Boxing

The Bunce Diary: How boxing packed 50 stories in just a few hectic days


LUCY WILDHEART twisted his knee backstage at York Hall and Lerrone Richards fell in the shower on his way to Alexandra Palace during a long weekend of extraordinary and exotic boxing.

A long weekend of fights began Wednesday at a golf course on the Thames in the shadow of the O2. It was cold and gloomy by the river. The next day, in the magnificence of a building in Portland Place, the mood stabilized and on Friday the third press conference in a row was under a flurry of rumors. It’s been a busy few days.

The highlight of the press conference was Tommy Fletcher using the driver at the range. His first hit from the first deck hit the side about three feet away from his body. His second was about to fall off and land in a puddle about 3 meters away, the third was about 60 meters away and the fourth, once he had adjusted his legs, landed a somewhere near Southend-on-Sea. It was remarkable to watch him adjust his feet, hands and stance and hit that fourth ball. Mark Tibbs told me he’s a thinking boxer and that shows on the golf course; Three days later, he finished off his opponent with a blow he had prepared to perfection. He is currently a hazard over six-thirds and about 250 meters with a driver. Fletcher was impressive, but he may not have been the most promising cruiser athlete in the game over the weekend; Cheavon Clarke won the same night.

It’s harder to choose boxing highlights. Liam Williams is clinically good, John Ryder never makes a mistake, Adam Aziz is brilliant, Jermaine Franklin is better than we expected, Hamzah Sheeraz has done something no one else has done, a new Sandy Ryan using her head There, Harlem Eubank proved he was no stranger and Fabio Wardley made history.

Ryder stole the program; Nina Hughes in Dubai came in second.

There was a time when a boxer like Dillian Whyte could pull off an easy 10 rounds as the main back-up for a European title fight with Charlie Magri. In that game, Whyte should have taken down an American with little ambition, but a new pair of Dennie Mancini shorts at Lonsdale Sports. So many of the eighties and nineties heavyweight imports featured new Lonsdale shorts and a trainer in cowboy boots and jeans. It was a clear sign of their ambition – their lack of ambition.

One of those heavyweights was James Quick Tillis and he was a cowboy; his boots and jeans are real, and he is known as The Fighting Cowboy. He rode and fought giants, sharing the ring with Earnie Shavers, Mike Tyson, Greg Page, Mike Weaver, Pinklon Thomas, and Tim Witherspoon. In London, he met Frank Bruno at Wembley and Gary Mason at The Elephant and the Castle. He’s from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he has such a strong cowboy voice that it’s often hard to understand him. He also wears a cowboy hat.

At that point, Whyte will have no pressure, no top paying status, and he’ll come out of the loss with an easy win. Times have changed, now there is pressure and ridiculous scrutiny and boxers are declared “end” too soon. Whyte was furious on Thursday at the conference. He knows the reward for defeating Franklin and the Americans know the reward for defeating Whyte.

On Saturday night I was on BT at the O2, but I went to the battle hotel for breakfast on Sunday morning at Wembley. Packie Collins had a theory, and it’s worth a look. He told me that Steve, his brother, defended his WBO super middleweight title in Dublin. Steve was trained in America, but on the East Coast. Packie explains: “However, he still has jetlag. “He said he felt sluggish and tired. And Dillian was on the West Coast and was late. Maybe, who knows, maybe it happened during that show – maybe the air sickness was still in him.” Franklin arrived four weeks early. Whyte never made any excuses. He never did.

At nearly midnight on Saturday, the boxers left the locker room for the last time and headed home or to a hotel. Ryder never had to go far, the Whyte group took a short walk across a street to a hotel, Parker was looking for rocks. Parker’s break is clean, the pain is obviously too great; The images after the battle are terrible.
Nathan Gorman and Parker have had bad losing nights, and those can be long, long nights for the boxers. Both endings are shocking to watch; Parker didn’t lose as a pro and Gorman only lost once. In the end, each of them had a surprised expression on their face. I’m not sure which of them even contemplated losing; that can add to post-battle recovery.

Zak Chelli was sick of being told that Lerrone Richards was out, fitted with a shower. It was a very good fight. It was just one of 50 stories spread over three nights. Bradley Skeete was in the corner with Michael Hennessy on Sunday. Alan Smith and Eddie Lam had three straight wins on Saturday. Chloe Watson was smart with Ricky Hatton in her corner on Friday. At Swindon on Saturday, Fonz Alexander lost 139order time. Hit people, fight.

Whyte and Ryder have won the biggest matches, and both entered the ring with promises of riches ringing in their ears. So many others in dozens of locations across the UK went to the toilets to check the cash in their envelopes; they counted old bills that could form a pleasing bundle with their bare hands. Some won, some lost over a weekend when more than 250 British Boxing Commission-licensed men and women dropped a few pounds into the Christmas vase.

It was an extreme weekend, that’s for sure.

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