BOXING BROTHERHOOD
I RUN Checkemlads – a testicular cancer awareness and support charity which helps young men in the UK who have cancer. Karl Benson from Manchester was diagnosed with extreme germ cell cancer and had a survival chance of under 10 per cent. Karl is a big boxing fan, especially of Scott Quigg. I contacted Joe Gallagher (when he still trained Scott) to see if I could take Karl to the gym to meet Joe and the boxers, before he started treatment. Joe was very kind and said, ‘Please come whenever you want.’ Karl met all the boxers and, of course, spent hours chatting with Scott. He was over the moon to meet him. They became good friends, and Scott visited Karl many times at his home in between chemotherapy sessions. Joe and the boxers always asked how Karl was doing, too.
Unfortunately, Karl became very ill and had to move to London from Manchester for last chance chemo. I contacted Scott to tell him this, and Scott offered to pay for Karl to go to the USA for treatment. There was currently no real treatment anywhere for the level Karl was at, but it was extremely wonderful for Scott to offer this. Fortunately, Karl responded well to treatment, and his survival rate has increased. Even though he is still very sick, he could yet survive. I think the support from Scott and everyone at Gallaghers Gym really encouraged Karl to fight hard through this extremely difficult time. Philly Morris
CONTRASTING FORTUNES
LAST weekend saw contrasting fortunes for two of England’s top rising young fighters. Zelfa Barrett showed great heart to recover from a vicious knockdown and put up a valiant effort against Ronnie Clark, but it was Clark’s strength and physicality that won the bout. Barrett has bags of talent and will definitely come again.
Meanwhile, Lewis Ritson put on a clinical display to dispatch Joe Murray in one round. Not only is Ritson great to watch, he also has composure that belies his young age. I can possibly see him contending for world honours in the future. Shaun Elvey EUBANK JNR vs LEMIEUX? BOTH Chris Eubank Jnr and David Lemieux have recently been shown to have limited pure boxing skills at the highest level.
However, you cannot question the fitness of these two men, and the fact that they both possess strong punching power. I think a contest between them would provide very good entertainment for fans who are not particularly interested in the finer points of boxing, but who like to see a bit of the old crash, bang and wallop. Terry Carney