Boxing Voice

James Howard (Feature in the 2012 Boxing Yearbook)

A BoxRec News contributor with strong Irish roots, James started writing for BritishBoxing.net under the stewardship of Ian McNeilly. James has also strayed over to BoxingScene, having closely followed the work of their current UK editor Terry Dooley.

Barry McGuigan was my first big boxing influence.....my family didn’t have a particular interest in boxing but did support their fellow countrymen in any event they competed in, so that was the first dalliance I had with the sport. The real consolidation of that interest was the Eubank/Watson/Benn/Collins era. It was a special time for the sport, and one that really captured my imagination.

The fight I most enjoyed in recent years was Jamie Moore vs. Matt Macklin.....being a fan of both men, I’d eagerly anticipated the bout and it didn’t disappoint. The greatest fight I’ve seen from all time would have to be Hagler-Hearns, never did two men do so much in so little time. I’d certainly rate it as the greatest opening round. I often wonder how Hearns would get on in the current era, without Hagler and Leonard to haunt him.

My most memorable show that I have reported on was at Wembley Arena.....headlined by Audley Harrison and Michael Sprott. A young Amir Khan featured for all of 60 seconds as he blew his outclassed opponent out of sight, but we subsequently enjoyed the evening’s highlight – the Earl-Katsidis fight. To top off the evening, Audley was rocked to the core by Sprott, two rounds after having the Reading man down in the opener. Another show attended which lingers in the memory was the Enzo-Haye fight at the O2, not only for the main event, but for the fight of the night between Kevin Mitchell and Carl Johansson.

I have been fortunate enough to interview some great names, including a number with David Haye and Joe Calzaghe.....in terms of interview content, Haye usually had some interesting points to make, but Dave Coldwell and ‘Rockin’ Robin Deakin both had inspiring stories which were extremely satisfying to tell. Dave had difficulties as a youngster, was controlled by nerves throughout his fighting career but has gone on to be a successful trainer, manager and promoter. Robin was actually born disabled, has experienced an array of challenging personal and family issues, but is well known for displaying a warrior-like attitude whenever he’s called to fight – which is often.

I think James De Gale and Frankie Gavin are two fighters who have been written off in some quarters but I fully expect both to become good world champions.....while Jamie McDonnell is a little further along in titles at the moment, I don’t think expectations are as great as they should be. He’s big for the weight and is improving with each fight and step up in level. I don’t think you can look too far past Carl Frampton, on the Irish scene. He has a great style and attitude and a blossoming reputation to match. The Turley fight showed he has the grit required to dig in when necessary and he definitely has the tools and personality to go all the way. Being an Olympic year, I’ll stick my neck out and tip Luke Campbell to medal. After a disappointing spell a couple of years ago he’s turned it around and looks like a real prospect.

The funniest things are probably said by fighters in the heat of the moment, before they ask “you won’t put that in will you?”.....there was David Haye discussing the difficulties of “resisting ejaculation” before a fight. One of the things that amused me personally was when I was with a friend of mine and we noticed a buzz of activity surrounding a suited gentleman who we couldn’t get a good look at due to the growing crowd. Expecting a hall of famer in there, we navigated our way to the middle of the group – to see ring announcer Mark Burdis with lots of young male teenagers barking ‘Bev-Kev-Bev-Kev’ at him!

I don’t think that boxing’s current situation is nearly as grave as some doom-mongers would have you believe.....there are top fighters out there, Mayweather and Pacquiao to name two, and the Klitschko brothers are a phenomenon who can’t be blamed for the inferiority of all available opponents. You have fighters capable of making $40 million in a single fight – so there is clearly a market for boxing. There are problems though, we find ourselves in a position where identifying and forcing the best fighters to fight each other is too easy to avoid, largely because of the multitude of world titles and sub-world titles. It becomes too easy for fighters who aren’t close to the top of the division to challenge for and win titles which appear to the general public as the real deal. That said, I’ve noticed a change in direction occurring in the UK and Ireland with quality becoming a more important benchmark than a meaningless alphabet title. The BBBoC’s recent rejection of recognition for two minor world title belt is an example of an encouraging development.

The heavyweight division landscape, traditionally the big seller in boxing, has changed.....there are fewer prospects and fewer American prospects, all of which takes a toll in the quality and interest in a division which once ruled. The UFC and other cage fighting organisations are a threat but not ones that should overly concern boxing. Learn the good things from it and adapt them into sweet science. While UFC is presented and marketed more effectively than boxing, I remain confident that boxing is the better raw product, it just needs to work harder and more cohesively than in recent years.

I’d like there to be a true champion in each weight.....I don’t mind the amount of belts in the sense that they give more fighters the opportunity to win something, I’d just rather we didn’t pretend they were true world titles. I’d like a new untarnished version of the Ring Magazine belts with a set of predefined rules on how bouts are matched and the title awarded. Rule number one is to ban anything like a super-champion or interim belt.  As a fan of small hall shows, I’d like some way of balancing our views on the so called journeymen of the sport. Perhaps an annual tournament where they can slug it out, with the winners being pushed forward with the support of a good promoter? Finally I’d like to increase the availability of online streaming. Boxing is being spread throughout a variety of channels which is increasing all the time. I would rather the sport made use of the improved technology which would make a show streamed to a PC available for a couple of pounds a more attractive option than bundles of subscription fees and extortionate PPV charges. Hats off to Hatton Promotions who are leading the way in this regard.

Probably the most beneficial advice I received in the early days of my boxing writing was.....to compare the piece you submitted to the piece that was published and use a highlighter to identify the differences. Obviously watch the sport as much as possible and read up on subjects similar to those you intend to write about. There is no point in writing an article if someone else covered the same content on a similar site as the audience for most boxing publications will have a huge crossover. Make use of your editor, he/she will be vastly experienced in knowing what works in the particular media they operate in. In most cases, you will realise why it’s been amended and learn from it. If you don’t know why it was changed, then ask!