Journeyman or Bulgarian/Latvian/Lithuanian

[m1kee50]

I was at the Brentwood show and every single 'away fighter' looked lively and looking to win.

The only gripe I have ever had with Goodwin shows, and its a gripe I'd have with all the others if he wasnt the only person promoting locally these days (with exceptions), is that even the most talented of the imports/away fighters are never seen again... with the amount of Poles, Bulgarians, Eastern Europeans in general living in London/SE (not that I give a sh1t but it's a reality), could something not be done to try and reach out to these communities that they could support fighters who come over here by getting tickets?

Put it this way, almost every single bout was followed by me and me dad saying that we'd be happy to see the away fighter again, but I can't recall to mind a single instance of seeing them more than once.

[stevegoodwin]

I was at the Brentwood show and every single 'away fighter' looked lively and looking to win.

The only gripe I have ever had with Goodwin shows, and its a gripe I'd have with all the others if he wasnt the only person promoting locally these days (with exceptions), is that even the most talented of the imports/away fighters are never seen again... with the amount of Poles, Bulgarians, Eastern Europeans in general living in London/SE (not that I give a sh1t but it's a reality), could something not be done to try and reach out to these communities that they could support fighters who come over here by getting tickets?

Put it this way, almost every single bout was followed by me and me dad saying that we'd be happy to see the away fighter again, but I can't recall to mind a single instance of seeing them more than once.

Totally agree Matt. The foreign boxers will bring over are really competitive and are trying (I fully appreciate that not all promoters do this). As we speak we are working on the strategy you have stated with one foreign boxer. We are firstly trying to get him a UK licence and then we will be promoting him through the community. If this pilot works we wil lextend it Amazing that you brought this up at a time we are working on the very same thing

[Old bones Ian]

Last weeks bouts in the UK had 23 boxers from East Europe , and it resulted in 23 losses for them. I know some come to try and be competitive but how many actually come to win? Its only going to get worse.

[Counter-puncher]

I was at the Brentwood show and every single 'away fighter' looked lively and looking to win.

The only gripe I have ever had with Goodwin shows, and its a gripe I'd have with all the others if he wasnt the only person promoting locally these days (with exceptions), is that even the most talented of the imports/away fighters are never seen again... with the amount of Poles, Bulgarians, Eastern Europeans in general living in London/SE (not that I give a sh1t but it's a reality), could something not be done to try and reach out to these communities that they could support fighters who come over here by getting tickets?

Put it this way, almost every single bout was followed by me and me dad saying that we'd be happy to see the away fighter again, but I can't recall to mind a single instance of seeing them more than once.

Totally agree Matt. The foreign boxers will bring over are really competitive and are trying (I fully appreciate that not all promoters do this). As we speak we are working on the strategy you have stated with one foreign boxer. We are firstly trying to get him a UK licence and then we will be promoting him through the community. If this pilot works we wil lextend it Amazing that you brought this up at a time we are working on the very same thing

[bripez]

Last weeks bouts in the UK had 23 boxers from East Europe , and it resulted in 23 losses for them. I know some come to try and be competitive but how many actually come to win? Its only going to get worse.

Crazy statistic, but it doesn't surprise me.

About this time last year in a debate with a promoter who posts on this site, I asked him how many bouts he had put on that year and of them what percentage had his "home" boxer won - he did not reply.

We talk about there being too many 70/30 fights and wanting more 50/50 fights and accepting 60/40 fights etc. etc.

The reality is much worse than this. I would say that at least 90% of the time the "home" boxer wins. Therefore by definition the vast majority of fights are 90/10 fights.

And "promoters" wonder why tv / paying spectators / sponsors etc. aren't interested ?

[m1kee50]

I think the refs are to blame for a lot of that.

there was one 4-rounder at Brentwood where the home fighter was knocked down in the first, there were two rounds that the home fighter won and another that was a draw. thats 38-38, unless of course you 'decide' that the home fighter only lost the first 10-9 rather than 10-8, and so it comes out to be 39-38. Maybe the ref thought the home fighter did enough in that round to make it 10-9 rather than 10-8, but I would posit that there is no way that the away fighter would have had the same favour paid to him.

[manno]

Was having this discussion with a manager recently as he was saying that the board are really tightening up on the British journeymen again. I might be wearing rose tinted glasses but the amount of young pros sporting perfect records is unbelievable compared to 10 or 15 years since.At one time it was only the big FW shows where you could pick the winners beforehand on the undercard, now its the same on a lot of the provincial shows.If you went to a show in the mid-late 90's and Paul Wesley,Karl taylor, (a young)Buckley,Tony Booth,J.T Kelly,Jimmy Vincent were in the other corner, although favouring the home fighter you were never sure of the result until the final bell. It seems nobody wants to lose their '0'. Having said that i was pleased to see Farrel step up recently and also John Ryder and O kane. :