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Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 17 Mar 2025, 19:20
by THEBUTCH
Ryan was a big puncher and looked to finish a fight at the earliest opportunity. For want of a better expression, with Paul it was kill or be killed.
'Scrap iron' really caught my attention when he came through a nail-biter when he beat the Spaniard Oscar Palomino. He went through hell to grind down the dangerous Palomino.
An uncompromising style, Ryan simply took no prisoners and was absolutely ruthless.
His British title winning destruction of the proven West countryman Ross Hale sent shock waves around the British circuit.
If I remember correctly in his post fight interview after beating Hale he was so overcome he said something like "I don't want anymore out of boxing"...and rather sadly he didn't get any more.
Thaxton, Holligan & McCreash all took care of him in convincing fashion.
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 01:56
by Taansend
I saw Ross Hale at a weird boxing card in Brixton 1993.
I went there to see Kirkland Laing. Aussie boy Justine Fortune, who fought Lennox Lewis a couple of years later, fought on the card.
Anyway, Ross Hale brought a load of fans. They took up one side of the ring (a DJ took up the other side, random boxing fans took up one side & local lads shouting "Booyah" while doing gunshot hand signals took up the other).
I always wondered if Hale had a big fights in Bristol & what his crowd was like there.
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 02:00
by Deserter
Taansend wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 01:56
I always wondered if Hale had a big fights in Bristol & what his crowd was like there.
This should help then:
viewtopic.php?t=123183
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 10:46
by THEBUTCH
Ross Hale's fight with Mickey Driscoll was a cracker. Some of those British title eliminators could produce belting fights
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 11:00
by JamesPhilips
Taansend wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 01:56
I saw Ross Hale at a weird boxing card in Brixton 1993.
I went there to see Kirkland Laing. Aussie boy Justine Fortune, who fought Lennox Lewis a couple of years later, fought on the card.
Anyway, Ross Hale brought a load of fans. They took up one side of the ring (a DJ took up the other side, random boxing fans took up one side & local lads shouting "Booyah" while doing gunshot hand signals took up the other).
I always wondered if Hale had a big fights in Bristol & what his crowd was like there.
Was that the one where there was an ´exhibition’ that tuned into a tear up between Andy Wright - John Mugabi?
Also the promoter was threatened or something?
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 16:44
by Taansend
JamesPhilips wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 11:00
Taansend wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 01:56
Was that the one where there was an ´exhibition’ that tuned into a tear up between Andy Wright - John Mugabi?
Also the promoter was threatened or something?
It wouldn't surprise me if the promoter got threatened. It was weird. Our car got broken into.
Don't remember Mugabi being on the bill. I did see him on the undercard of a Duke Mckenzie fight in Battersea once. Against a bloke named Kevin Wally or something. Alan Minter was drunk in the bar.
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 16:54
by Coco
Taansend wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 16:44
JamesPhilips wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 11:00
Taansend wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 01:56
Was that the one where there was an ´exhibition’ that tuned into a tear up between Andy Wright - John Mugabi?
Also the promoter was threatened or something?
It wouldn't surprise me if the promoter got threatened. It was weird. Our car got broken into.
Don't remember Mugabi being on the bill. I did see him on the undercard of a Duke Mckenzie fight in Battersea once. Against a bloke named Kevin Wally or something. Alan Minter was drunk in the bar.
Does ring a bell Mugabi was on somewhere, couldn't get an opponent, did an exhibition but the ref stopped it because it became too heated
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 16:56
by Coco
Taansend wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 16:44
JamesPhilips wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 11:00
Taansend wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 01:56
Was that the one where there was an ´exhibition’ that tuned into a tear up between Andy Wright - John Mugabi?
Also the promoter was threatened or something?
It wouldn't surprise me if the promoter got threatened. It was weird. Our car got broken into.
Don't remember Mugabi being on the bill. I did see him on the undercard of a Duke Mckenzie fight in Battersea once. Against a bloke named Kevin Wally or something. Alan Minter was drunk in the bar.
Does ring a bell Mugabi was on somewhere, couldn't get an opponent, did an exhibition but the ref stopped it because it became too heated
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 16:57
by Coco
Does ring a bell Mugabi was on somewhere, couldn't get an opponent, did an exhibition but the ref stopped it because it became too heated
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 18:30
by JamesPhilips
Coco wrote: ↑18 Mar 2025, 16:57
Does ring a bell Mugabi was on somewhere, couldn't get an opponent, did an exhibition but the ref stopped it because it became too heated
https://boxingnewsonline.net/boxing-is- ... ap-events/
It’s in this article
https://boxrec.com/en/event/37689
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 19 Mar 2025, 09:04
by Coco
Good read, yes it was Andy Wright that did the exhibition, the Tooting Terror! Sadly passed now
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 19 Mar 2025, 13:28
by JamesPhilips
Coco wrote: ↑19 Mar 2025, 09:04
Good read, yes it was Andy Wright that did the exhibition, the Tooting Terror! Sadly passed now
Damn…. Another one gone.
Didn’t know that…. RIP
Re: Boxing News - 'Where Are They Now?' indeed
Posted: 20 Mar 2025, 13:53
by Specialized101
Ross had a great following,he`s from a close-knit suburb of Bristol and we followed him everywhere
I was at the Brixton show,Gary Stretch was on the undercard,Bristols Dean Cooper boxed Kirkland Laing on that show too and the crowd was very Bristol.
I only missed a couple of his fights live and there was always at least 3 coach-loads of us even for early career random undercard fights on the road.
The final eliminator Driscoll fight at Sophia Gardens was mental,a stark contrast to getting his jaw broken by Andreas Panayi at Splott sports centre earlier in his career.
I bump into him every now and then and hes still a very humble guy,keeps himself really fit too,
He could never understand all of the the interest in him and was never really that comfortable in the limelight.the Ryan defeat really broke his confidence and it was just for the money after that