Hennessy Boxing: Earl “Wild Thing” Ling Returns To The Ring

Earl “Wild Thing” Ling has an appointment with a solicitor on February 28 and it’s guaranteed to come to blows.

The Norwich cruiserweight will take to the ring in his hometown at the Norfolk Showground as he looks to end the unbeaten run of Dewsbury based solicitor Zahid Kahut.

It will be Ling’s first bout in over three years in a long career that stretches back to 1992 when he was a regular on Herbie Hide undercards in Norwich.

“To be honest, sometimes it feels like I’ve been around since the pre-war days never mind the Herbie Hide days,” joked the charismatic Ling.

“When I made my debut back in 1992, boxing was booming in Norwich but I think it’s even better now at the moment, you have some very good fighters around. Take this next bill as an example, you have Jon Thaxton defending his European title and Danny McIntosh is another young guy coming through at light heavyweight. There’s a real buzz about the sport in Norwich again.”

Ling’s current record stands at 6-11-5, but he feels the bare stats don’t tell the whole story. “My record doesn’t look the best but quite a few of my defeats were down to injuries like cuts and even a broken ankle in one of my fights.

“In my last fight, I ripped the anterior cruciate ligament in my right knee so I knocked it on the head after that but I’m feeling good at the moment and with boxing going so well in Norwich again I thought I’d comeback and give it one last go.”

Ling says he’s being realistic about his comeback ambitions and feels ending Kahut’s unbeaten record would be a good start. “I’m not coming back to win the world title or set the world alight but I’d like to have 2 or 3 fights and then fight for a minor title.

“I’m enjoying being back and although it’s a lot of hard work it’s also a lot of fun. I’ve no pretences about being a world beater but I’m always good value and I put a lot of bums on seats in Norwich because I’m an entertainer.

“They call me the ‘Wild Thing’ but I actually think I’m more a boxer than a fighter. Sometimes that goes out the window when I fight though and I’m nearly always in a good, exciting scrap. I’ll be 37 in March, so a nice little win in Norwich would be an early birthday present.”

Ling’s time out of the ring in the last few years has allowed him to concentrate on his acting career and he will be hitting the big screen again in the summer.

“Acting is something I always wanted to do and I got my first role in 2003 playing a Russian hit man! I’ve been in a couple of BAFTA nominated films since and I play a guy called ‘Two Guns Tony’ in a Danny Dyer film coming out this summer called ‘Malice in Wonderland’.

“Obviously, given my background I do tend to get typecast a bit so I normally end up playing the gangster or tough guy but I really enjoy it.”

Featuring on the exciting undercard: Danny McIntosh vs. Matthew Barney for the English Light Heavyweight title, subject to Board approval, also appearing new heavyweight sensation Tyson Fury, Matthew Thirlwall, Lee Purdy and making his pro debut, ABA Senior Featherweight Champion 2008, Bradley Evans of Royston.

Tickets for Ling – Kahut which is part of the undercard of Jon Thaxton’s first European title defence at the Norfolk Showground, Norwich on the 28th February are available from the Ticketline box office on 0871 424 4444 or via www.ticketline.co.uk.