Guns Down, Gloves On: London Boxing Show Sends Out Message

With last weekend’s double shooting fresh in the memory, local promoter Derek Williams teamed up with anti-street violence organization Mothers Against Guns to bring to Elephant & Castle an auspiciously timed message wrapped within an action-packed night of boxing.

Lucy Cope, chairperson of Mothers Against Guns, co-promoted the heavily-stacked card which took place on Saturday night at the Elephant & Castle Recreation Centre and featured, amongst others, former cruiserweight world champion Kelvin Davis and exciting light middleweight prospect Anthony Small.

Stricken with grief after losing her son Damien in a shooting outside a London nightclub in July 2002, Lucy has moulded her despair into a determination to prevent other mothers from going through the same unnecessary pain that she was forced to endure.

Speaking earlier this month about the motivation for her organization’s involvement in the show – entitled ‘Rep Ya Ends’ – she expressed a sincere belief that cajoling wayward youths into boxing gyms could perhaps be the most effective way of combating street crime. “The boxers are the role-models, they’re the idols,” she said at the ‘Rep Ya Ends’ press conference. “They’ve got the power both in the ring and in their voices. The message is to put the guns down, get the gloves on and take it into the ring.”

Hundreds of locals poured into the squeaky gymnasium, cleared and remodelled into an intimate fight arena, to show their support for both the cause and an impressive line-up of predominantly South London-based fighters. With tickets priced at £25 and £40 (ringside), the 8-contest bill represented fantastic value-for-money. The atmosphere feverish throughout, one had to look incredibly hard to spot an empty seat; and even harder still to find someone who wasn’t visibly glued to the slightly tattered ring for the duration of the show.

Also in attendance, adding some extra sparkle to an already glossy evening, was former two-time heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, world-rated cruiserweight David Haye and newly crowned EBU light welterweight champion Ted Bami. All three bristled with confidence as they sauntered around the building, delighted to exchange pleasantries and pose for pictures with whoever approached them. Each seemed well and truly in his element, especially Witherspoon who has a firm handshake and a wonderfully upbeat “how ya doin?” for everyone he meets.

Such is the warmth of his greeting, one could easily be left wondering if the bear-sized American is in the midst of some electoral campaign. Of course, most recognize him from his epic battles with Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno and know that he has far more interest in punching than he does in politics. Despite being a man of hugely intimidating dimensions, his sunny demeanour melts away any initial uneasiness and you are immediately left debating how someone so affable and sweet-natured ever mustered the necessary aggression to be a prize-fighter.

The answer to that particular question, funnily enough, was answered by the man himself about midway through the evening. Outraged when his former charge, cruiserweight Danny Toombs, was declared the loser of a four round contest against 151 fight veteran Tony Booth, those in attendance were treated to an impromptu glimpse of the old Terrible Tim. Having sprung out of his seat with surprising athleticism – he is pushing 50 after all – the man regarded as one of the most talented heavyweights of the 80’s angrily lambasted the diminutive referee who had rendered the decision.

Spotted half an hour or so later laughing and joking with some fans, it became glaringly obvious that although he does indeed get mad, he doesn’t stay that way for long. That wonderful smile of his was back.

Deptford’s Anthony Small, unbeaten now in 13 outings, scored a spectacular second round stoppage over the previously undefeated Mancunian Prince Arron. After swaggering into the ring with his customary aplomb, the highly charismatic 25 year-old won the first round with brilliantly fast two-fisted attacks before emphatically closing the show mid-way through the following stanza, dropping his overmatched opponent twice and leaving the referee little choice but to step in.

Aiming to keep busy, Small will be in action again next month on the undercard of stable-mate David Haye’s European cruiserweight title bout against Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni on a Maloney Promotion at London’s world-renowned York Hall.

When asked to give his thoughts on the growing gun crime epidemic, Small replied: “Three-weeks ago I attempted to take my two-and-a-half year old daughter to our local crèche, this wasn’t possible because there was police tape sealing off the area. The reason being that a group of youths from an area less than two-and-a-half miles away had ridden up on push bikes and fired shots at youths in our area for no other reason than the ‘ends they represent.’ In other words, the areas in which they live.

“However, go to any of these areas and take a look at the youth. You could not differentiate between them. They all dress, talk and walk the same. They have the same interests i.e. music, film and sport and they all have aspirations of being someone someday. However, they look around and they see no hope. They see people with the same aspirations as them come to nothing, other than prison, drug addiction and death.

“Take into account the danger of individuals who don’t have anything to live for, they don’t respect or value human life. Time and money needs to be invested in the youth.”

Kelvin Davis, who won the vacant IBF cruiserweight title in 2003 only to be stripped the following year for inactivity, pounded out a workman-like four round decision over the towering but overly defensive-minded Yorkshireman Paul King. The American powerhouse, who is nicknamed Lil’ Tyson, improved his record 23-4-2 (17 KO’s) with the win.

Courtesy www.frankmaloney.com