BRITAIN – A HEAVYWEIGHT HAVEN
BACK in the early ‘80s, we had an incredible world heavyweight champ called Larry Holmes, yet interest in boxing was fairly low at the time. Then along came a phenom named Mike Tyson, who decimated an entire division and made boxing red hot.
Again, we’ve recently had an all-time great ruling the heavyweights, yet outside of Germany, Wladimir Klitschko didn’t attract casual fans. We now have another exciting champion making the sport red hot. Anthony Joshua has made boxing sexy again, and he’s not going to be alone. In the next few years, the likes of Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce and Frazer Clarke are set to make the UK the place to see topclass heavyweight boxing. Cool Britannia is certainly the place to be. Mike Hills, Glenwood Springs, Colorado
‘AJ’ AND WLAD NO MATCH FOR LEWIS
ANTHONY JOSHUA is an improved version of Frank Bruno. There’s nothing wrong with that, but his muscular physique will surely cause his downfall. He visibly tired against Wladimir Klitschko and was lucky to survive. I watched a re-run of the Joshua-klitschko fight, and then afterwards watched a video of Lennox Lewis in action. Lennox would have made mincemeat of the pair of them. He was lithe and fluid in his movement. He had no need for a Mr Universe body, as he was a naturally talented fighter. Max Winberg, Gerrards Cross
R.I.P JOHN GAYNOR
WE are writing today to inform the boxing community that Manchesterbased matchmaker, manager and agent John Gaynor sadly passed away on Friday May 12 at the age of 84. John died peacefully in his sleep. He was one of the nicest people in the sport. Rob and Roger Brierley
ULTIMATE WARRIORS
I THOROUGHLY enjoyed reminiscing about the first Arturo Gatti-micky Ward fight in last week’s issue (May 18). I still remember listening to Emanuel Steward’s commentary to this day. I’ve never heard an announcer so animated and excited about a fight! Of course, it was completely justified though, as the fight had it all – non-stop action, twists and turns, savagery and skill. My abiding memory of the fight, however, is the sheer bravery both warriors showed. They both deserve huge credit for putting in such a courageous effort, in what has rightly gone down as one of the best fights in the history of the sport. And we can’t forget, the second and third parts of their trilogy weren’t too bad either!