Sheffield snippets by Ian McNeilly Sep 16th 2007

Some ringside banter from this afternoon's Sheffield promotion. As usual with Glyn Rhodes' promotions, it was an enjoyable card with lads looking to impress. John Fewkes, who was due to top the card, scratched as he has an interesting potential match up against Stoke's pocket rocket Gary Reid at Doncaster on October 19th. A few unforeseen slip ups in the build up to the promotion had left Rhodes in ‘never again' mode before first bell but he was more upbeat at the end of the afternoon which saw all six of his boxers win. Carl Wild and Nicky Taylor staged the type of battle that makes it worthwhile going to small hall shows. You get the type of bellicose effort that is often missed when protected prospects are fighting on TV. Wild was understandably happy after his points victory but Taylor had left his mark on the victor's face and the winner's right hand was also in a bit of a state. Young Wild was going out for a couple of celebratory sherbets but one hoped he didn't get carried away – he was due up at five in the morning to do his round on the bins. East Ham's Johnny Greaves is a bit of a character. He came out for his bout with Dwayne Hill to the theme from ‘The Long Good Friday' which conjured up for me the unfortunate image of Casualty's Charlie Fairhead telling Helen Mirren he wanted to lick every inch of her body. I hope I was alone in this as it certainly can't have been what Greaves wanted to promote. He tapped his chin a few times during the fight to try and goad Hill but the Sheffielder wasn't buying it. Greaves got a good round of applause on his way out. He has yet to get off the mark at 0-5. Hill is hoping to fight Leeds prospect Gary Sykes soon. This was his first win in four. Top class referee Howard Foster was in attendance, off duty for a change. He was going to ref Fewkes but that fell by the wayside.  Foster had been one of the judges for Kevin Anderson's last round stoppage victory over Francis Jones. “What a lad!” said Foster of Jones' valiant attempt to wrest the British welterweight title from the Scotsman. “I didn't give him many (rounds) but what great heart he showed.” Former British champ Jason Rowlands was in attendance as Greaves' trainer and Paul ‘Silky' Jones was ringside keeping an eye on his good friend's nephew Lee Edwards. Edwards was promoted to top of the bill and earned a 60-54 victory over Jonny Musgrave which included a second-round knockdown. Was Lee happy? “Not really. I just didn't feel right tonight.” Strangely, after the sweetly-timed right hand which knocked Musgrave down, Edwards didn't throw it very often which led me to think that he might have injured it. I was assured this wasn't the case. “I'll tell you what's the matter with it,” chipped in second and former pro Matt Mowatt. “He doesn't throw it often enough!” Billy Boyle likes a scrap. The former Para, who has served in Iraq and Kosovo, was embarrassed by a third-round knockdown when he was more off-balance than hurt. So embarrassed that he steamed into James Swindells from the bell to begin the fourth round and battered him to a stoppage. He went to a neutral corner and didn't realise the bout was over, despite the ring being half full. Boyle is a popular lad – he sold just over 200 tickets for this. Ross ‘The Boss' Burkinshaw is another good ticket seller. The bantam feels at home in the ring. “I enjoyed every single minute of it,” said the former Army boxer. He feels much more comfortable at the higher weight than when he was having to box at fly for the forces. “I was getting fed up with boxing – and that's not like me because I've always lived it. But in the Army I was training three times a day and not able to eat as well as I'd like. I went to see Kerry Kayes – Ricky Hatton's nutritionist – and that really helped me. I was told to eat whenever I liked as long as it was small and healthy. I'm really enjoying it again.” The only slight downside was some damage to his right hand which happens from time to time. He first injured it in a scrap in the school playground. Jezz Wilson will be getting himself a reputation if he carries on like this. He stopped Jon Foster in 98 seconds. Two pro bouts, two stoppages. Foster was eight pounds heavier than Wilson, who was a chiselled 11st 6lbs. The engaging 27-year-old didn't have the best preparation for his bout. The fireman couldn't get his night shift changed and was called out several times before he got to bed at nine in the morning. No wonder he didn't want to hang about. Those in the know were rather subdued due to the absence of the late Lee Gostolo. The whip passed away earlier this week at the age of just 42, leaving a wife and young son. His good friend Dave Hall was gathering entries for a book of condolence. He will be missed by all who knew him.

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

Friend name: Friend email: Your name: Your email:   Privacy Statement

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