Garay Trades Polo Ponies For Boxing Gloves Friday Night

ByBoxing Press

Juan Manuel Garay will swap his horse stable for the boxing ring on Friday night, August 19. The Argentinean cruiserweight faces unbeaten Central Area cruiserweight Matty Askin at Blackpool’s Tower Circus.

By day Garay is a polo horse trainer on the outskirts of London, and will be cheered on by his posh polo pals in Askin’s hometown. Garay who has won 18 of his 29 fights spends half the year in England caring for horses and the rest in Buenos Aires racing his dogs.

The 39-year-old said: “Taking care of horses is a job that demands hard work. I get up at 4am for riding. You have to keep an eye on every detail, which could make a difference during a tournament. Every year I come back here and love it, but it’s very hard to stay away from family for months.

“The people I work for continuously ask when am I going to fight in the UK. They ask me for tapes of my old bouts and watch my fights on You Tube.”

Despite campaigning extensively in Europe this is Garay’s first ever UK fight despite living here. He added: “I’m very excited to fight in Blackpool. I want to prove that I can still make some noise and stop Matty Askin.

“I’ve watched him and he is a very good fighter. It will be a war. I like Ricky Hatton and he surely will like me because I love to go forward and trade bombs like him.”

In the Blackpool bill topper, Matthew Hatton returns and challenges unbeaten Belarusian Andrei Abramenka for the vacant IBF intercontinental welterweight championship.
Askin’s occasional sparring partner – Rik Turba is up against Dutchman – Mitchell Balker over eight rounds.

Other prospects on the bill include welterweight hopeful Adam Little who tackles Liam Griffiths and middleweight Tom Scott whose debut opponent is Bobby Wood.
In a six round bantamweight attraction Kazakhstan’s Zhanat Zhakyanov faces Anwar Alfadi.

The show, promoted by Robert Waterman, will be televised live by Eurosport. Tickets are available and priced at £35, £55 and £75 VIP from 01925 755222 and www.ticketline.co.uk