Tales from the Top Table

Craig Birch

Description

The hard-hitting, personal stories shared by some of boxing's biggest names are presented in a series of short, sharp features in Tales from the Top Table. Seventeen world champions are among the main attractions. Delve deep into the psyche of the famous fighting men and relive their experiences in the ring - the good, the bad and the ugly. There are many fresh and surprising stories included here, as these memorable anecdotes about the fighters' lives and times were originally intended only for the ears of those in attendance at the Bar Sport in Cannock - and could easily have stayed that way. The bar's upstairs Premier Suite holds just 300 people but countless sporting idols have passed through its doors, helping to put the Staffordshire town on the map. Now Craig Birch's exclusive notes on Bar Sport's after-dinner speakers put you right in the room. Every chapter is packed with the unique stories and inside information from boxing's beloved aficionados. Foreword by Richie Woodhall, former WBC super-middleweight world champion.

Sujets

• Boxing
• Xian de Boxing

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 09 septembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785316036
• Langue: English

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2019
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Craig Birch, 2019
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 978-1-78531-537-4
eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-603-6
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CONTENTS
The oracle - foreword by Richie Woodhall
Your author - Craig Birch
1. When pretty boy met pretty woman - Floyd Mayweather
2. Made a scapegoat for what went wrong - Ray Mancini
3. When the tables were well and truly turned - Vinny Paz
4. This could have been different - Barry McGuigan
5. It s undisputed he s a tartan legend - Ken Buchanan
6. Building an empire, building a legacy - Anthony Joshua and Carl Frampton
7. From the Dark Destroyer came light - Nigel Benn
8. An enigma wrapped in a riddle - Chris Eubank
9. You only get out what you put in - Steve Collins
10. Unbeatable to the last - Joe Calzaghe
11. The cobra may be no saint - Carl Froch and George Groves
12. Back from the brink - Tyson Fury
THE ORACLE - FOREWORD BY RICHIE WOODHALL
BOXING has been a huge part of my life. It was the same for my father, Len, who is sadly no longer with us. We had some great times together.
Dad was from West Bromwich, that s why I m an Albion football fan, but I was born in Polesworth, a part of Warwickshire. We lived there for a couple of years.
Dad was a bricklayer, so he went where there was lots of work for him and that took us to Telford in 1970, when I was two years old.
My mother is actually Dutch. Everyone knows her as Vicky but her actual name is Wilhelmina. She came over to England after the Second World War.
Mum settled in Birmingham, where she met my dad, and they got married. When we got to Telford, we moved to Woodside, which was one of the new estates that had been built.
There wasn t a lot to do apart from go to the community club, which became a boxing gym in the evening. Dad became a coach there, because he d done a bit himself as an amateur.
My elder brother, Lawrence, started boxing before me. I first went along when I was about seven and you can t have a proper bout until you re 11.
I learned my trade. I went because it was something to do and I just became good at it. That said, I lost my first fight.
I never won a national title as an amateur. I got to the semi-finals twice as a schoolboy, at 12 and 16. One of those years, I had to box eight times to get that far. It was tough back then.
I made my England debut when I was 18 and my career really took off from there. I represented my country 35 times and only lost five of those.
It was obvious my style was more suited to international boxing and, mainly because of that, I got picked to go to the 1988 Olympic Games in South Korea.
I lost, in the semis, but no one had really heard of my opponent, Roy Jones Jr, before then. In fact, at 19, he was the youngest boxer on the US team.
It was there where I believe Roy was born as a fighter. He got to the final and won it, for me, but didn t get the decision. I got a bronze medal, so it was a good Olympics for me.
It took the best boxer in the tournament, who didn t have it all his own way, to beat me. I won the second round of the three, remember. I could see the positives.
I was always very confident in my ability and, two years later, I had another great experience at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. That time, I got the gold.
I had a good think about what to do next. It was another two years until the next Olympics and I was getting loads of offers to go pro. I decided that was the time.
I turned over with Mickey Duff and won the Commonwealth title in my ninth pro fight, then became European champion.
I knew I d do well, because my style was to hit and not get hit. I was disappointed not to get a shot at the British title, but I went up to world level after that.
I only ever lost three times as a pro, and they were all for world titles. Joe Calzaghe was the best I ve ever been in with, but Markus Beyer and Keith Holmes were also excellent.
My contract expired after I went over to America to take on Holmes. Mickey lost his television deal with the BBC, so I signed with Frank Warren. Some said that I jumped ship, but I didn t.
It was my night to become a world champion against Thulani Malinga and I didn t want to do it anywhere else than Telford, in front of my own supporters. It was a dream come true.
Beyer boxed really well to beat me in Telford for the belt a year later, so there was no shame in it. He was very good. It was Calzaghe and then retirement for me.
When my career came to an end, I hadn t really planned ahead, so I was lucky that the BBC gave me a call about becoming a pundit and commentator, which I m still doing now.
This is my second stint as a coach for Team GB. My first spell didn t work out but I went back in 2009, when there were a few changes in the air.
I can t work there full time, because of my commitments to television, so I m only there two days a week. It s great to work with the best amateur boxers, on all new methods of training.
I came to be involved with Bar Sport through the owner, Scott Murray, who is an old friend. I remember him boxing as an amateur himself.
He asked me to come down and do the interviewing for one of his events. I can t remember who the first one was but it was good. I ve been coming from Telford to Cannock ever since.
Floyd Mayweather may have been the biggest name they ve had there, but I wouldn t say it was the most enjoyable interview. It was fantastic to have him there, though.
It went OK. I was told beforehand I d only get 20 minutes but I managed to get more. I didn t speak to Mayweather before or after the speech; he just came in and we took it from there.
It was no problem. I knew all about his career and it turned out to be a good interview. It wasn t as if he was bored; he was quite happy to talk with me.
Some of his people were telling me I needed to wrap it up and, if they hadn t, I think he would have chatted to me for longer. He seemed to be enjoying the questions.
What he has done in the sport is unbelievable, to amass that winning record and win all of those world titles is remarkable. He was a brilliant fighter and a very clever man, too.
It s difficult to compare people from different eras and weights, but many people talk of Mayweather as one of the pound-for-pound greats.
What was so good about him was how he handled any style of boxer put in front of him. No matter whether it was a front-foot fighter or how strong they were, he just dealt with it.
He built up that record having taken on the best that was out there and beat them convincingly, having never looked troubled.
You ve got to give him credit, although there are people who are not fans of his because of the way he fights. He boxes to his strengths and doesn t let his opponent do the same.
There are not many who can go through 12 rounds and you can count the times they ve been hit with clean punches on one hand. He came out, sometimes, without a mark on him.
Ray Mancini was another nice interview for me to do. He s a lovely bloke and I always looked upon him as a great world champion. Had he been boxing today, he d have been a superstar of the sport. It was really interesting to hear his story and he s become a very successful man.
When Vinny Paz came, the first thing he said to me was, I ve always wanted to meet you, I was getting ready to fight you. We d lined it up, but he wanted too much money.
I told him that and we had a little joke. He thought he would have beaten me, until we met and he couldn t believe how tall I was. We had another good laugh about that!
Ken Buchanan deserves to be talked about as one of the best British boxers of all time. When I was asking him questions, I wanted to know the answers as a fan myself.
Dad always used to talk about him when I was a kid, so I learned about Ken from a young age. His career was incredible. Again, if he d been fighting today, he d earn millions.
It was such an entertaining night with Barry McGuigan. I could have talked to him until the cows came home about boxing. He was brilliant.
I ve known Barry for a long time anyway and I ve always admired him. I thought his left hook to the body was the best in the business, at that time.
Barry was a great fighter. I m a massive fan of his and I was still a teenager when he won his world title. He s someone I ve looked up to since I was an amateur.
When I watched him become a world champion, I was camping with a bunch of mates. We had a little portable TV, which we rigged up to the car battery.
I first started to concentrate on Carl Frampton after he d turned pro, but I remember him as an amateur for Ireland. He always said boxing for his country meant a lot to him.
I thought he was very explosive and sharp, even back then, I liked his technique and he had some fast combinations. Years later, I interviewed him at Bar Sport, which was ironic.
I ve been to Belfast to watch him and the atmosphere was unbelievable. Protestants and Catholics come together to support him. He s got a special relationship with both of them.
Almost all of us get beat and you lick your wounds when that happens. I ve been there. You go home, spend time with your family, have a few days to recover and then go again.
I know An