Never mind the quality, feel the heart - Report from Barnsley by Ian McNeilly Apr 16th 2007

When I first took up the sport of squash a few years ago, some old boy said “The good thing about this sport is that there is always someone out there who will give you a good game, no matter how good or bad you are.” He was talking about levels. You learn very little by handing out a severe beating to a vastly inferior opponent or getting your arse handed to you by someone far superior. The Calzaghe bill at the Millennium Stadium was an example, writ large, of how far boxing has veered away from offering genuinely competitive matches these days. 15 bouts and 90% of true boxing fans could have named the fifteen winners before they laced a glove on. The ‘world' title fights saw two terrible mismatches and the Amir Khan bandwagon rolled over yet another opponent who either couldn't or wouldn't fight (I know he's ‘learning his trade' – but what is he really learning from the likes of Steffy Bull?) But don't kid yourself that the Calzaghe bill is an isolated incident. Promoters walk the frayed tightrope of protecting their investments whilst getting the public and TV to pay for the privilege. Get the balance wrong and they are heading for a fall one way or another. Just ask Audley Harrison. Further, as someone who sees more small hall cards than most, I can tell you the prospect v journeyman is not a model used solely by big name promoters. Which is why I found David Coldwell's Koncrete Promotions bill at the Barnsley Metrodome yesterday afternoon to be one of the most refreshing I've seen in ages. Look at this running order: Dean Walker, Sheffield, 12st 5lb, 11-12-3 v Rob Burton, Barnsley, 12st 6lb, 12-20-5 Chris Saunders, Barnsley, 10st 9 3/4lb, 22-22-1 v Tye Williams, Dewsbury, 11st 2 1/2lb, 5-7-2 Paul Royston, Rotherham, 11st 6lb, 0-2 v Thomas Flynn, Darwen, 11st 9lb, 6oz, 0-4 John Musgrove, Barnsley, 11st 4lb, 2-1 v Sherman Alleyne, Bedford, 11st 5 1/2lb, 0-2 Andrew Ward, Maltby, 9st 13 1/2lb, 0-1-1 v Deniss Sirjatovs, Sutton-in-Ashfield/Latvia, 9st 13lb 6oz, 0-7 Curtis Woodhouse, Driffield, 10st 9lb, 1-0 v Duncan Cottier, Chingford, 10st 13lb, 2-24-2 Josh Wale, Brampton, 8st 10lb, 1-0 v Anthony Hanna, Birmingham, 19-69-7 John Anthony, Edlington, 14st 4lb, 5-3 v JJ Ojuederie, Walthamstow, 14st 8lb, 6-3-1 11 of 16 boxers do not have winning records. Notice a difference here though? In the main, they were fighting each other. Two fights were between boxers who had 15 fights experience between them and not a solitary win. Never mind the quality, feel the joy of Rotherham's Paul Royston who leapt six feet in the air and celebrated his first win as if it was a world title. If he never does anything again, he'll be able to tell his grandkids of the time he stopped big, bad Tommy Flynn (who was one but not the other). With the exception of Wale v Hanna, every single fight was competitive and every fighter had a live chance of winning. Young men of limited talent and unlimited heart stood toe to toe and smacked the hell out of each other for a few quid, our entertainment and, most of all, to see if they could notch up a rare win to share with their friends and family. Without wishing to over-sentimentalise a low key Sunday afternoon show in South Yorkshire, I came a disillusioned fight hack and left a proud boxing fan - something I haven't been in a long time. Top of the bill was, understandably, the only fight between boxers who both had winning records, Edlington's John Anthony and Walthamstow's JJ Ojuederie. In one of the most ‘agricultural' contests I've ever seen, Ojuederie sneaked home 58-57 on Howard Foster's card. I had the same score to Anthony. The two cruisers went at it like seal clubbers on piece work. Jabs and lateral movement were both left at the door as the two brutes winged away with hooks telegraphed from the car park. UFC my arse. This is what it's all about. Ojuederie had brought a small coterie of fans with him from down south. One gent was perplexing in the extreme as most of his support/advice consisted of isolated shouts of infinitely more talented boxers' names. “Mayweather!” was cried. “Mickey Ward!” was hollered. “James Toney!” was bellowed. Add Tommy Hearns and, perhaps most perplexingly, Carlos Zarate to that list. Ojuederie has absolutely nothing in common with any of the above named, by the way. A fellow scribe whispered to me “If he shouts Peter Buckley, I'm off!” I had it level going into the last when an exchange of hooks left Ojuederie worse off. Anthony cranked up his wildness, if that was possible, but the visitor held on well. This clinched if for me in the local's favour but referee Foster didn't see it that way. Then again, when it's a single point difference you know it could go either way. The ‘prospect v journeyman' tag could be attached to the Curtis Woodhouse-Duncan Cottier match I suppose but as Woodhouse has zero amateur experience, no one really knows if he's a true prospect or not. Time will tell but he did a good job here and showed decent progression from his debut last September. Cottier was a lively customer and took a round (surely the fourth and last), losing 39-37. Woodhouse boxed from a tight guard and used his jab well. He was just that bit sharper than his opponent and beat him to the punch most of the time. The former professional footballer, back from a ban after being convicted of assaulting a police officer, does have a temper on him. He lost the fourth round after Cottier tagged him with a right and the red mist came down, ensuring a brief, entertaining brawl at ring centre. “His first fight was just a tear up but he used his jab well today,” said trainer Coldwell. “He's learning quickly.” The show started with a couple of Yorkshire lads I've seen many times over the years – Sheffield's Dean Walker and Barnsley's Rob Burton. A sign of the times for them that they were meeting up at light-heavy. Burton came out to Take That's ‘Patience' which was intended to be funny. I hope. The bullish Burton showed little patience, as usual, and tore into Walker from the off. Burton forced the pace throughout but Walker countered well, particularly in the third session with his left. It was a super little slugfest, Burton clinching it in the last when he hurt Walker with a big left hook, but spoiled the potential effect somewhat by throwing the Sheffielder to the floor. Walker seemed to tire whilst Burton made a show of his fitness to the last bell, bouncing on his toes. 58-57 to Burton. Barnsley's Chris Saunders was British welterweight champion back in 1995. Here, twelve years later, he was successful in his first fight for two and a half years, outpointing Dewsbury's Tye Williams 58-56. Saunders' previous outing saw him stopped in five by Michael Jennings. As one might expect, Saunders' best days are behind him and I'm not sure whether he can have much impact on the domestic scene – time will tell. Williams could have caused an upset if only he'd shown some self-confidence. He boxed well in the third and fourth and, perhaps heartened by this, picked it up and split Saunders' nose in the fifth. It was a wake up call for Chris and he shook off some ring rust to take the sixth and make sure of victory. 18-year-old Brampton bantamweight Josh Wale came up against the unique talents of Birmingham's legendary trainer Nobby Nobbs. Whilst the youngster was dealing with Tony Hanna, he also had to put up with the likes of “Your boots are undone, Josh! Your left bootlace has come undone, Josh! Look!” Needless to say, Josh didn't look and popped out a regulation 60-54 win on Michael Alexander's card. Sherman Alleyne's win will come one day, if his efforts are anything to go by. He tried his heart out against Barnsley middleweight John Musgrove but came up short again, 58-56. His trainer Gary Inniss came into the ring at the final bell and raised him aloft anyway. Nice touch. Musgrove had quite a height advantage which was made more obvious by Alleyne swinging out of a crouch. The Bedford man was relentlessly on the front foot and pinned Musgrove to the ropes on countless occasions only for the local man to hit him with uppercuts or spin him. Disheartening but Alleyne never gave up. Alleyne had sporadic successes, especially to the body and yet again the fight was in the balance going into the last round. Musgrove made sure in the last round, temporarily confusing Alleyne with his accuracy. Good scrap, typical brain v brawn fare. Mike Goodall was on typical form but excelled himself in the pronunciation of Deniss Sirjatros' surname. It sounded absolutely nothing like it and had at least a couple of extra syllables thrown in. The Sutton-in-Ashfield based Latvian simply smiled at his cornerman. The East European must have thought he was in with a good chance of breaking his duck against Maltby's similarly winless Andrew Ward but Michael Alexander found for the Yorkshireman, 58-56. I had Deniss getting home 57-56. In another hearty scrap, Sirjatovs bust Ward's nose in the second round and for the rest of the contest it leaked alarmingly. The highlight was in the fifth round when both men fought to a standstill at ring centre – Sirjatovs showing the better quality, Ward being the more aggressive. At the end of the bout, Sirjatovs, a thin, bone-headed character smothered in Ward's blood looked like an extra from 'The Hills Have Eyes'. Ward's formerly white shorts looked like a butcher's slab. One for the ladies at ringside, methinks. I feel for Darwen middleweight Tommy Flynn, I really do. Another who tried his heart out but still isn't off the mark (now 0-5). In similar need of a win was his local opponent from Rotherham, Paul Royston. The latter grew in confidence after taking the first two rounds but Flynn responded in the third by boxing on the front foot. A hard right hook from Royston hurt the Lancastrian and the fresh-faced youngster went all out to finish it. Flynn was hurt and under attack in the corner and looked to take a knee as Michael Alexander rescued him. I felt for Flynn because, although he was hurt he did look to take a rest plus the bell to end the round rang exactly at the moment Alexander waved it off. Time of stoppage, 2:00 precisely. Royston celebrated wildly, lauded by his family and friends as he put his first notch in the win column. Good for him. For Tommy, Deniss and all the other lads out there looking for their first wins, let's hope it's just round the corner.

Go back Comment on this article | Send to a friend | Print

There are no comments. Click here to be the first who comment on this article.