Best Experience at a live fight

[Taansend]

Nigel Benn v Lou Gent in 1993.

Half the crowd was E'd up and Gent had a right good go, without unduly troubling Benn.

Benn Eubank II. Bought tickets from Boxing Monthly advert for 110 quid each. Turns out we were in same hotel as Benn and had seats in a box. Great night.

Duke McKenzie v that decent Mexican whose name escapes me at the moment. Latchmere Leisure Centre. Day after Andries Harding. Loads of boxers there. Alan Minter fell on me in the bar and McAvennie was prancing about with a pair of Page 3 girls.

Finally Kirkland Laing beating Fernandes for the Euro title at Wembley. I loved Laing. In a manly way.

[reggaereggae]

I spent a week in vegas when i went to watch Leonard v Lalonde,during the week i met Leonard,Duran, Lennox Lewis,Dave boy Green,Iran Barkley and very briefly,Hagler

who was the most and least engaging?

To be honest,they all were,i had my photo taken with Duran and Lewis and got autographs from Leonard and Barkley,who was very friendly.Dave Green bought me a beer and unfortunately Hagler only said hello as he was in a rush to get to the commentary position for the fight.Also that week i spent 15 mins with Vinny Pazienza,got photos and autograph,what a very nice fella he is.

You recognised Lewis in 1988? He had t even had a pro fight.

[Old Jack J]

Someone else mentioned it but michael brodie vs injin chi was a great night. I was there in support of james hare who i had got to know through a mutual friend. I think his fight had about 5 knock downs in 3 rounds, anyway he came and sat with us after his fight (his face was a bit of a mess) and we settled down to see one of the great title fights (imo) ever in Britain. Great card, great headline and superb tickets. Atmosphere was electric.

[bennie]

Really enjoyed a night's boxing at the Olympia in Liverpool a few years back (labelled a "shithole" outside by Robert Smith). Parking dead opposite, not a bad seat in the house, a warm boxing crowd: it was all set up and Andreas Kotelnik got robbed against Souleymane Mbaye in a sparkling 12-rounder and Dirty Derry, despite losing point after point, managed to outpoint John Simpson in another brilliant 12-rounder.
Micky Vann, after the towel thing at Wembley, lorded it.

[johnnygreaves]

Really enjoyed a night's boxing at the Olympia in Liverpool a few years back (labelled a "shithole" outside by Robert Smith). Parking dead opposite, not a bad seat in the house, a warm boxing crowd: it was all set up and Andreas Kotelnik got robbed against Souleymane Mbaye in a sparkling 12-rounder and Dirty Derry, despite losing point after point, managed to outpoint John Simpson in another brilliant 12-rounder.
Micky Vann, after the towel thing at Wembley, lorded it.

no,to be fair too smith.that gaff is a proper shitehole

[bigjack]

Reggaereggae your right,i wouldn't have known who Lewis was,i met him at the Holyfield V Holmes fight in 1992 ,age finally catching up with me lol

[Monte Fisto]

Reggaereggae your right,i wouldn't have known who Lewis was,i met him at the Holyfield V Holmes fight in 1992 ,age finally catching up with me lol

Big is a legend, lalala la ooh

[Monte Fisto]

Good skills jack that some top boxing company right there.

[reggaereggae]

Reggaereggae your right,i wouldn't have known who Lewis was,i met him at the Holyfield V Holmes fight in 1992 ,age finally catching up with me lol

Lol - no worries! Sounds like you went to some good fight cards!

I remember the Lalonde - Leonard fight so well. I was 15 and stayed up all night. Great fight to be at :-)

[orbtastic]

Been to a few but the ones that stick out in my memory are:


I think one of the first cards I went to live was Irwin/Armstrong and I immediately got pulled into live boxing by the ferocity of a fight on the undercard - Panayi/Cogan.

Naz vs Badillo, decent "undercard" too, some up and comer called Calzaghe and some guy called Eubank. Not to mention a decent tear-up between Matthews and Dorrington.

Naz/McCullough, so-so fight in a draughty freezing cold Halloween night in Atlantic City. Got to see a young MAB, Hatton and Romero do their stuff.

Benn/Malinga II, was sad to see Benn coming to the end of his career. Made even worse by the fact I'd passed up tickets for Benn/McClellan only a short while before.

Haye/Mormeck, a bit surreal being one of about ten people who travelled to see him to win against the Frenchman in a leisure centre on the outskirts of Paris. Literally bumped into M'Baye with his hands wrapped going for a pre-fight piss.

Eubank/CAT, sad to see Eubank's star waning and ironically, him being so liked right at the end of his career after all the theatrics. After the fight you got more theatrics from Nelson and Ingle as they were playing the heel against Carl's straight man in their proposed showdown. Was there again for CAT/Nelson but felt the ending was premature.

Haye/Ruiz, not a "great" fight but a fantastic atmosphere and one of the few big arena fights that came close to the days of Benn/Eubank/Naz.

Hamed/Ingle, if only to see an (albeit ageing) legend like Tommy Hearns in action from ringside.

[wadey]

Calzaghe V Kessler.

Amazing night in Cardiff.

[freddydoesdallas]

Was anyone at the Cello Renda/Paul Samuels double KO?

[MightyWarrior]

Barry McGuigen at the Ally Pally, not just because it's such an iconic venue, but seeing a young Nigel Benn on the undercard, blasting his way to the Commonwealth title in 2 rounds was what really struck. We knew he was a sensational puncher even then, but this was his 1st big test, and when the lights went down and we heard the chimes of Big Ben the hair stood up, the atmosphere went crazy: he upstaged the Clones Cyclone even back then....
Then a few months later was ringside to see Benn almost derailed at the Albert Hall, in a sensational fight with Anthony Logan. The crowd again went ballistic.

But best of all was ringside for Barry McGuigen winning the world title against the great Eusebio Pedroza. I only had cheap tickets for Loftus Road but it was a mad night ; everyone was partying like it was a carnival even before the main event, and by the early rounds I was standing down by the ring next to the giant cheering & yelling Frank Bruno. What a night that was.

[mfc_se15]

Would have to go with Macklin-Martinez in NY for the overall experience.

5 of us out there - barged into the weigh-in at the Garden past a few 50 year old masquerading as security with the sky crew, which was a small event having a chat with Khan, etc. Out on the lash afterwards until 6am, bird back to the room - booted her out early to go and watch Wales win the Grand Slam, Muamba die on the pitch ....followed by the Paddy's day parade, more boozing and the fight itself - then the post-fight party ended up with Buddy McGirt an and his daughter sat at our booth.

Trip over for Sturm was quality too. Need to keep a few pennies in reserve and wait for the next trip away

Was out there for that too - was a blinder all round. Didn't make it in to the weigh in our selves were outside when Khan came through etc. Top notch piss up the whole time whilst over there. After the fight some Yank attached himself to us speaking in an English accent, managed to get us in a row with some lads in the bar who according to them were "the IRA" Left there next pub up Macklin is in there with his face completed in bits so we got a few pics and a decent chat with him.

Although obviously the fight wasn't great Haye v Valuev was a brilliant experience, first world title fight away from home for me.

Hearing the result Groves v Degale was good, Froch v Bute was pretty special and going the after party afterwards having a chat with Barker and seeing Frochs missus in the flesh :P

[bigjack]

Would have to go with Macklin-Martinez in NY for the overall experience.

5 of us out there - barged into the weigh-in at the Garden past a few 50 year old masquerading as security with the sky crew, which was a small event having a chat with Khan, etc. Out on the lash afterwards until 6am, bird back to the room - booted her out early to go and watch Wales win the Grand Slam, Muamba die on the pitch ....followed by the Paddy's day parade, more boozing and the fight itself - then the post-fight party ended up with Buddy McGirt an and his daughter sat at our booth.

Trip over for Sturm was quality too. Need to keep a few pennies in reserve and wait for the next trip away

Was out there for that too - was a blinder all round. Didn't make it in to the weigh in our selves were outside when Khan came through etc. Top notch piss up the whole time whilst over there. After the fight some Yank attached himself to us speaking in an English accent, managed to get us in a row with some lads in the bar who according to them were "the IRA" Left there next pub up Macklin is in there with his face completed in bits so we got a few pics and a decent chat with him.

Although obviously the fight wasn't great Haye v Valuev was a brilliant experience, first world title fight away from home for me.

Hearing the result Groves v Degale was good, Froch v Bute was pretty special and going the after party afterwards having a chat with Barker and seeing Frochs missus in the flesh :P

That must have been a real treat for you

[whiteboy]

Would have to go with Macklin-Martinez in NY for the overall experience.

5 of us out there - barged into the weigh-in at the Garden past a few 50 year old masquerading as security with the sky crew, which was a small event having a chat with Khan, etc. Out on the lash afterwards until 6am, bird back to the room - booted her out early to go and watch Wales win the Grand Slam, Muamba die on the pitch ....followed by the Paddy's day parade, more boozing and the fight itself - then the post-fight party ended up with Buddy McGirt an and his daughter sat at our booth.

Trip over for Sturm was quality too. Need to keep a few pennies in reserve and wait for the next trip away

Was out there for that too - was a blinder all round. Didn't make it in to the weigh in our selves were outside when Khan came through etc. Top notch piss up the whole time whilst over there. After the fight some Yank attached himself to us speaking in an English accent, managed to get us in a row with some lads in the bar who according to them were "the IRA" Left there next pub up Macklin is in there with his face completed in bits so we got a few pics and a decent chat with him.

Didn't realise there were any 'wall out there - we could have teamed up to have a pop at the Argies after the fight

I was surprised how badly behaved the crowd was that night, I thought only the English behaved like louts at sporting events?

[reggaereggae]

Would have to go with Macklin-Martinez in NY for the overall experience.

5 of us out there - barged into the weigh-in at the Garden past a few 50 year old masquerading as security with the sky crew, which was a small event having a chat with Khan, etc. Out on the lash afterwards until 6am, bird back to the room - booted her out early to go and watch Wales win the Grand Slam, Muamba die on the pitch ....followed by the Paddy's day parade, more boozing and the fight itself - then the post-fight party ended up with Buddy McGirt an and his daughter sat at our booth.

Trip over for Sturm was quality too. Need to keep a few pennies in reserve and wait for the next trip away

Was out there for that too - was a blinder all round. Didn't make it in to the weigh in our selves were outside when Khan came through etc. Top notch piss up the whole time whilst over there. After the fight some Yank attached himself to us speaking in an English accent, managed to get us in a row with some lads in the bar who according to them were "the IRA" Left there next pub up Macklin is in there with his face completed in bits so we got a few pics and a decent chat with him.

Didn't realise there were any 'wall out there - we could have teamed up to have a pop at the Argies after the fight

I was surprised how badly behaved the crowd was that night, I thought only the English behaved like louts at sporting events?

You should be banned for racism

[Ketchel]

A friend of mine was going out with a girl who worked in a local hotel in Belfast. Big fight rematch between Paul Hodkinson and Marcos Villasana was coming up and Villasana was staying at the hotel. She told my friend if he came up with a friend she would be able to get him in to the fight and to come up to the Hotel on fight night. My friend was busy doing something or someone else so I went up to the hotel, met Villasana, got his autograph and spoke to the girl expecting to get a ticket for the fight. Instead the driver came for the Villasana crew and the girl gives the driver the best smile ever and asks him could he take me along to the fight! The guy melted and told me to get in the van. So there I am sitting in the back of the van with Villasana and his team all looking at me in confusion. The guy next to me was holding the WBC belt which I was looking at in awe. We get to Maysfield Leisure Centre and go in through the back door and the security team let the squad in. The look they gave me also. Driver, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, white dude in denim, Mexican.... The driver let me into the arena where I found the best place to stand to watch the fights.

Villasana was beaten by Hoko in as decent fight. Beat the Villasana team thought I gave them bad karma afterwards.

[orbtastic]

I was trying to think of the "best" fight I saw live and had a bit of a mental block.

In recent memory it would probably be Moore/Rhodes, followed by McDonnell/Hall (made even more enjoyable by the pissed up old fella next to me who kept repeating every minute or so - "what a fight!"). The Jamoye and Ceja fights were pretty good too, I even got to shake Nacho's hand storming their way out of the ring.

[mfc_se15]

Would have to go with Macklin-Martinez in NY for the overall experience.

5 of us out there - barged into the weigh-in at the Garden past a few 50 year old masquerading as security with the sky crew, which was a small event having a chat with Khan, etc. Out on the lash afterwards until 6am, bird back to the room - booted her out early to go and watch Wales win the Grand Slam, Muamba die on the pitch ....followed by the Paddy's day parade, more boozing and the fight itself - then the post-fight party ended up with Buddy McGirt an and his daughter sat at our booth.

Trip over for Sturm was quality too. Need to keep a few pennies in reserve and wait for the next trip away

Was out there for that too - was a blinder all round. Didn't make it in to the weigh in our selves were outside when Khan came through etc. Top notch piss up the whole time whilst over there. After the fight some Yank attached himself to us speaking in an English accent, managed to get us in a row with some lads in the bar who according to them were "the IRA" Left there next pub up Macklin is in there with his face completed in bits so we got a few pics and a decent chat with him.

Didn't realise there were any 'wall out there - we could have teamed up to have a pop at the Argies after the fight

I was surprised how badly behaved the crowd was that night, I thought only the English behaved like louts at sporting events?

HAHAHA was quite weird for us actually didn't see any Argies until inside and even then they were quite a distance away, happily singing away with their big flag etc down the front.

Did really like the venue actually for boxing. We were literally the back row and still was well pleased with the view. Pauli Malinaggi sat quite a long way back too and only actually moved when the security seemed to have had enough of people going up and chatting to him - didn't seem to be his decision.

New York around St Patricks day was 'interesting' everyone was wasted early doors, a lot of people seemed desperate to prove their "irishness" despite us clearly saying we weren't interested and were English, one proved his Irish history in the fact his Dad played the bagpipes for the Police band....The relevance of that I wasn't sure on to be honest!! Then of course we met the IRA The most normal people we found actually were genuine Irish people who all seemed as bemused and embarrassed as us!!

[reggaereggae]

I had decent seats at Malignaggi-Khan at MSG.... the smaller arena.

I remember Zab Judah was there, but really far back. I had no inclination to meet that prick, unless it was to tell him how much I appreciated his dance skills in the Tszyu fight.

I met Iran Barkley. He was a bit of a sad sight. I gave him ten bucks for a photo.

You were allowed beer and food at ringside, very different to Brit shows. Americans are always super friendly to Brits.

[Deserter]

A friend of mine was going out with a girl who worked in a local hotel in Belfast. Big fight rematch between Paul Hodkinson and Marcos Villasana was coming up and Villasana was staying at the hotel. She told my friend if he came up with a friend she would be able to get him in to the fight and to come up to the Hotel on fight night. My friend was busy doing something or someone else so I went up to the hotel, met Villasana, got his autograph and spoke to the girl expecting to get a ticket for the fight. Instead the driver came for the Villasana crew and the girl gives the driver the best smile ever and asks him could he take me along to the fight! The guy melted and told me to get in the van. So there I am sitting in the back of the van with Villasana and his team all looking at me in confusion. The guy next to me was holding the WBC belt which I was looking at in awe. We get to Maysfield Leisure Centre and go in through the back door and the security team let the squad in. The look they gave me also. Driver, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, white dude in denim, Mexican.... The driver let me into the arena where I found the best place to stand to watch the fights.

Villasana was beaten by Hoko in as decent fight. Beat the Villasana team thought I gave them bad karma afterwards.

Brilliant.

I went to Trinidad versus Mayorga at MSG, along with half of NYC's Puerto Rican population! Build-up was immense, with Fat Joe rapping 'Lean Back' in the ring and the place going crazy. Also loved it when there was a load of booing and at first I couldn't understand why, but then the spotlight hovered on a sharply dressed B-Hop making his way down to his ringside seat, pausing only to do his 'Executioner' trademark sign to the Trinidad fans!

Froch versus Jean Pascal at Nottingham was also a favourite. Couldn't find anyone willling to go with me, so drove the three and a half hours from Somerset by myself and it was more than worth it. Atmosphere as Froch walked in to 'Welcome to the Jungle' was electric and the way both fighters started I was convinced it wasn't going the distance... fantastic tear-up.

Final honorable mention to Naz, for managing to turn a cowshed in Shepton Mallet into an amazing experience with his ringwalk alone!

[bigjack]

I had decent seats at Malignaggi-Khan at MSG.... the smaller arena.

I remember Zab Judah was there, but really far back. I had no inclination to meet that prick, unless it was to tell him how much I appreciated his dance skills in the Tszyu fight.

I met Iran Barkley. He was a bit of a sad sight. I gave him ten bucks for a photo.

You were allowed beer and food at ringside, very different to Brit shows. Americans are always super friendly to Brits.

Yes they are,an american fight fan bought me a beer at the Leonard v Lalonde fight

[Noxy]

A friend of mine was going out with a girl who worked in a local hotel in Belfast. Big fight rematch between Paul Hodkinson and Marcos Villasana was coming up and Villasana was staying at the hotel. She told my friend if he came up with a friend she would be able to get him in to the fight and to come up to the Hotel on fight night. My friend was busy doing something or someone else so I went up to the hotel, met Villasana, got his autograph and spoke to the girl expecting to get a ticket for the fight. Instead the driver came for the Villasana crew and the girl gives the driver the best smile ever and asks him could he take me along to the fight! The guy melted and told me to get in the van. So there I am sitting in the back of the van with Villasana and his team all looking at me in confusion. The guy next to me was holding the WBC belt which I was looking at in awe. We get to Maysfield Leisure Centre and go in through the back door and the security team let the squad in. The look they gave me also. Driver, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, white dude in denim, Mexican.... The driver let me into the arena where I found the best place to stand to watch the fights.

Villasana was beaten by Hoko in as decent fight. Beat the Villasana team thought I gave them bad karma afterwards.

That's cool that is. I was a Hoko fan, I followed his career from when he won the ABAs.

[Ketchel]

Cheers, I came out of the arena afterwards then suddenly remembered "How the F@*K do I get home?".