Detroit, Michigan, September 4th, 1982. Kirkland Laing entered a crowded arena huge underdog for his bout with the feared Roberto Duran. Many expected the fight to be short and fiery, favouring Duran’s punching power and strength to Laing’s. No one really knew of skills outside of Britain...he was an unknown quantity.
Even meeting for a quick Friday evening pre show drink, turned out to be even more interesting than normal, (come on I was meeting our very own Statto - Sorry Kev just joking!). While waiting at the bar I managed to grab a couple of words with newly crowned British light-middleweight champ, Wayne Alexander, who generally seemed pleased as punch (excuse the pun) and plans to be back in the ring prior to Christmas, hoping to win the Lonsdale outright in the immediate future and then possibly looking at a crack at Daniel Santos late next year.
Last night Nottingham Ice Arena was home to a fairly lively evening of boxing that saw its boxing son Carl Froch engage in a derby of sorts (excuse the pun) against Damon Hague (who resides from Derby). After all the pre-fight hype that he created for himself, Carl Froch was the man who went home with the prestigious British Middleweight Title, with a quick stoppage of Hague in just one round.
It was a successful night all round at the Britannia Hotel, which saw money being raised for charity, (‘When You Wish Upon A Star’, making dreams come true for sick children), and Peacock fighters going 2-0 in the featured bouts in the latest John Merton Fight Night promotion.
In an official press release from Hennessy Sports they confirm that European middleweight champion and WBC #1 number Howard Eastman will now meet Jerry Elliott over eight rounds on tonight's Hennessy Sports 'Heirs Apparent' promotion at the Nottingham Arena
This week’s Boxer of the Week is Scott “Dynamite” Dann, the warrior from Plymouth who stopped Coventry’s previously unbeaten Steve Bendall in the sixth round of their British Middleweight title bout.