Spot the obvious mistake
Posted: 20 Sep 2003, 13:59
By Jack Magowan in the Belfast Telegraph
BARRY Hearn has always talked a good fight. Boxing's master salesman never stops selling, and was at his breathless best telling us how Brian Magee would leap to world stardom at the expense of Canada's Syd Vanderpool.
But there was something missing from a well-rehearsed script - Vanderpool's signature to an Ulster Hall contract.
Now, sadly, Vanderpool won't be here. One of his managers, it seems, wasn't happy with the purse and said 'no'.
"Disappointed he is for sure," says Magee's coach, Harry Hawkins.
Magee has never pulled out of a contest since turning professional in the spring of '99.
Once, he even fought, and won, with a knee that needed surgery two days later, knowing full well that a late withdrawal would leave a bad taste with a full-house crowd.
"This was the right time to move Brian up in class," observes Ireland's sultan of the ring, Barney Eastwood, "so any excuse for Vanderpool not coming here is an empty one.
"His contract should have been copper-fastened before the match was announced."
Omar Gonzalez, the substitute opponent from Argentina, will give Magee trouble for a round or two, BJ feels, but it'll be a hard fight to sell.
"Why Gonzalez, I wonder, when there are half-a-dozen good guys nearer home who would have jumped at the chance to box our champion?"
Clearly, Vanderpool would have been a meaningful match for Magee, who, at 28, looks ready to press the button after two good wins in which he showed a bold and rewarding sense of self-belief.
Brian will have the measure of Gonzalez (25 wins, four defeats), but colleague David Kelly summed up this change of opponent best of all. Instead of caviar, we'll have to make do with a cheeseburger!
BARRY Hearn has always talked a good fight. Boxing's master salesman never stops selling, and was at his breathless best telling us how Brian Magee would leap to world stardom at the expense of Canada's Syd Vanderpool.
But there was something missing from a well-rehearsed script - Vanderpool's signature to an Ulster Hall contract.
Now, sadly, Vanderpool won't be here. One of his managers, it seems, wasn't happy with the purse and said 'no'.
"Disappointed he is for sure," says Magee's coach, Harry Hawkins.
Magee has never pulled out of a contest since turning professional in the spring of '99.
Once, he even fought, and won, with a knee that needed surgery two days later, knowing full well that a late withdrawal would leave a bad taste with a full-house crowd.
"This was the right time to move Brian up in class," observes Ireland's sultan of the ring, Barney Eastwood, "so any excuse for Vanderpool not coming here is an empty one.
"His contract should have been copper-fastened before the match was announced."
Omar Gonzalez, the substitute opponent from Argentina, will give Magee trouble for a round or two, BJ feels, but it'll be a hard fight to sell.
"Why Gonzalez, I wonder, when there are half-a-dozen good guys nearer home who would have jumped at the chance to box our champion?"
Clearly, Vanderpool would have been a meaningful match for Magee, who, at 28, looks ready to press the button after two good wins in which he showed a bold and rewarding sense of self-belief.
Brian will have the measure of Gonzalez (25 wins, four defeats), but colleague David Kelly summed up this change of opponent best of all. Instead of caviar, we'll have to make do with a cheeseburger!
