Latvian-boxing!?! One for us anoraks

[bobmee]

Here's fairly grim evidence of the reality of 'professional boxing' in Latvia... these are brief excerpts from the tape of what passed for a show on 28th April 2009 in Riga. The bouts are all recorded on boxrec's official records of these guys... and some of them will go on to work in European rings, claiming, say, a dozen wins in Latvia that make their records look something like acceptable. Maybe nobody cares about it, but I've been droning on for years about a lack of control, etc etc and how promoters are able to deceive their public into believing a boxer has genuine credentials - and perhaps tapes like this prove the point.

Have a look if you're interested

http://tv.delfi.lv/video/Iih98CXr

[Datsue]

Here's fairly grim evidence of the reality of 'professional boxing' in Latvia... these are brief excerpts from the tape of what passed for a show on 28th April 2009 in Riga. The bouts are all recorded on boxrec's official records of these guys... and some of them will go on to work in European rings, claiming, say, a dozen wins in Latvia that make their records look something like acceptable. Maybe nobody cares about it, but I've been droning on for years about a lack of control, etc etc and how promoters are able to deceive their public into believing a boxer has genuine credentials - and perhaps tapes like this prove the point.

Have a look if you're interested

http://tv.delfi.lv/video/Iih98CXr

Mind-boggling. It'll only stop when one of those lads is brought over for a SKY show as the "tough, unbeaten Eastern European" & gets fecked up permanently 'cos he's only sparred before. Some of those dudes looked worse than the lads who turn up at my kick-boxing class.

That tape needs to be front-page news on some sort of boxing news site. Ian? Mr McNeilly? Are you there?

Sad thing is, though, that almost everyone expects boxing to be dodgy in a manner like this. I can imagine most hard-core fans (& most bystanders) shrugging & going "Plus ca change."

On a lighter note, it reminded me a bit of that Boxing Monthly Astronormus column about ringers in the USA: "Vladimir Ilyanich Ulyanov Lenin wasn't his real name? Are you sure? What about Jesus H. Christ?"

[Andy]

[hypemachine]

Ideal venue size for a Junior Witter fight

[Kennyboy]

These guys are going to be sent over here with a "great" record never stopped etc to take a pounding for a few quid to make a medicore fighter look good! Just hope that they dnt get hurt to bad

[Baboon]

Bloody hell, I had more 'professional' looking spars when I was a kid.

Wondering now if it's a similar deal in Georgia given some of the hard headed but frankly utterly technically deficient fighters that have been sent in on some recent televised shows. The fella that lasted 45 seconds against one of the Walsh brothers springs to mind...

[jonp]

Some of those guys have had a fair few fights over here

[WestEndRiot]

I recognised the name Aleksandrs Selezens whos on at about 1:20 in the video. He was brought over to fight Tyson Fury in the summer. Anyway, looking on boxrec the guy he's fighting is supposed to be 206 pounds. That can't even be close, look how skinny he is!

[dondada]

That tape needs to be front-page news on some sort of boxing news site. Ian? Mr McNeilly? Are you there?

Yes, I'm here. I've been saying the same thing for a while about Africans now. I know for a fact that a lad who came over here citing a winning record had at least one of the fights completely made up. How do I know? Because a mate of mine was at the bill in Accra and he wasn't on it. This is not the promoters' fault.

Let me give you a completely invented scenario though - total fiction.

I try and report it and the promoter shows me the record, validated by whichever country's boxing board (the promoter sometimes has to pay a fee to the Board to get this record). The promoter is covered, iron clad, and I'm f**ked.

Datsue, you're entirely right of course. But I'm sure Bob will agree, if you're going to do this, it needs to be done properly and that takes a lot of time which I don't have at present. I could do a tabloidy 'Here's a video of shite, so-called boxers' but it's worth more than that. Of course, should Bob want to pen a bit of copy, gratis, I'll house it for sure.

[DavidPayne]

There was a fella Mark Hobson fought years ago, an African who supposedly had a draw with Friday Aniyuha (sp) and about 16 fights if I recall. He was approved by BBBofC as a Commonwealth challenger.

I swear he got in the ring and you had this awful feeling he'd never done it before.

I think Hobson took his time thinking it was a trick! About 3 rounds.

I think there were stories of people with passports which weren't there own.

http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?hu ... &cat=boxer

I must have made up the Friday bit.

[ApolloCreed]

Wow, that is ridiculous.

[teddy007]