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The Late, Late UK Update
by James McDonnell (January 7, 2004)

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Thanks to all those who responded to my recent article on the Sven Ottke vs. Robin Reid debacle. (And to think I almost didn't submit the article). Those of you who join me in the 'outraged brigade' might take a crumb of comfort in the news passed on to me by Senior BBC and Guardian newspaper journalist John Rawling, who informed me that the British Boxing Board of control have backed Robin Reid and his camp's protest.

Apparently, the BBBofC's head honcho, Simon Block, has requested information on why a referee unknown to him (in his capacity as a senior member of the European Boxing Union), Roger Tillerman, was refereeing this fight, and demanding an explanation to his actions on the night.

It appears that there are a few people not prepared to let this one slide.

WATSON AWARDED MBE FOR THE LONGEST MILE

Michael Watson, former world middleweight and super-middleweight title challenger, is to be awarded the prestigious M.B.E, one of the highest official honours bestowed by the queen on the civil list, and presided over by members of the British government. Watson has been awarded his M.B.E for "services to disabled sport" following his completion of the London Marathon in 2003, and his charitable work.

For those of you not familiar with Watson, I will reprise his remarkable story briefly.

Watson was at one time one of the most promising British boxers on the scene. His early promise was borne out by a crushing stoppage win over then middleweight prospect Nigel Benn in 1989. Benn at the time had been hyped-up as an unstoppable force of nature, but on the night, Watson put on a boxing masterclass of astute defence, nullified Benn's fearsome offence and picked him apart, stopping him in six rounds.

A failed challenge for Mike McCallum's WBA middleweight title followed. It was a brave but ultimately futile effort which saw Watson stopped in the 11th round. Watson, forced to abandon his counterpunching style, was simply unable to overcome the savvy and experience of the future hall of famer, who dissected him in a surgical display of counterpunching.

Watson bounced back, and was generally considered very hard done by indeed in a failed bid to wrest Chris Eubank's WBO super middleweight title in 1991. The British Boxing Board of Control responded to the public reaction and ordered a rematch, and this time it was a different fight.

Watson, keen to leave nothing to chance, fought like a man possessed and gave Eubank a sustained beating over 11 rounds, finally dropping him heavily in the 11th after a withering barrage. It looked as if Watson would be walking away from the fight as a champion.

Then in a cruel twist of fate, Watson, believing his man to be finished stood with his arms by his sides as Eubank rose, and as the referee waved the action on. Eubank threw an uppercut almost from the floor that whipped Watson's head back, and dropped him.

Watson made it to the end of the round, but the damage was done, and it was all over in the next round. Unbeknownst to those in attendance at the time, an internal tear had occurred in the brain, and in the 12th round, Watson collapsed, succumbing to his injuries. This would turn out to be a precursor to a very similar fate, which would befall another super middleweight challenger in London four years later, Gerald McClellan.

Watson lay in an unconscious state for several minutes, whilst ringside a search was sent out for resuscitation equipment and staff, which arrived too late to prevent the onset of permanent brain damage.

By the time Watson got to the hospital, a blood clot the size of a saucer had formed inside the skull. Watson lay in a coma for 40 days, and had six operations performed on his brain to reduce swelling and keep him alive.

For many fighters, many men, that would have been the end of the story, but for Michael Watson, this was the start of a long fight back, and to a new phase of his life.

Watson's long rehabilitation finally over, his first actions were to sue the British Boxing Board of Control for £1M, a court action which was successful, then forced the BBBofC into administration, as they could not pay the actual £1.4M the court's determined.

The end result of this however, was that new legislation was put into place by the Board for the provision of properly trained resuscitation teams and equipment, ambulance crew and a standby at the nearest neurological unit at every board-sanctioned fight in the UK from then on.

Watson's actions possibly saved the lives, and certainly prevented the same fate befalling Spencer Oliver and Paul Ingle, both injured in British boxing rings in subsequent years.

Watson was not finished there, however. Following a surprisingly successful rehabilitation, achieved through the same hard work and dedication and refusal to capitulate that Watson displayed in his career as a boxer, he worked to regain the use of one side of his body, relearnt to talk despite his motor impairments and threw himself into another project.

In 2003, the beneficiaries of his efforts were the Brain and Spine foundation, in recognition of the teams of neurosurgeons who saved his life.

Watson aimed to complete the 26-mile course of the London Marathon to raise money for the charity. Normally completed in just a little over 2 hours by top male and female athletes, Watson aimed to complete the course in six days, defying the impairment of his limbs.

It was a tremendous physical achievement and an emotional journey for Watson. The crowds and the television cameras, recognising Watson's truly inspirational effort, gathered in number with the passing days, and at the finish a symbolic moment captured the essence of the man.

Over the final leg of his journey, Watson was joined by the man who had ended his boxing career, and almost his life, Chris Eubank. It was the completion of a circuitous and unexpected journey for Watson, who must have imagined an entirely different path for himself at the beginning of his boxing career.

Watson himself describes the event as "my greatest ever sporting feat" and in reality, the gargantuan effort displayed is perhaps the most inspiring example of human resilience I have ever witnessed. Watson has proven to be a great source of inspiration to the great and the good, the disabled and able bodied alike, and his second life certainly puts into perspective the plaudits and brickbats of a sportsman's life.

Michael Watson is a true sporting hero, his charitable works and his sheer will to overcome in all aspects of life are an inspiration to us all. Raise a glass to Michael Watson, a true example of the indefatigability of the human spirit!

(Writer's note: Those wishing to contribute to Michael Watson's chosen charity, the Brain and Spine Foundation, can do so at the site below, a link has also been provided to the Brain and Spine foundation's website.

http://www.justgiving.com/pages/?id=CGG/30707)
HARRISON OPPONNET NAMED:

After a see-saw year which saw him lose and then regain his title in two fights with rugged veteran Manuel Medina, it appears that Scott Harrison isn't on a soft diet in the new year.

His next opponent has been announced, William Abelyan, the highly ranked Armenian now fighting out of California under the Gary Shaw Main Events banner, who have close transatlantic promotional ties with Harrison's promoter, Frank Warren's Sports Network.

Abelyan isn't a gnarled veteran like Medina. At 25 he's a hungry young lion, just like Harrison, and has a resume, which compares quite well with Harrison's own. To coin a phrase that's been doing the rounds, you could say he's the 'Armenian-American Pendleton'. Abelyan lost his first two fights, lost a further two back in 1998 and 2000, and for a time looked like a stepping stone.

However, since then, he's shown that losses on a record are no indicator of pecking order. In 2001, at only four days notice, Abelyan stepped through the ropes against highly respected former WBC featherweight champion, Guty Espadas. Espadas was just coming off a very close run against Erik Morales, a fight many thought he deserved to win. Espadas was engaging in what he thought a tune-up for a possible rematch with Morales. Abelyan tore up the script for the fight, and dropped Espadas twice en route to a unanimous decision.

Since then, Abelyan has maintained a busy schedule beating notables Jesus Salud (ageing perennial title contender), Orlando Soto (another faded contender), and fringe contender Alejandro Estrada.

It seems clear that Harrison is making moves to maintain his position as one of the world's premier featherweights. If he is going to take that final step up in class, then this fight should prepare him for the big matchups against the likes of Barrera and Pacquaio which he will be seeking in the near future. However, he has his work cut out against a guy who is definitely not there to make up the numbers.

The fight, on March 6th will be held once more at Harrison's home venue, the Braehead Arena, Glasgow, and it promises to be something of a barnburner, as neither man is known big knockout punch to end the fight quickly.

Harrison's physical strength and relentless pursuit will be pitted yet again against a determined and ambitious fighter. Harrison will be training at Fort William, Scotland, out in the wilds, as he did in his tough preparation for the rematch with Medina, a wise move under the circumstances.

WARREN'S HEAVYWEIGHT PORTFOLIO MAKES WAVES

Over the festive season, Frank Warren had a major coup when he signed a brace of English heavyweights to his Sports Network organisation.

This could have some serious repercussions for British heavyweight hopeful Audley Harrison, who had made it clear earlier in his career, that he wanted to fight long-reigning British and Commonwealth champion Danny Williams. Though that fight wasn't exactly in the offing, Audley may find it difficult to go that route now, unless he chooses to sign with Frank Warren's Sports Network.

Williams and Harrison were tied into a promotional contract with the BBC up until recently, but now Audley is in the middle of a three-fight deal with ESPN. To complicate matters, in a sudden swoop, Warren has resigned only Danny Williams, and signed other leading British heavyweights Julius Francis (faded former British title holder), Matt Skelton (Warren's Audley-dote), and Michael Sprott, Williams' victim last time out.

This fight will be well attended by press and public after the very vocal chorus of disapproval at the manner of Williams' victory last time out.

The first fight to result from this is a major fight at Wembley Arena on the 24th January, with Danny Williams defending his titles against Michael Sprott in a rematch of their controversial fight last year. In a fight which saw Sprott leading handily at the end of the third round, Williams held on to his titles after fouling his opponent repeatedly, and knocking him out as he turned to the referee to complain. The British Boxing Board of Control had ordered a rematch following review of the tapes.

This is a highly anticipated fight, which should draw a big crowd to the Wembley Arena in London.

Sporadic but nail-tough campaigner, and former British heavyweight contender Keith Long also gets a shot at another Frank Warren hopeful, Dennis Bakhtov (for a WBC 'international' title for what it's worth) on the undercard of this fight, in what will be a spirited clash.

Next up, on 7th February is Warren's alternative to Audley Harrison, former K-1 star, and rising British heavyweight contender Matt Skelton. Although Skelton has his critics, he has compiled 11 KOs in 11 starts, and some see him maybe having the goods, even at 36 to cause a brief stir on the heavyweight scene. If his knockout punch stays with him, it should be exciting whilst it lasts. His opponent is Julius Francis, who although a former British titleholder, is some way past his best at the age of 39. Francis has lost his last five, including stoppage losses to Oleg Maskaev and Sinan Sanil Sam last year. He is still the most experienced fighter that Skelton has faced to date and has at least been at the top of the domestic pile briefly.

Since signing the first brace of domestic heavyweights, Warren has added to his stable in acquiring a couple of foreign signings as well. In a move more reminiscent of a football (soccer for you that should know better) manager than a boxing manager, he has certainly had a busy transfer season.

Warren has landed a verbal handful certainly in the shape of the improbably named Bagrat O'Hanyan (apparently Armenian, but sounding half Orc-half Irish) and Ivory Coast heavyweight sensation, Augustine N'Gou. At 22 and 29 respectively, they are relatively young, and with Augustine's record of 20-1 (19), he should be able to punch. Neither man will be known to the crowd at the Wembley Arena, where they appear on the undercard of the Williams v Sprott fight.

To what ultimate end? Anyone's guess. Warren's expanding heavyweight portfolio promises to inject some life into the domestic heavyweight scene at the least, and could lead to some high profile title fights somewhere along the line. Mr. King, the regent incumbent of the heavyweight scene for many decades now need not worry just yet, but Mr. Warren would appear to be developing something of a penchant for heavyweights of varying origins.

MCCULLOUGH TO QUIT AFTER ALL?

Despite the misgivings of many involved in the sport, Wayne McCullough had looked set to continue his career at featherweight. Many people

McCullough has other interests outside of competing in the sport, including TV appearances an excellent boxing column at secondsout.com, and has been trying his hand at working with some young fighters in Las Vegas.

McCullough has apparently been dissapointed with offers for high-profile bouts, and it's good to hear if that is the case, that he isn't prepared to be a stepping stone fighter. A fighter as brave and unrelenting as McCullough could have shipped a lot of punishment in a career of dwindling opportunities. Whatever happens I wish Wayne a fulfilling future if he is leaving the ring, he certainly seems better equipped than most to cope with life outside the ropes.

ANGRY WARREN LASHES OUT AT BRITISH BOXING MEDIA

Frank Warren, the main man in British boxing, and never a man who could be accused of being slow to defend his turf or reputation, has sent a barbed letter to the premier British boxing magazine, Boxing News.

The letter was in reply to recent articles written by respected British boxing journalist Anthony Evans, and Claude Abrams, the editor-in-chief of Boxing News, which criticised both Sky TV, who air most of Frank Warren's promotions and fighters, and Warren himself.

It's fair to say that Warren was less than happy with criticism aimed at himself and Sky TV, and the standard of the fights, which Warren has promoted, with the aid of Sky.

The letter is I think worth reading for a number of reasons. Warren made a number of fair points regarding the supposed gulf in class between the 'lesser' titles held by some of his fighters, including Calzaghe and Harrison (WBO champions), Hatton (WBU), and the conduct of the 'big three' organisations, the WBC, WBA and IBF. Whilst I have myself been critical of some of Frank Warren's fighters' career opponents in recent times, I do think the letter highlights some interesting points of debate.

In particular it highlights issues with regard to the relation between a fighters supposed popularity, and their actual earnings, as well as the supposed gulf in class between the three major sanctioning bodies, and 'upstart' organisations like the WBO and WBU. Warren also touches on difference between modern TV coverage of boxing, and the supposed golden age of terrestrial TV coverage.

Although there are a couple of contentious points in the letter, it is interesting reading. The letter does certainly highlight the very different stances of the promoter, (essentially engaged in the business making money for his fighter and himself) and the armchair or professional critic, who, are often not privy to the full facts of what transpires behind the scene.

Click here to read a copy of the letter.

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