Boxing News 04 November 2021

@MattCBoxingNews Editor WOMEN’S boxing is still battling for acceptance and the fight will continue for a little while yet. Boxing is men-only territory in the eyes of too many. An endeavour too violent for their tender female counterparts, they say. But on Saturday night, Chantelle Cameron, with more than a little help from her opponent Mary McGee, saved an otherwise drab bill at the O2 Arena with a superb performance that highlighted – yet again – that a well-matched fight between two women is every bit as compelling as a fight between two well-matched men. There is of course a temptation to go overboard each time two females get together and produce an exciting fight. To over-compensate somewhat for the lack of widespread acceptance by declaring it a fight of the ages when,…

IT was only when I got an email from acclaimed author Thomas Hauser that my mind was put at ease. Hauser, who I’ve known for several years and who I’ve admired for far longer, had sent me a message congratulating me on my efforts. He had been mailed a review copy of my latest book, Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing, and I was in that nervous no-man’s-land position authors find themselves in when they are waiting for the reviews to come in. The fact that Hauser was the first to read it and message me mattered a great deal. He said I’d written an “important” and “wonderful” book, so actually, I was on cloud nine. Then, in the following weeks, more and more reviews came in. Boxing News and…

THOUGH it is heartening to hear that Ringside Charitable Trust continue to raise money, I am disappointed to hear of the struggle that Dave Harris has endured in getting support from various quarters, but not altogether surprised. Barry McGuigan tried unsuccessfully to do a similar thing in 2002 and introduce a Union for boxers like other sports have. He highlighted that it is only about five per cent of boxers who are able to make themselves financially secure through boxing, thus leaving most with an uncertain future after hanging up the gloves. The big problem is that many boxers, though, particularly when starting out, fail to recognise the need to put money aside for the future. Most refuse even to contemplate the thought of injury, rather they see themselves as boxing…

WHAT CAN CALEB PLANT DO TO BEAT CANELO ÁLVAREZ? Rocky Fielding Boxed Canelo in 2018 I don’t think anyone is beating Canelo at supermiddleweight. I think Plant will have his moments. As Canelo grows into the fight I think he’ll take over, get to him and stop him. I can’t see a way of Plant winning. He’s not the biggest of punchers. He’s fast and skillful, but so is Canelo, who will come on top towards the end. Joe Gallagher Trained Liam & Callum Smith I think Plant surprised a lot of people with his performance against José Uzcátegui. Being able to keep Canelo off for 12 rounds is hard. At some point Plant is going to engage and throw shots. It’s whether they land and how quick he is getting out of the way of…

1. GENNADY GOLOVKIN After being held to a draw by Golovkin in 2017, Álvarez was forced to serve a six-month PED suspension the following year before coming back to best his great Kazakh rival in their rematch, winning a majority decision. 2. SERGEY KOVALEV Álvarez, a former welterweight, ended up going all the way to light-heavyweight in 2019 to not only defeat Sergey Kovalev but to do it in 11 rounds. 3. DANIEL JACOBS Jacobs, Canelo’s main middleweight rival not named Gennady Golovkin, gave the Mexican all he could handle in 2019 but was ultimately edged on the scorecards after 12 competitive rounds. 4. CALLUM SMITH Deemed a difficult test for Canelo at the time, Smith, a six-foot-three super-middleweight, proved no match for the Mexican and was outboxed and outfought for pretty much every minute of the…

@BigDaddyBunce Voice of boxing THE doors remained open on Chantelle Cameron’s dressing room at the O2 last Saturday. And I mean open. She quietly went about her business, shadow boxing, stretching, slowly dropping items of clothing until she was ready for the ring. People came and went, one or two stayed, but she does not crave a crowd. “This is it,” Jamie Moore told me. He was not joking; there was Moore, Nigel Travis, Assam Fiaz and Kerry Kayes. That’s it, no professional bucket carriers. “We could get above ourselves and close the door,” said Moore. “We are not like that.” Some teams have the need to convert a dressing room, litter it with rubbish, people, too much fake laughter, demand comfortable sofas and too much ice. Ask for a security guard on the door. Others…