Exclusive - Ojay Abrahams is not the only one taking part in his last fight this Friday by Terry Dooley Jul 28th 2008

On Friday night a couple of British boxing stalwarts will take part in their last professional boxing match. Ojay Abrahams will make it a century of bouts in Watford's Coliseum this Friday; Billy Graham, who is also taking part in his final boxing match after deciding to retire from the sport, will head Ojay's corner team. After Friday Graham will no longer be a trainer in the boxing business. Years of wear and tear can be put behind the veteran trainer as he rests for the first time in well over a decade. Graham said goodbye to boxing once before, as a fighter when he retired in 1974, this time, though, he will bid adieu again as he works a corner for the last time. Kerry Kayes and Mick ‘The Rub' Williams will join Graham as they try to help Abrahams bid a winning farewell to the sport. Graham spoke to BBN over the phone earlier this evening, stressing that although he will be working a corner for the final time in his extensive career he is relishing the chance to work with a fighter, Abrahams, whom he has respected for a long time. To that end our discussion focussed on the job, Friday's fight, at hand. The two men are friends and had planned for Graham to work the corner in a proposed final fight for some time. Graham told BBN the occasion will be memorable for him, he hopes he can form a winning team with Ojay for this final bout. As Graham explained: “I am proud to go out (of boxing) like this, it is the real way to go out for a guy like me. Ojay is a real pro and we are good friends. Mick (Williams) is going to be there and so is Kerry Kayes. We are all proud to work with Ojay for this fight. Ojay asked me to do this with him after his last fight and we were planning it for ages. This is a great way for me to go out of the sport that I loved, and still love. I know Ojay is looking forward to this fight and I am glad that we can go out of boxing together as we've known each other a long time. Ojay has been around during all my best years as a trainer, it is fitting for me to work his corner on Friday night.” During his long career Ojay has taken on the likes of Gary Logan, Paul ‘Scrap Iron' Ryan, Wayne Alexander, Howard Eastman, Anthony Farnell, Ryan Rhodes, Carl Froch, and Matthew Macklin, himself a former charge of Graham. A lot more dangerous than your average journeyman Ojay popped up with a few surprise wins in his time. In these parts many still speak about the night he faced the then unbeaten Donovan Smillie, hurting the man from Bradford with a left hook before halting him in the second round. As the moment Ojay's record stands at 20-75-4 (12), he hopes to add another notch to his win column. For Billy Graham Friday night marks the end of a lifetime spent in the sport of boxing. Firstly as a fighter, then as a trainer, one known for an uncompromising stance and plain speaking attitude, yet in BBN's experience the man known to many as ‘The Preacher' has always been a joy to work with, and he will be sadly missed by many in the sport, even the people he has verbally sparred with over the years may miss him a little. From British title fights to world title fights Graham has always had a passion for the sport, this could be heard in his voice as he talked about working with Ojay for this final fight. It is also a bonus for Ojay, who is not averse to a bit of publicity, as it will give him even more incentive to show that a losing record can often disguise a dangerous hombre. For this writer the phone call came during an evening spent watching one of Graham's former fighters, Carl Thompson, engage in two wars with the enigmatic Chris Eubank in 1998. The fights were fought at cruiserweight; although Eubank was past his best he gave Thompson hell for the WBO title held by Carl. During their first bout Thompson was floored in the fourth round, he then went onto build up a decent lead over Eubank. However, Eubank was dangerous and hurt Thompson badly a number of times during the rest of the fight. Thanks to the joys of surround sound speakers I could clearly hear Graham screaming advice at his man during these rocky moments, often telling Carl to move away when hurt and to then come on strong as Eubank posed. It was fairly straightforward advice yet it was delivered with passion and intensity, a passion and intensity that will be sadly missed.

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