August brings the traditional boxing season come to an end. Let’s look back at some of the highlights of 2010/11…
Fury-ous Five go boxing
Channel 5 brought boxing back to the masses, by televising the domestic dust-up between Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora. For those of us old enough to remember, it evoked memories of the early nineties when Eubank and Benn brought the UK
Boxing has been criminally ignored by terrestrial stations since then, and it’s only thanks to the passion and expertise of Sky Sports that the sport has prospered. Fans have clamoured for terrestrial stations to invest in boxing and bring it back to the mainstream, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears - until Channel 5 took a gamble on the British heavyweight title bout, promoted by Mick Hennessy.
They were rewarded handsomely. Nearly three million viewers tuned in to see a good old-fashioned domestic dust-up and they had the highest viewing figures in their timeslot.
Hennessy insists that we’ll see more of Fury, and more boxing in general, on Channel 5.
And we couldn’t be happier.
The Wrath of Khan
Amir Khan’s rise to the upper echelons of the boxing world shows no sign of abating.
The ghosts of that brutal KO at the hands of Breidis Prescott in 2008 were exorcised as Khan survived some heart-stopping moments against Marcos Maidana. The big-punching Argentine had the Bolton man in huge trouble in a ferocious tenth round assault but Khan gritted his teeth and proved his critics wrong.
His subsequent domination of Zab Judah gained him further recognition from the all-important US
When Khan won an Olympic silver medal at the Athens in 2004, many predicted him to become one of Britain
Sky is the limit for Froch
He’s been one of the most cruelly under-exposed fighters of recent times, but now Carl Froch seems destined for the global recognition he richly deserves.
His streak of fights reads like a who’s who of the super-middleweight division: Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham and Glen Johnson. Froch has packed his bags and travelled the globe to take on all-comers.
The Nottingham man now faces Andre Ward in the final of the troubled Super Six tournament. After that, a huge homecoming fight in Britain
Now under new management, as part of the growing Matchroom stable, and back on Sky TV, the next year promises big things for “The Cobra”.
He’s 46 years old, one of the most enigmatic fighters of his generation, and now the he’s the oldest world champion of all time. Bernard Hopkins defeated Jean Pascal, a full eighteen years his junior, for the WBC light-heavyweight strap and solidified his legacy as one of the greatest of all time.
He’s the most masterful defensive technician in the game, rarely takes a clean punch and has the uncanny ability of nullifying the best weapons in his opponent’s arsenal.
Next up is Chad Dawson and Hopkins, who famously promised his mother that he’d retire at 40, is showing no sign of letting up.
