On the Scottish Boxing Scene…
As the dust settles on the Scottish scene, a little, it is a lull rather than a calmness. There are storms brewing and on their way.
During the week I got to the MGM Scotland show in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow but it helped me reflect upon a monster start to the month.
Now October has rocked here with Ricky Burns 41-5-1 14 KO’s managing to defend his world title alongside young upstart Kieran Smith 7-0, 3 KO’s getting to showcase his talent on SKY TV and knocking a guy out in 18 seconds! He is back out in November and a feast of boxing glory with local Scottish boxers.
That night started with 10 bells for the fallen Mike Towell.
On Friday the 14th Mike was laid to rest in Dundee with many in attendance to wish their goodbyes. In and around that poignant event we have had the MGM bill, the Burns world title fight and now enter fight week for one of the brightest Scottish prospects to have had a 6 fight undefeated professional career – Josh Taylor 6-0, 6 KO’s.
The Tartan Tornado goes in against Dave Ryan 17-9, 4 KO’s for a Commonwealth belt at Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh in only his 7th professional contest! We also welcome the other sensational British boxer who is almost doing a Lomachenko in Andrew Selby 5-0, 3 KO’s. He takes on unbeaten Nicaraguan flyweight Hermogenes Elizabeth Castillo 11-0, 4 KO’s on the same bill in Edinburgh in only his 6th contest! It is also live on Channel Five in the UK on terrestrial television…
Scottish boxing is so buoyant that Prospect Boxing have a 6 fight card on the same night in the Alona Hotel in Motherwell. Headlining that night is the super lightweight clash between Eddie Doyle 17-3, 3 KO’s and Shaun McShane 4-3-1 for the Scottish super lightweight title!
These are massive storm clouds for the boxing world as they include very genuine 50/50 fights. It was whilst at the Crowne Plaza on Thursday night I got to thinking just how the names on the bills and their opponents make for a great night.
During the week at MGM Scotland’s dinner show at the Crowne Plaza I was delighted to see 4 fights that had their own measure of the unexpected. The smaller bills can get lost and I am sure that Prospect Boxing are worrying about ticket sales as they are up against Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions on the same night; I would worry, but you know the Prospect guys are vastly more experienced than me.
To be successful you need excitement and you need to give the punters precisely what they want otherwise they will start to drift. Two shows on the same night can seem like a clash or alternatively, can be a massively positive sign of health.
The MGM Scotland bill started with two English guys facing each other in Sunny Edwards 2-0 and Brett Fidoe 6-30-2, 5 KO’s. Fidoe is clearly the journeyman and brought in to help the young kid on his way up. At times these 40-36 fights can be a tad underwhelming but there was enough about Edwards that he provided us with some fantastic work and battered Fidoe repeatedly to get the crowd excited. Though it did end 40 – 36 and I do like watching the journeymen work, it was not just a fight for aficionados.
It set up the light heavyweight clash between Mohammad Babazadeh 5-0, 1 KO and Tariq Rashid 1-2-1. Both fighters were undefeated going into this but the home guy – initially from Iran – Babazadeh – has very high expectations sitting on his shoulders. This was a fight that many thought might be an example of Babazadeh’s power and he would power through. He didn’t as Rashid was very awkward and kept holding on. Babazadeh had to be patient and work away. His points win was well deserved but again there were enough flashes in this for the crowd to get excited. Though it was a comprehensive 40 – 36 points win for Babazadeh it proved good value.
That set us up perfectly for the upset of the evening. Scottish lad Adam Mackenzie 2-2-0 came unstuck against fellow super flyweight, Conar Blackshaw 1-2-0. It was nip and tuck throughout and in the end the judges saw it as a 1-point advantage over the 4 rounds to Blackshaw. At this stage in either of their careers this was hardly a disaster but there are very few super flyweights in the UK that losing to one of them could be as much as losing to 10 % of the fighting pool! What maybe rankled a little was that Mackenzie was now in the room with both the guys who have beaten him – Blackshaw and Fidoe.
The final fight of the night and the headline was the return of Magic Marc Kerr 6-1-0. He faced late replacement Jan Balogg 10-30-1 5 KO’s and there was never any doubt who was going to win. Balogg was game and came with the target of staying on his feet – he managed that. MGM Scotland would have hoped for a better headliner but you can only show what you have got. It was perhaps the most disappointing fight of the night which was unfortunate but the overall evening, as for entertainment and value, was well worth the ticket price.
Next up a Cyclone and some decent Prospects…
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