the talk in the boxing press related
to the forthcoming contest between
Cassius Clay and Henry Cooper. The
week before Brian’s trip to Sweden, “The
Louisville Lip” had signed forms to meet
Cooper, and British fight fans were agog
at the thought of seeing the world’s most
exciting young heavyweight in a UK ring.
There was no such ballyhoo for poor
Brian, and most observers thought he
would be on the end of a routine loss. BRUISERS:
On paper, that is what happened, but Billy Walker and
after the two men had fought out an London embrace after
uneventful 11 rounds, with Johannsson the latter’s 1965 win
edging most of them, Brian landed his
haymaker. Fortunately for Ingo, the
final bell rang before he could get to
his feet, and he was still on the canvas
when the contest was ended by the
referee, Andrew Smythe. The official
stated afterwards that had Ingo arisen in
time then he would have
immediately stopped the
bout as he was clearly
out on his feet. London
came within a few
seconds of what would
have been the best win of
his career. BN stated: “If
London had only taken
the fight to his man in the
early stages when Ingo
posed and threatened without actually
accomplishing anything, the Britisher
could have won.” Johansson never fought
again.
I used to see Brian jogging and
power-walking around the streets near
to his Blackpool home, and I once saw
him hitting the bag in his garage as I
walked past his house. He was well into
his sixties at the time. I hope this little
tribute to the big man puts right my
recent error.

Photos: GETTY IMAGES

UNDERCARD STAR: Frazier and Ali followed in McAlinden’s footsteps
clashed for the vacant Southern Area title
at York Hall in April 1983, Marsh winning
on points.
The current Scottish EBA newsletter
has an interesting article on former
British and Commonwealth heavyweight
champion Danny McAlinden, who was
born in Northern Ireland and based in
Coventry. So what’s his connection with
Scotland? Well (I didn’t know this), he
was actually raised in the Gorgie district
of Edinburgh! The piece concentrates
on his bout at Madison Square Garden
on March 8, 1971. Topping the bill was
the Fight of the Century – unbeaten Joe
Frazier and Muhammad Ali clashing
to decide the undisputed heavyweight
champion of the world (Frazier, of course,
won on points, but Ali would win both
their subsequent meetings). On the
undercard, McAlinden met Ali’s younger
brother, Rahman Ali – then 7-0 as a pro –
and snapped his unbeaten record with a
six-round verdict.
The newsletter also profiles Irishman
Derry Treanor, who had several bouts in
Scotland, appearing at venues such as
Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall and Paisley Ice Rink.
In August 1958, he scored a (non-title)
cut-eye win over reigning British bantam
kingpin Peter Kennan, and just over a year
later he beat future British featherweight
champion Terry Spinks on points. In April
1962, he challenged the great Howard
Winstone for the British featherweight
crown – he put up a great show but was
stopped in 14 rounds, and never boxed
again. He is now a representative with the
British Boxing Board of Control.
EMAIL simonoldtimers@googlemail.com
with your ex-boxer association news.

www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 2, 2020 l BOXING NEWS l 45

 SIXTY SECONDS

DANIEL MORLEY
George Storr talks to a wimpy kid who became a fighting man

When and why you started

boxing: ‘I CRIED
At 14 years old, I was a bit of a
wimpy kid. I bottled it the first time
WATCHING
I went to the gym but eventually
turned up with a friend and just fell
MARLEY & ME
in love with the sport. BUT DOESN’T
Favourite all-time fighter:
Gennady Golovkin. He’s humble
EVERYONE?!’
outside the ring but he’s a monster
inside it.
Best fight you’ve seen: Lionel Messi. He’s literally one of
Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward I is the those players that you watch and
one I show all my friends. I’ve seen he makes you go ‘wow’.
it over 50 times. Last film/TV show you saw:
Personal career highlight: I watched Logan again yesterday.
Boxing in front of Darren Barker as I’m a bit of a cinephile.
an amateur. I was a big fan ‘cos he’s Who would play you in a film of
Chelsea like me. your life:
Toughest opponent: Ross Kemp.
Lee Hallett [w pts 4 – June 2018]. I Have you ever been starstruck:
didn’t realise at the time but I broke I met Frank Lampard and he was
his ribs. Not only did he finish the my idol when I was a kid. That and
fight, but he kept fighting for the meeting Darren Barker.
next few weeks. Last time you cried:
Best and worst attributes as a I cry all the time. I cried watching
boxer: Marley & Me, but that gets
My best attribute is that I’m everyone, doesn’t it?!
unrelenting. When I get going you Best advice received:
can’t stop me. My worst attribute Nothing is ever as bad as you think
used to be that I’d get into tear-ups, it’ll be. That goes through my head
but I’m more disciplined now. if I get nerves, doubts or worries.
Training tip: Something not many people
You don’t want regrets, so do the know about you:
best you can because your career I actually have a phobia of pigeons.
isn’t that long. I always think of that I have done since I was a kid. When
when I’m struggling for motivation. they flap it triggers something in
Favourite meal/restaurant: my brain.
My favourite meal is my dad’s
homemade lasagne. I also love a
Nando’s.
FAST FACTS

Best friends in boxing: Age: 23 Twitter: @danielmorley97 Nickname: n/a Height: 5ft 10ins
Germaine Brown, who’s the current Nationality: English From: Epsom Stance: Orthodox Record: 6-0 Division:
Southern Area super-middleweight Welterweight Titles: n/a Next fight: After three wins in 2018 and another three
champion. He’s funny and we both in 2019, Morley is aiming to maintain his perfect record next time out.
tear into our coach, Adam Martin!
Other sportsman you would
like to be:

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46 l BOXING NEWS l JULY 2, 2020 www.boxingnewsonline.net

 COMPETITION OF 16
DREAM FIGHTS!

COMPETITION OF DREAM FIGHTS!

BOXER WINNER DECISION RSF BOXER WINNER DECISION RSF

TICK DEC RSF TICK DEC RSF
JACK DEMPSEY V ROCKY MARCIANO
PRIMO CARNERA V JESS WILLARD
ALAN MINTER V ROCKY GRAZIANO
FLOYD PATTERSON V EZZARD CHARLES
FLOYD MAYWEATHER V SUGAR RAY LEONARD
BOB FOSTER V ARCHIE MOORE
MARVIN HAGLER V CARLOS MONZON
SUGAR RAY ROBINSON V HARRY GREB
MUHAMMAD ALI V JOE LOUIS
NASEEM HAMED V WILLIE PEP
BENNY LEONARD V ROBERTO DURAN
SUGAR RAY ROBINSON V FLOYD MAYWEATHER
MIKE TYSON V ROCKY MARCIANO
KEN BUCHANAN V RICKY HATTON
CARL FROCH V JOE CALZAGHE
JIMMY WILDE V BENNY LYNCH
LEGENDS IN YOUR LIVING ROOM
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