It was a mixed bag.
That one was perhaps my favourite so far - some amazing stories and real insight into a boxing world that has almost vanished now - sparring sessions above the Thomas A Beckett, fights in Africa when Sauerland was promoting there, etc. Also the story about him getting into a fight with a bodybuilder while returning from a very agreeable lunch with the Boxing News staff is the most "West Country Man" thing I've ever heard 
Yep, exactly. Fascinating accounts of boxing's yesteryears and also as a trainer/manager with Ross Hale, Dean Francis, Lee Haskins and in particular Glenn Catley.You joined 10 years ago and needed some folk to point you in the direction of this thread!!TDixon wrote: ↑30 Jun 2020, 07:56 Hi guys,
A few people have pointed me in the direction of this thread and I wanted to say how grateful I am that you’ve taken the time to check out the podcast, and chat about it.
I’m so happy to have found an outlet in the sport that allows me to keep in touch with the fighters, trainers etc and go to the gyms. It’s a labour of love and I won’t be retiring any time soon, that’s for sure, but I’m hugely grateful to my two sponsors for supporting me.
Some really interesting feedback and critique amongst these pages and I figured I would offer some thoughts and observations about doing the podcasts.
I’m always grateful to anyone who makes the time to see me and/or do a podcast.l, which is why I could never pick out a favourite.
Some have worked better than others and there’s a multitude of reasons for this... some of the guests I’ve known for 20 years or so, but even with some of those I may have got to see them at the end of a long day or when they haven’t been in the mood.
With the nature of how it’s been from the start, I’ve done as many as three in a day. That exhausts me and sometimes I may miss the odd ‘obvious’ question. I will usually kick myself over something or other on the motorway home as something comes into my head too late or I think of a follow up question I should have asked.
That said, sometimes the pods might not flow as they should as I’m the one who is tired, as I’ve been juggling work/life and just tried to get one done to keep the continuity of getting an episode out there. It’s important for rankings and distribution to try and keep slots regular, so I’m informed.
Sometimes I’ve done them at very short notice, even on the spot, so my research isn’t what it might have been. But sometimes if an opportunity presents itself you must take it.
There have been plenty where I’ve never met the guest before but really bonded with them and they could have been done with no research.
Sometimes I let the guys go on and spin their own narrative not because I don’t want to question them but because it’s ‘their’ story and it’s their version. I always push when I feel it’s needed but I think that if someone has a version of events and it doesn’t match mine or the listener’s I won’t necessarily try to change it but will let others draw their own conclusions.
I apologise for the technical hardships and some poor quality episodes as I’ve tried to get my head around it all - I do it all myself, have learned about the tech, the editing and the hosting etc as I’ve gone, which has been an interesting challenge.
It’s weird, some episodes I think haven’t gone well and then I get a message saying it’s the best one. Conversely, someone may message me and say they didn’t like one only for someone else to say the same episode is one of their favourites. There’s no hard and fast answer as to what hits, really, though the ones with real emotion - Calzaghe, Nelson, Coldwell, Sanigar, Barker, Benn (episode 100) - have stand-out moments for sure.
Having had the position I had at BN, I’m very aware that you can’t please all of the people all of the time, that’s why I try to stay out of it as much as I do. These are their life stories, not mine, so I also try to balance prodding and probing with allowing them time and space, something the format really lends itself to.
I suppose I just wanted to share these thoughts with you as you’ve shared some stuff about the podcast. I am grateful. I was blown away by the original post, frankly, and I’m proud now we are nearly at 100 episodes that these stories have been immortalised for future generations, or until the next big thing comes along, at least.
I appreciate the support. Hopefully there’s a good few hundred left in me and hopefully one or two more sponsors come on board. I’m also exploring YouTube as an option and have a long, long list of potential guests that only gets longer.
Thanks again. Stay safe, Tris
TDixon wrote: ↑30 Jun 2020, 07:56 Hi guys,
A few people have pointed me in the direction of this thread and I wanted to say how grateful I am that you’ve taken the time to check out the podcast, and chat about it.
I’m so happy to have found an outlet in the sport that allows me to keep in touch with the fighters, trainers etc and go to the gyms. It’s a labour of love and I won’t be retiring any time soon, that’s for sure, but I’m hugely grateful to my two sponsors for supporting me.
Some really interesting feedback and critique amongst these pages and I figured I would offer some thoughts and observations about doing the podcasts.
I’m always grateful to anyone who makes the time to see me and/or do a podcast.l, which is why I could never pick out a favourite.
Some have worked better than others and there’s a multitude of reasons for this... some of the guests I’ve known for 20 years or so, but even with some of those I may have got to see them at the end of a long day or when they haven’t been in the mood.
With the nature of how it’s been from the start, I’ve done as many as three in a day. That exhausts me and sometimes I may miss the odd ‘obvious’ question. I will usually kick myself over something or other on the motorway home as something comes into my head too late or I think of a follow up question I should have asked.
That said, sometimes the pods might not flow as they should as I’m the one who is tired, as I’ve been juggling work/life and just tried to get one done to keep the continuity of getting an episode out there. It’s important for rankings and distribution to try and keep slots regular, so I’m informed.
Sometimes I’ve done them at very short notice, even on the spot, so my research isn’t what it might have been. But sometimes if an opportunity presents itself you must take it.
There have been plenty where I’ve never met the guest before but really bonded with them and they could have been done with no research.
Sometimes I let the guys go on and spin their own narrative not because I don’t want to question them but because it’s ‘their’ story and it’s their version. I always push when I feel it’s needed but I think that if someone has a version of events and it doesn’t match mine or the listener’s I won’t necessarily try to change it but will let others draw their own conclusions.
I apologise for the technical hardships and some poor quality episodes as I’ve tried to get my head around it all - I do it all myself, have learned about the tech, the editing and the hosting etc as I’ve gone, which has been an interesting challenge.
It’s weird, some episodes I think haven’t gone well and then I get a message saying it’s the best one. Conversely, someone may message me and say they didn’t like one only for someone else to say the same episode is one of their favourites. There’s no hard and fast answer as to what hits, really, though the ones with real emotion - Calzaghe, Nelson, Coldwell, Sanigar, Barker, Benn (episode 100) - have stand-out moments for sure.
Having had the position I had at BN, I’m very aware that you can’t please all of the people all of the time, that’s why I try to stay out of it as much as I do. These are their life stories, not mine, so I also try to balance prodding and probing with allowing them time and space, something the format really lends itself to.
I suppose I just wanted to share these thoughts with you as you’ve shared some stuff about the podcast. I am grateful. I was blown away by the original post, frankly, and I’m proud now we are nearly at 100 episodes that these stories have been immortalised for future generations, or until the next big thing comes along, at least.
I appreciate the support. Hopefully there’s a good few hundred left in me and hopefully one or two more sponsors come on board. I’m also exploring YouTube as an option and have a long, long list of potential guests that only gets longer.
Thanks again. Stay safe, Tris
Thanks for doing it, Mr Dixon, it's an amazing podcast and historical record of the sport. (Also interesting to join up the links with characters who appear in Road To Nowhere.)I guess as a journalist that of course you are human too and comments can hurt. Thinking now we give Adam Smith a lot of stick on here and while I'm sure he is big enough to take it on the chin and prob earned more out of boxing than all of us put together, on the other hand it can't be nice to read.TDixon wrote: ↑30 Jun 2020, 08:12 Ha. It’s certainly been awhile...
Something Mike Costello said in his story about how one comment can undo decades of hard work... that’s me, I’m afraid.
You might get 10 positive comments but it’s one really nasty one that sticks with you, or you read while you’re with your kids etc, that can change your day or your week. When I left BN I decided I wouldn’t let those same things bother me the way they had so I changed the things I read, consumed etc out of self-preservation.
I met Oliver a couple of times, real nice blokeTHEBUTCH wrote: ↑18 Jul 2020, 20:10 I listened to the Spencer Oliver pod today and it was very enjoyable
You have to admire Oliver's upbeat personality after having his stellar career cut short.
It was very interesting getting the recap of his excellent amateur career and his relationship with Naseem Hamed.
How?coghaugen11 wrote: ↑19 Jul 2020, 21:22 This Crawford Ashley one is a bit disturbing before the boxing talk starts.
Umm, saying he's diagnosed with psychopathic tendancies for a startmickey1975 wrote: ↑20 Jul 2020, 03:56How?coghaugen11 wrote: ↑19 Jul 2020, 21:22 This Crawford Ashley one is a bit disturbing before the boxing talk starts.
Weirdo.coghaugen11 wrote: ↑20 Jul 2020, 07:18 I heard Ashley didn't like the hard sparring style of Eubank. 9 in 10 didn't. So Eubank sent them packing.
'This isn't Marquis of Queensbury, this is life and death war.' - pre sparring, at this point handlers often walked out the gym with their fighter shaking their head
That's the way he was used to in the US.Wee Tommy wrote: ↑20 Jul 2020, 07:29Weirdo.coghaugen11 wrote: ↑20 Jul 2020, 07:18 I heard Ashley didn't like the hard sparring style of Eubank. 9 in 10 didn't. So Eubank sent them packing.
'This isn't Marquis of Queensbury, this is life and death war.' - pre sparring, at this point handlers often walked out the gym with their fighter shaking their head