LAST week I was made an ambassador of the Erb’s Palsy Group UK.
I’ve spoken in this column previously about the charity and the positive impact it has on people like me with Erb’s Palsy and their families. I’m extremely proud to be helping them in this role and fingers crossed I can help them with the work they do.
It sounds a bit cheesy and like some Instagram meme with a picture of a black and white lion roaring but in my boxing career it’s always been important to me to try and raise awareness of Erb’s Palsy and show people that despite it, or any disability/difficulty, you can still achieve what you set your mind to, no matter what other people think. I’m hoping that in this role I can continue to spread this message outside of the ring, minus the meme.
Last Saturday’s fight between Natasha Jonas and Mikaela Mayer was a really good contest to watch and a great advert for female boxing, slightly spoiled by the scorecards. I scored the bout six rounds to four for Mayer but didn’t see it as the blatant robbery that some did.
It did for me however raise the reccurring question as to why it has become increasingly difficult for away fighters to win in the UK. We’ve developed a reputation akin to Italy and Germany in previous decades as a place you have to score a knockout to come away with a draw. This trend however isn’t really a matter of geography. In my opinion it’s got more to do with which promoter puts on the show and who would benefit most. Rarely does the away fighter get the nod in close fights.
Perhaps it’s a product of the number of fights up and down the country over the years where the home boxer/prospect competes against a “journeyman” who is paid to turn up, put on a show, teach the prospect a few tricks but ultimately not try to win. If the journeyman in this situation rips up the script they still have to do more than just fairly win the fight. They have to win in an almost undeniable manner to get their arm raised. It’s been this way for years and in my opinion it’s wrong but it’s widely accepted inside the sport as the way it is.
Something really needs to change. Perhaps we’ll see a change of sorts in the recently talked about five vs five event pitting Matchroom against Queensberry. If it takes place on neutral territory then it may be void of possible home/promotional favouritism. It’ll be interesting to see how that goes.
This weekend John ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder takes on another top Mexican in Jaime Munguia in Phoenix, Arizona, after taking Canelo 12 rounds last May.
It’s another huge task for Ryder. Munguia is unbeaten in 42 with 33 finishes, a 10-year pro at only 27 years of age and is being built by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions to be one of their big Mexican stars. Golden Boy will be looking to compare Munguia’s performance vs Ryder against Canelo’s and obviously fancy the job by choosing the Brit as the opponent.
I really hope Ryder can pull off the win and he does have a chance. He will have picked up invaluable experience last time out but ultimately I believe it ends the same way, losing on points in yet another valiant performance. However as I said just because I and many others think Munguia will win doesn’t mean Ryder can’t. And if he does then somewhere online maybe a black and white meme of a Gorilla will pop up.