Bumper Year For British Boxing (Steve Bunce)

[Faulks]

Steve Bunce

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Published on 3 Jan 2010

 

So David Haye will make 
$25 million in two fights in 2010, Alex Arthur will have to look deep into a mirror and dozens of great British fights will finally happen.

 

It’s not a fantasy this year, it will happen.

 

However, during the last few days of 2009 it looked finally like the 500-million dollar spectacular involving Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather had collapsed under the heavy burden of legal threats. Too bad, but money heals and it could still happen later in the year.

 

The continued absence of fallen idol Scott Harrison and his desire to fight on will surely stop being a monthly rumour by this time next year. He is gone and long live the glorious little prince who gave us all so many great nights in Glasgow.

 

In Scotland the continuing rehabilit-ation of Kenny Anderson’s image outside the ring and his skills inside the ropes needs to go into overdrive. He won the Commonwealth Games title nearly four years ago and has only fought 10 times since turning professional. It would be a disgrace if Anderson fails to make the elusive grade in the business.

 

John Simpson’s extraordinary career has been neglected by too many for too long

 

The road from defeat can lead to obscurity or sweet victory and right now Edinburgh’s Arthur is gazing at the uncertainty of a confused future. Arthur wants and deserves a heart-to-heart with his long-term promoter Frank Warren to find a path back from his loss last month.

 

“I’m a fighter, I never quit and I’m not going to walk away just yet,” vowed Arthur. He is honest enough to realise that he has a long, hard journey to make and he must be careful not to make it in a second-hand physique.

 

The other Scottish champions are desperate to take their careers to another level and in the present climate they could all be part of a series of long overdue domestic showdowns. John Simpson’s extraordinary career has been neglected by too many on the safe sides of the boxing business for too long. In 2009 Simpson won three Commonwealth title fights and at 26 and after six defeats, he looks ready for the very best. Simpson is a fighter for the ages, a true old-school pro and a pleasure to watch. Ricky Burns, who is the same age, is similar to Simpson in many ways and 2010 will inevitably see him move on from Commonwealth champion.

 

The unofficial Lord of Aberdeen is Lee McAllister, who now holds the Commonwealth lightweight title, and he remains one of the most entertaining attractions in British boxing. I expect McAllister to get a few offers this year for big fights.

 

This could be a great year; a truly memorable one for British boxing and it is possible that by the end of it the biggest name in the sport will be Haye. The boy from south London has a World Boxing Association heavyweight title defence against veteran John Ruiz in April, but it is his expected fight against one of the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali, in November that 
promises to change the boxing landscape.

 

Haye is just a fight away from being America’s favourite heavyweight, an elusive title that was last held by Evander Holyfield about 10 years ago, but it is a glorious accolade that comes with millions of dollars. Haye will wear the transparent gown in style until he finally gets clipped on the chin, which he acknowledges is a real threat, but that is part of his attraction.

 

It could also be a year of comebacks and bizarre fights with some big names losing their fat to climb back through the ropes. The obvious early contender for Comeback of the Year is Ricky Hatton. He will be back, make no mistake, but nobody is quite sure what his intentions are. Is he getting back in the ring to shake the demons that have haunted him since Pacquiao’s tiny fists sent him into dreamland last May? Is he fighting because he believes that he has one final tilt left at the golden windmills in Las Vegas, a final assault on the stage of boxing immortality? Is he just fighting for the money? Nobody knows – and that includes Hatton.

 

There is even talk that lead-footed Joe Calzaghe has been made several offers to retire his dancing shoes and polish off the dust from his jock-strap to get back in the ring. To the Calzaghe rumours add Oscar De La Hoya and Mike Tyson, whose personal calamities defy the darkest fiction. Hopefully, all will resist the temptation and stay away.

 

In the freak show arena several boxers have made it clear that they are prepared to gain three or four stone for a tilt at the heavyweight title. The main culprit this year and, it has to be said for about the last five, is Philadelphia’s enigmatic Bernard Hopkins, who is 45 in a few days and about 12 stone. He is looking seriously at a weight and muscle gain plan to make his verbal challenge to Haye look more credible. Haye at first ruled it out and then had a thought about the potential dollar share and immediately and sensibly ruled it in.

 

Elsewhere the domestic scene is fantastic on almost every level with the potential for brilliance under the neon in dozens of long overdue fights. At middleweight Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin have to fight and if it is marketed sensibly then record revenues for a 
British title fight could be achieved.

 

World Boxing Council super-middleweight champion Carl Froch will continue his odyssey inside the Super Six tournament with two fights, starting with Mikkel Kessler in Copenhagen and then Arthur Abraham in the late summer, possibly in Nottingham.

 

Meanwhile, Amir Khan’s progress will continue in America as he edges closer to a major fight by sharing the gym and the sparring ring with Pacquiao.

 

It’s good, it’s very, very good for the boxing business in 2010.

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