'Villains' - which British boxers were seen as the bad guy?

[Cholo_cws]

Bugner? Eubank? Naseem?

Which British boxers were either at times or wholly disliked by their public and/or just simply played up to the fact that they got under people's skins.

[mickey1975]

Definitely Bugner out of those three.

[Boxerbeetle]

Bugner? Eubank? Naseem?

Which British boxers were either at times or wholly disliked by their public and/or just simply played up to the fact that they got under people's skins.

I'd say Chisora - after being found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend, slapping Vitali K, spitting water over Wlad K, and the subsequent press conference behaviour with Haye - was almost universally disliked.

In fairness, he seems to have turned himself around & now comes across quite chilled.

[Cholo_cws]

Yes, Chisora. I didn't think of him.

I used the term dislike loosely. Maybe unpopular is better.

Anybody know or remember how Dick Richardson was viewed? I believe he had his fair share of controversies in the ring.

[Boxing Prospect]

Bugner? Eubank? Naseem?

Which British boxers were either at times or wholly disliked by their public and/or just simply played up to the fact that they got under people's skins.

I'd say Chisora - after being found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend, slapping Vitali K, spitting water over Wlad K, and the subsequent press conference behaviour with Haye - was almost universally disliked.

In fairness, he seems to have turned himself around & now comes across quite chilled.

Need to remember he bit...Butlin I and I think kissed Carl Baker as well...

...genuine credit to him for finally growing up though.

[Boxerbeetle]

Actually this topic reminds me of an incident that's been bugging me for ages, maybe someone can help me out.

Probably about 12-15 years ago I remember seeing an undercard fight on Sky which was stopped quite early, about 3-4 rounds in. When the ref stopped the fight, the winner clearly said "haha" then did something stupid like threw another punch or did a silly dance, before the ref pulled him away. The winner then walked around the ring with his hands on his head, realising he'd behaved inappropriately & would probably be in trouble.

The only thing I remember about the boxers is that they were both British, the loser looked quite out of shape & Jim Watt was saying something along the lines of "it was disgraceful behaviour from XXXX but he realises he's been a silly boy". I know it's a long shot, but does anyone know what I'm talking about? Like I said, been bugging me for a while & I'm sure I didn't hallucinate it!

[palooka]

I don't think I've seen that one but Darren Corbett used to wind me up with that dance he'd do after dropping/stopping someone.

[Boxerbeetle]

I'm always amazed by the amount of hatred directed at Amir Khan by 'casual' fans who seem to make him a villain for no good reason.

I know he's a bit of an idiot & talks a load of rubbish, but he's still one of the most exciting fighters we've ever produced (N.B. Emphasis on exciting, not talking about greatness here).

For pure pantomime villain, I don't think there's any beating Eubank around the time of the 1st Benn fight, he really (and deliberately, with full hindsight) amped up everything he could to antagonise the British public.

[handsofstone]

Anthony Small comes across a bit of a,well........

[deadpan]

BoxerBeetle, it was Wayne Llewellyn beating Dermot Gascoyne. Llewellyn was 13-0 until he faced Pele Reid in a battle of the unbeatens and got starched in 1.

[Cholo_cws]

I suppose the hat would have fitted Junior Witter should he have signed to fight and dare I say beaten Ricky Hatton.

[chiggsy]

BoxerBeetle, it was Wayne Llewellyn beating Dermot Gascoyne. Llewellyn was 13-0 until he faced Pele Reid in a battle of the unbeatens and got starched in 1.

Yea didn't he call him a wanker before throwing another dig at him?

Long time ago that one.

[Boxerbeetle]

BoxerBeetle, it was Wayne Llewellyn beating Dermot Gascoyne. Llewellyn was 13-0 until he faced Pele Reid in a battle of the unbeatens and got starched in 1.

Yea didn't he call him a wanker before throwing another dig at him?

Long time ago that one.

Brilliant, cheers! As soon as I read the name Wayne Llewellyn it came flooding back. No idea why, but the incident popped into my mind a while ago & has been bugging me ever since, will be looking it up on YouTube later for sure. Thanks again!

[chiggsy]

BoxerBeetle, it was Wayne Llewellyn beating Dermot Gascoyne. Llewellyn was 13-0 until he faced Pele Reid in a battle of the unbeatens and got starched in 1.

Yea didn't he call him a wanker before throwing another dig at him?

Long time ago that one.

Brilliant, cheers! As soon as I read the name Wayne Llewellyn it came flooding back. No idea why, but the incident popped into my mind a while ago & has been bugging me ever since, will be looking it up on YouTube later for sure. Thanks again!

I was at the bill in the everton sports centre when he got sparked by pele.

Also on the card was a young ian napa and topping the bill was gary thornhill vs dean pithie......oh the memories

[misterpunch]

Yes, Chisora. I didn't think of him.

I used the term dislike loosely. Maybe unpopular is better.

Anybody know or remember how Dick Richardson was viewed? I believe he had his fair share of controversies in the ring.

DICK RICHARDSON wasn't really disliked by the british boxing public. he wasn't an angel in the ring (a bit of dirty fighter) but they didn't get on his back as far as I remember. brian London was disliked more around that time because he was regarded - rightly or wrongly - as a guy that didn't try to win and would too easily cave in.

[Coco]

I was at the bill in the everton sports centre when he got sparked by pele.

Also on the card was a young ian napa and topping the bill was gary thornhill vs dean pithie......oh the memories

I was on that card fighting Tommy Peacock!

[IRLangmaid25]

I think Joe Bugner has been given a bit of unfair shake because of the decision win he got against Henry Cooper in 1971, when he took Cooper's British, Commonwealth and European titles.

As for villains we had guys we love to hate like Prince Naz for his flashyness, Chris Eubank for his eccentricity as for villains not sure.

[chiggsy]

I was at the bill in the everton sports centre when he got sparked by pele.

Also on the card was a young ian napa and topping the bill was gary thornhill vs dean pithie......oh the memories

I was on that card fighting Tommy Peacock!

Remember seeing earnie shavers sat a few rows in front of me and thinking ''what the fornicate is he doing in the everton sports centre!!!''

Found out later that he was good friends with kenny rainford and was shacked up with a lady from birkenhead.

Seen him a few times after that working on the door of yatesys (or was it the rat and parrot?).

[reggaereggae]

I heard from a reliable source that Wayne Llewellyn was sparring Lightning Lee Murray (cage fighter and armed robber) and he was taking liberties. In the second Murray had enough and ironed Wayne flat. Anyone else heard this? Murray was apparently an amazing puncher

[banjo]

It's funny that Eubank seemed to be hated more than Benn even though Benn was probably the worst behaved out of the ring. Eubank was just a weirdo whereas Benn knocked about with dodgy and pretty dangerous company.

[johnnygreaves]

I remember going to see naz when he boxed Tom boom boom Johnson. Nearly everyone at the London arena wanted naz to get chinned but we all come out knowing we saw a very good fighter. His fights were pure showbiz

[Bodyshot3]

DeGale was definitely the villain of the piece in the Groves fight; whether James deliberately sought this status or he fell into it and realised that he had made a mistake too late is a matter of conjecture. But he was definitely despised/loathed for a while and that was a very interesting, unique place for an Olympic Gold medallist to find himself in. There were certainly times in the build-up to the fight with George when I was willing James to keep his mouth shut and realise that he had a whole carrer ahead of him and that he was damaging himself.

[freddydoesdallas]

I was at the bill in the everton sports centre when he got sparked by pele.

Also on the card was a young ian napa and topping the bill was gary thornhill vs dean pithie......oh the memories

I was on that card fighting Tommy Peacock!

Remember seeing earnie shavers sat a few rows in front of me and thinking ''what the eff is he doing in the everton sports centre!!!''

Found out later that he was good friends with kenny rainford and was shacked up with a lady from birkenhead.

Seen him a few times after that working on the door of yatesys (or was it the rat and parrot?).

I remember seeing him on the door of Yates's when i was at uni up in Liverpool. Needed to double check a couple of times then went back with a book for him to sign (which he did with pleasure)

[freddydoesdallas]

Erroll Christie in the Kaylor fight?

[TerribleTerry]

Erroll Christie in the Kaylor fight?

There was a lot of racial tension around that fight; before my time but not sure if Christie was the villain of the piece or not?..