HAIL ‘HANDS OF STONE’
I ENJOYED reading Lee Wylie’s article on Roberto Duran in the February 21 issue. It was a real pleasure to see “Hands of Stone” being featured in Boxing News, as he’s my favourite boxer of all time. In my opinion, he’s the greatest in-fighter there’s ever been. This was best illustrated in his fight against Carlos Palomino, during which he drew Palomino in and expertly brought him onto his punches. This was a classic example of his in-fighting skills, which were second to none. The fact that Duran moved up in weight to fight the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfred Benitez, Thomas Hearns, Davey Moore, Marvin Hagler and Iran Barkley speaks volumes for his courage. I’ve met Roberto three times and he’s one of the most likeable boxers you could wish to meet. Keep up the good work all at Boxing News, and hail the “Hands of Stone”. Mark Ballard
ADDING EXTRA DRAMA
A SHOUT-OUT to ITV Box Office for doing a great job in not breaking for adverts in between rounds during the James Degale-chris Eubank Jnr contest. It was refreshing to listen in to the trainers talking to their fighters and added a little extra drama. They kept it going all the way though, even during the undercard fights. As pay-per-view paying customers, we should be allowed these privileges. Ryan Vincent
QUESTION TIME
HAVING previously recommended in this section of the magazine that Chris Eubank Jnr should hire a full-time coach, it is heartwarming to note that he has finally taken this judicious step – not that I can lay any claim to being the key individual who influenced him to make this decision! Eubank’s victory over James Degale – which included two knockdowns – was a convincing one. Degale did his very best, but time has finally caught up with him. The manner of Eubank’s win suggests that he could well be capable of asking some difficult questions of the likes of Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders. Someone like Canelo Alvarez, however, would probably still answer these questions with assurance. Gavin Littaur
BROADCASTER BATTLE
I MUST say I was disappointed to hear about Tyson Fury’s new deal with ESPN, considering Deontay Wilder has a partnership with Showtime. I was looking forward to Wilder-fury II, so hopefully they can still come to an agreement, despite the different broadcasters now involved. Nobody can blame Fury for entering into such a lucrative deal, but it does now seem as though the rematch with Wilder might not happen. Fury obviously knew this before signing the deal, so could this mean that the “Gypsy King” is running scared from the rematch? Chris Strange
FURY’S BIG OPPORTUNITY
HAVING now signed a deal with American sports TV giant ESPN and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, I believe that Tyson Fury has a big opportunity to become a true great. Tyson must now cut out all the clowning around and get down to business. In my opinion, Arum is the biggest boxing promoter in the world having promoted many of the best in hisory.
He has the connections and the experience, so if Tyson listens to him and concentrates fully on the job at hand, he can become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Ian Owen