Queensberry Train Heads South

Frank Warren will steer the Queensberry train southbound on Saturday when the Hall of Fame promoter – with more decades in the boxing bank than he cares to remember – promotes for the first time at the Bournemouth International Centre.

The reason for heading in a southerly direction is a young man who has been on the Queensberry books from the age of 18, a time when the original BoxNation was still in its pomp and a fresh-faced Ryan Garner was sharing cards with the likes of Enzo Maccarinelli, Liam Walsh, Mitchell Smith and a youthful Anthony Yarde.

Along with Yarde and a soon-to-arrive Daniel Dubois, Ryan was considered as one of Queensberry’s Blue Chip young talents, who would ensure the future of British boxing would remain in safe and heavy hands.

In the case of Ryan, now 27 and a father of two girls, it hasn’t been the smoothest of rides, but his loyal promoter knew deep down that he would probably get there in the end, once he understood the value of application and proper hard graft.

The Southampton man ultimately grew out of his growing pains and 2024 proved to be a pivotal year, one where he would demonstrate that not only was the magic still there, but that he also possessed that toughness and mental fortitude to go with it.

Ryan was handed a Ticket to Ride in August 2023 with a shot at the WBC International super featherweight title, which he duly cashed in with a resounding demolition of Juan Jesus Antunez at York Hall.

He now had – and still has – some currency to trade and he was handed a test of his mettle in May of last year when the redoubtable Liam Dillon was positioned in the opposite corner. Dillon, previously British champion, had just come off a bruising collision with Reece Bellotti in a tight yet unsuccessful title defence.

Ryan showed his class and pedigree in the first half of the fight against Dillon, probably wrongly imagining he could get the rugged Londoner out of there. He then had to dig in and go the 10-round distance for the first time, winning by a comfortable margin on the cards.

Dillon, who himself is also on the Bournemouth card on Saturday against the undefeated Mace Ruegg, had this to say about his encounter with a fiery Piranha.

“He is probably the most naturally gifted fighter I have been in the ring with. He really puts his shots together accurately and I had to withstand a storm to get to him in the later rounds. Then he started moving a bit more and taking the power out of his punches. He won the fight clearly.”

Following his Dillon success, it was time to increase the stakes and secure a higher ranking. To this end, Ryan was matched with the highly-ranked Archie Sharp, who had long featured at the top end of the WBO charts.

Archie, a real mover and shaker in the sport, thought he had too much in his locker for the younger Ryan to handle and he would be able to pick him off with sharp shooting and nimble footwork.

He was proved wrong and was defeated by four and six rounds on the cards.

The promoter had long promised the fighter that his fistic prowess would be put on parade closer to his Southampton home and now the pledge is being delivered on.

The reason for the location being Bournemouth is due to there being no indoor arena in Southampton and the excellent BIC is the nearest viable venue.

It is only a short hop along the coast and the reaction from the population of Southampton has been incredible. Tickets, especially the dear ones, are like gold dust and, such has been the demand, it has been as if Ryan and his trainer Wayne Batten have opened their own branch of Ticketmaster.

Fully expect the atmosphere and vocal level of support for Ryan to be akin to a Nathan Heaney night, which will make it well worth tuning in on Saturday alone. This and the fact that he is in a proper fight for the European title against an unbeaten and highly confident opponent in Salvador Jimenez.

Altogether now… ‘Oh when the Saints’…

Catch all the action from the BIC on Saturday live on TNT Sports 1 from 7pm