British Boxing News

Watson set for Rome showdown

Oldham's Commonwealth champion Craig Watson is heading for a Rome showdown on Friday against unbeaten Daniele Petrucci for the EBU welterweight title.

Booth in the dark over African mystery man

Commonwealth bantamweight champion Jason Booth hopes a victory in his next fight, a defence of his crown on Frank Maloney�s impressive-looking bill at Nottingham�s Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre, will lead to him getting a crack at a strap he is desperate to procure � the European 118lb title.

McCrory believes Appleby has what it takes

Former world champion Glenn McCrory believes Scotland has found a potential boxing superstar in Paul Appleby.

Eric Armit's World View

In this day of instant communications, and in our sport in particular, you would like to think that on medical matters the National and local Boards or Commissions would talk to each other, have reasonably similar high safety standards and would honour each others medical suspensions. Forget it!

Brook loses no sleep over McIntyre

According to trainer Dave Coldwell, watching Kevin McIntyre defeat Kevin Anderson did not lead to his boxer Kell Brook �losing much sleep�.

Brook is the mandatory challenger for the British welterweight title and his trainer says his fighter is relishing the prospect of fighting the Scotsman, who recorded a unanimous points win over Anderson.

The World This Week

Oliver Fennell sums up the international action of interest. Results with relevance to British boxing are in bold.

Message from Oliver: This is the last The World This Week column for the time being, as I am preparing for a move abroad. Whether or not I resume my weekly BBN duties depends on how my situation shapes up once I�m settled in to my new life. Thank you for reading, and watch this space!

Message from Editor: A big thanks to Oliver for this excellent world digest column. It will be missed and hope to see it back once you're settled. Then again, you might have better things to do!

Simpson beats Booth in bad-tempered brawl

Joe McCluskey kept his projected May 12 Midland Area light-welterweight title shot on track � due to meet Worcester champion Billy Smith for the belt in Birmingham � but it looked touch-and-go for a while.

Magnificent 7 - Joy for Saunders but heartbreak for Smith

Pescara - Day Six, Saturday 1st March 2008 (Olympic qualifying box-offs)

The Olympic qualifying box-offs reached their conclusion on Saturday with another Team GB boxer qualifying for the Olympics in Beijing.

Appleby warms up for British title shot

Craig MacKay joins BBN and reports on the undercard of McIntyre-Anderson from the famous Kelvin Hall in Glasgow.

The undercard of the McIntyre-Anderson British title fight was the first promotion that I have covered for BBN and one that threw up some interesting bouts.

Nintendo Wii does it for me

Five wins, four by way of KO and no losses all in one night? I'll be a champ before you know it! Yeah right! Let's get back to reality and I'll be honest with you all now.

Some of you who read BBN regularly will know that I'm a blind woman who's a big boxing fan. And actually there's no chance on earth that I would be allowed to box at all. Maybe for the safety of my opponent? (ho, ho). Well, I have had a go at boxing! "What? Where?" I hear you ask. The answer to that is, in my friends front room on their nintendo WII.

Haye fight confirms boxing's renaissance

After so many years, boxing is finally on its way out. The fans are losing interest.

The amount of titles available for each weight division and the lack of any definitive champions has left many people confused as to who is the best fighter. The sport is controlled by politics and many of the best fights are avoided.

It�s because of this that many boxing fans are turning their attention to the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC).

There are less politics, fewer champions and fewer rules. And it�s more exciting.

These were comments made last year by UFC fans and officials who seemed to rejoice in their sports rising popularity (and boxing's demise).

Maybe they were right. Boxing did need regenerating.

And in 2007 the Noble Art climbed off the canvas and started to fight back against its newest rival, with British fighters leading the way.

Drake pleases Plymouth posse

Plymouth�s Carl Drake convincingly got the better of his hometown rival Johnny Harrison in seven action packed rounds to claim the vacant Western Area light-middle title at the beautiful Guildhall in Plymouth last night (February 29).

The Postman calls (the shots) twice.

Kevin McIntyre retained the British welterweight title he took from Kevin Anderson in relatively surprising circumstances and against the perceived odds four months ago in Irvine �s Magnum Centre.

The Paisley postman again defied the odds by his retention of his title in a packed and atmospheric Kelvin Hall with a unanimous points decision with scores of 115-114, 117-112 & 117-112 from the judges at ringside.

Ulster and Irish news round up

A press conference takes place in Belfast on Monday to announce a contest for the vacant Irish super-featherweight title at the National Stadium, Dublin on April 19th. Local man Eddie Hyland, a fast-punching ticket seller will face off with Kevin O�Hara, a more experienced campaigner with a smooth boxing style but with three losses on the slate to Hyland�s one.

Simpson-Booth - fifth and final meeting in Coventry tonight

Coventry�s Neil Simpson and Hull�s Tony Booth meet for the fifth time in 13 years on Coventry Sporting Club�s three-fight dinner show at the Leofric Hotel � their second meeting in Coventry � with the local hero looking to extend his record to four wins in five over the solid-hitting Yorkshireman.

Two more Brits qualify for Olympics

Team GB continued their incredible run of success by securing another two boxing places at the Beijing Olympics yesterday (Friday).

Flyweight Khalid Yafai and middleweight James DeGale became the fifth and sixth boxers respectively to qualify for the 2008 Games.

Birmingham 1 Black Country 0 as Maxwell wins Midland Belt

That�s the score after Max Maxwell, Birmingham, won the vacant Midland Area middleweight title with an impressive three-round destruction of Matty Hough, Black Country, at a sold-out, lively and atmospheric Wolverhampton Civic Hall last night (February 18)

BBN Podcast - 2nd Edition

Welcome to the second edition of the BBN podcast brought to you by BBN's Will Hale.

Another thirty minutes of interviews and reviews with our correspondents around the country.

Johanneson fit and healthy ahead of Mitchell clash

An old saying goes, �reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated�. There have been a few reports flying around about Carl Johanneson; apparently, he�s been in the pub when he should have in the gym, masking, the scandal-mongers inform us, a �dodgy� back injury (the one that had ruled him out of a previously scheduled January bout with West Ham prospect Kevin Mitchell.)

But names will never hurt me...

It is a bizarre sales pitch indeed that includes racist slurs and allusions to death, but then boxing isn�t just any old business.

For such disciplined sportsmen, their mouths all too often remain off the leash and their mental strength, so prominent in the ring, can so easily be exposed beforehand.

Getting to know...Billy Bessey

BBN caught up with former ABA champion Billy Bessey to chat about his career and his forthcoming fights which include a fight in Portsmouth this Sunday (March 2nd) and participation in Matchroom's Prizefighter Heavyweight Competition at Bethnal Green in April.

Is Aberdeen a few miles too far for Gomez?

The first defence of the 'Aberdeen Assassin', Lee McAllister�s W.B.U. lightweight title may not now be against Michael Gomez.

Rumours have been circulating in the Central belt and Manchester that Gomez would not be boxing on the 29th March in the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre.

So, you want to ban boxing?

Imagine the scene. You meet a new person and are in the process of getting to know him or her. You go through the usual banalities of where you live, work and play. You then go into your interests. If you are like me, boxing will be pretty much at the top of your list. You impart your love of boxing only to be met with the sniffy response, �Boxing. It is a horrible and violent sport. Barbaric.�

Gilmour: 'Lonsdale loser will be on minimum wage'

Tommy Gilmour believes the fans are in for treat this Friday when Kevin McIntyre and Kevin Anderson clash for the British welterweight title.

The Kelvin Hall Sports Arena will be close to a 2,000 sell out and according to the veteran promoter the fans won't be disappointed with the all Scottish showdown.

The World This Week

Oliver Fennell sums up the international action of interest. Results with relevance to British boxing are in bold.

Midlands promoters go head-to-head tonight

With the huge Birmingham vs Black Country British middleweight title fight between Wayne Elcock and Darren McDermott pencilled in for April 25 at the Aston Villa Events Centre, we see a warm-up of sorts between two men from those respective areas in Wolverhampton on Thursday evening (February 28).

That�s because Walsall�s Matty Hough goes head-to-head with Birmingham�s Max Maxwell for the vacant Midland Area 11st 6lbs title, a belt vacated by McDermott last month, in a fascinating-looking ten-round main event on First Team�s eight-fight card at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

Rowson warns Harrison of potent Brew

Sedgley Park-based promoter Paul (PJ) Rowson has warned Black Country light-welterweight Dean Harrison to be wary of the potency of his little-know but dangerous opponent, Ghanaian punching sensation Alex �Wild� Brew, on Thursday evening (February 28).

Anderson refocused and revitalised for his �moment of truth�

Buckhaven�s Kevin Anderson is still smarting from the shock of his defeat to Paisley�s Kevin McIntyre and loss of his British welterweight title in the Magnum Centre some four months ago.

Gethin boxes masterfully to outpoint brave and tenacious Wyatt

Martin Gethin extended his unbeaten run to 14 fights (one draw) and boxed beautifully to outpoint dangerous Torquay-based Iranian Ali Wyatt over eight rounds on Pat Cowdell�s three-fight card at a sold-out Burlington Hotel last night (February 25).

Noble Masters Young in Crawley battle

Last Saturday (February 23), Barnsley�s Lee Noble impressively outpunched and outpointed local favourite Anthony Young over ten rounds to lift the vacant British Masters middleweight title at the second time of asking in Crawley.

Let's hear it for blood and guts Duddy!

After his laboured points win over Walid Smichet, John Duddy again finds himself under fire from boxing fans, and with some justification.

Interview with promising Irish cruiser Michael Sweeney

Since its inception in the 1970�s, the cruiserweight division has met with its fair share of detractors ever since. A safe haven for fighters too undisciplined to make light-heavyweight and not good enough for heavyweight, Evander Holyfield�s name has been synonymous with the weight class which for many has provided scant entertainment. But as Bob Dylan once informed us, the times are changing and a new breed of talent is turning the denigrated division into a hub of activity.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow - Venezuela

In the latest part of his fascinating series, Eric Armit casts his eye over Venezuela and chooses his stars of yesterday, today and (perhaps) tomorrow.

Jack 'Kid' Berg - The Whitechapel Whirlwind

With Junior Witter and Gavin Rees each holding a major title and past master Ricky Hatton returning to the ring in May, light-welterweight is one of the hottest divisions for British fighters at the moment.

The 140lb division has enjoyed increased popularity over the years but if it wasn�t for one great English fighter, who won the belt 78 years ago, the division may never have existed.

Jack �Kid� Berg was born in London on June 28th 1909 and began boxing professionally at the tender age of 14.

Hurricane Kid blows opponent over at Olympia

John �The Hurricane Kid� Watson took centre stage in the Liverpool Olympia on Saturday night as he cut Alfreton�s Darren Broomhall in half midway through the first round of their scheduled four rounder at lightweight.

Oliver didn't expect this Twist

Lincoln�s Kelly Oliver continued on the comeback trail with a four round decision over Hastings Rasani at Newark�s Grove Leisure Centre.

But Oliver didn�t have all things his way as he had to call on all of his powers of recovery in the last round because he found himself on the wrong end of a haymaker thrown by the tricky Zimbabwean.

Hough ditches glamour to knuckle down

All-business Matty Hough has ditched the �Too Hot� nickname and the glamorous �Hough Babes� so he can knuckle down and win the vacant Midland Area middleweight title.

The Walsall crowdpleaser meets Birmingham�s Max Maxwell for the 11st 6lbs belt on First Team�s card at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Thursday night (February 28) and has vowed to emerge with his hand raised in the Birmingham/ Black Country showdown.

BBN Podcast - Number One

Welcome to the first BBN Podcast put together by BBN's Will Hale

Maxwell ready for Black Country brawl

Chelmsley Wood-based puncher Max Maxwell has vowed to win the Birmingham/Black Country derby on Thursday night (February 28) and take the vacant Midland Area middleweight belt back to where he feels it belongs � the Second City.

Horrendous cut could dent Duddy's World title hopes

John Duddy survived an horrendous cut above his left eye and a bad start to outpoint Canadian Walid Smichet over ten rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York last night, but a hyped fight with WBC and WBO unbeaten champion Kelly Pavlik in June must now be in serious doubt.

Ulster and Irish round up

Brian Peters Promotions are plugging a big show at the end of March with light-welterweight hope Paul McCloskey headlining his first event and Belfast youngster Luke Wilton making his pro debut at bantamweight. The Foyleside Shopping Centre, Derry was the venue for the press conference on Thursday announcing the big Hunky Dory�s fight night.

Evans hopes for less bloody job in third pro outing

Halesowen light-welterweight Scott Evans hopes to keep his undefeated professional record intact when he meets Nuneaton switch-hitter Kristian Laight on Thursday night (February 28) � and also wants to leave the ring without looking a crimson mess.

Darren Dazzles again at the York Hall

Barnet�s Darren Barker made a successful first defence of his Commonwealth title when Steve Bendall was stopped due to a bad cut over his right eye in the seventh round of their title fight at the York Hall last night (Friday 22nd.)

Thaxton over the moon with Euro title shot

Jon Thaxton is hoping he will be able to claim the European lightweight title in his hometown of Norwich on April 4 after landing a prize fight with current champion Yuri Romanov.

British amateurs try for Olympic places in Italian tournament

The off-season tranquillity of Adriatic seaside resort Roseto degli Abruzzi (near Pescara), so named after the rose bushes the fishermen �Abruzzi� used to plant outside their cottages, is about to be disturbed as 250 of the best amateur boxers from 41 countries in Europe descend upon the town in a bid to chase 26 of the remaining 51 Olympic qualification spaces open to Europeans.

(The remaining 25 will be decided in the second and final Olympic qualification tournament in Athens, 7-14 April.)

The tournament begins on Monday (25th Feb) and ends next Saturday (1st March). The 28th is a rest day.

Eric Armit's World View

Sometimes I have these wild wishes. Most of them would get me banned from the Internet but the one I am about to relate is only the sort that got me banned from the WBC.

European title shot for Thaxton

British champion Jon Thaxton has got a European title shot against Yuri Romanov, the current champion, on 4th April.

The fight will take place in Thaxton's home city of Norwich and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports 1's Friday Fight Night at 9.30pm.

Bendall in last chance saloon against Barker

Coventry�s Steve Bendall admits that his Commonwealth middleweight title opportunity on Friday night (February 22) is his last chance to fulfil the expectations that were placed on his shoulders when he turned professional 11 years ago.

The 34-year-old former English boss meets up-and-coming Darren Barker, 16-0 (10), in the 12-round main event on the Hennessy Sports and GoldenPalace.net-promoted, Sky-televised card at the York Hall this Friday and is confident of success.

Sunderland show report

Topping last Friday's bill at the Roker Hotel, Seaburn, Paul �The Mackem� Holborn - returning for his first fight in over a year - shook off any ring rust and chalked up a 59-57 against East Ham's Johnny Greaves.

BBN Exclusive - Ricky Hatton - No Regrets

Now the dust has settled on his loss against Floyd Mayweather Junior, Ricky Hatton has had to do what is new to him, but has been done by fighters the world over since time immemorial, namely coming back into the gym to dust himself off after a loss. No matter how long the winning streak, or how many titles won, a fighter will eventually, in most cases, taste defeat and they are then left pondering �what now? What comes next?�.

The World This Week

Oliver Fennell sums up the international action of interest. Results with relevance to British boxing are in bold.

Heavyweights set to clash at York Hall

Eight British heavyweights are set to clash at the York Hall in Bethnal Green on April 11th in a heavyweight tournament named the Prizefighter series organised by Matchroom Promotions.

Brian Rose gets lucky in Blackpool

VIP Promotions took their boxing road show to the decaying seaside resort town of Blackpool on Saturday. One homecoming hero, Brian Rose, was fortunate to come away with draw after a tough fight with Iranian Manoocher Salari.

A British heavyweight resurgence?

The heavyweight division has been a point of concern for some time now and what started out as a bad joke ceased being funny long ago. If a saviour of the weight class is on the way, then he certainly is taking his time. Despite being about as popular with boxing fans as the Versailles Treaty was with the Germans, the big boys still demand a modicum of our attention, if only as an easy target to poke fun at. The sight of two overweight, overhyped bears, huffing and puffing for twelve tedious rounds has become the norm and unless you�re a resident of the old eastern bloc, it�s hard to watch.

Greaves' latest Newark show this weekend

On Saturday February 23rd Carl Greaves is putting on a five bout card at the Grove Leisure Centre, Newark On Trent featuring three local lads Jamie Norkett, Amir Unsworth and Andrew Lowe.

Amir Khan set for WBO title eliminator

Amir Khan will face Martin Kristjansen in a WBO lightweight title eliminator at the Bolton Arena on April 5th.

Concepcion does as he pleases and makes it win number nine

Leicester middleweight prospect Kevin �The Panther� Concepcion went about his work in his usual calculated demeanour and extended his undefeated professional record to nine with a one-sided six-round shut-out win over Staines-based Pole Mikhail Bamballra at Aylestone Leisure Centre last night (February 16).

Burkinshaw�s nightmare on Boxing against Bullies show

Sheffield bantamweight prospect Ross Burkinshaw suffered a horrendous shoulder injury that forced him to pull out of his toe to toe shoot out against Huddersfield Syrian Abdul Mougharbel at Sheffield�s Don Valley Stadium.

Getting to know...Michael Sprott

Fresh from returning from Germany and turning 33 in January, Reading heavyweight Michael Sprott spoke to BBN's James Howard about how he started in boxing, some of the toughest men he has faced, and where he would like to go from here.

Hough running towards his first title

Matty Hough is hoping the old adage �no pain, no gain� rings true as he steps up preparations ahead of his Midland Area middleweight title fight at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Thursday, 28th February.