BoxRec

What would you write it on? Remember, it's an ongoing column.

Something similar to what Ron Olver used to do in the professionals series, I believe Gilbert Odd also used to do something similar, bits about the greats of British Boxing.. Digger Stanley, Benny Lynch, Jimmy Wilde etc...

Kev
http://www.britishboxing.net

if it had to be a themed coloumn i suppose i`d try to do something off the beaten track so to speak.
how about one about boxers retiring? if somewhere in the world a pro was hanging his gloves up you could ask him what he got out of the game achievement wise, financially and medically. ask him for his views about the differences since he began from when he started, that sort of thing.
i dont know if boxers retire at a rate of one a week but i imagine you`d speak to people from all over the world and hear some funny anecdotes.
its different but keeps a thread going from week to week.

the differences from when he began to when he retired i should say.
damn my education.

I'd do a "Where are they now?" section.

Detailing the history of talented but forgotten boxers.

Loads of ideas. One which would be minimum effort, maximum reward is an unsung heroes piece. There must be thousands of men and women who prop up the game and never see their name written anywhere. This is an important function of a publication, if you ask me.

Southpaw Stylist wrote:I'd do a "Where are they now?" section.

Detailing the history of talented but forgotten boxers.

Yes I agree, Tris Davis has done some truely wondersfull interview with ex-fighters in Boxing News of the past 6 months, my favourites were Jimmy Young and James Scott. I hope there are more to come, maybe next Chrismas or some other time Boxing News could do a one-off reprint of all the interviews in one complete volume.

Just thought of another idea.

How about stories, profiles and records on past great Amatuer fighters, ones that only fought in the vest like the many Cuban greats and ones that had great Amatuer records but later turned Pro with varying degrees of sucsess e.g. Marck Breland, Davis Bey, Jimmy Clark, Danny Armstrong, Felix Savon etc etc theres a very long list..

Just thought of another one

This may struggle to be a weekly item I admit it's maybe more of a monthly thing.

a What If???? sectiom

What If Ali had not refused induction to the USA army?
What if the Cubans had gone to the 1984 Olympics?
What if Larry Holmes had made the 1972 Olympic team?
What if Cus and Jacobs had lived another 10/15 years to advise Tyson?
What if Norton had got the verdict against Ali in 1976?
What if we still had 15 round fights?
What if Salvador Sanchez had lived?
What if Felix Savon and Teofilio Stevenson had turned Pro?
What if the 'colour line' had never existed in Boxing?

Could be fun.

For me it would definitely have to be something along the lines of 'The Insider'. I know Claude Abram's weekly DPS covers the gossip a bit, but something that captures the real insider stuff would be compulsive reading (as long as it stayed on the right side of the law!), especially for those of us who aren't actively involved in the scene so don't get the chance to hear stuff first hand.
For example, how a fighter is looking in training e.g. how did Alex Arthur really get on in the sparring sessions with Bernard Dunne, Nate Campbell etc? The column could be fed by a lot of anonymous tip-offs (checked and verified to make sure that in some cases it's not just malicious rumour) from around the world.
I think something like this would be lapped up by readers.

"FIGHTER WIVES"

Interviews, profiles and pictures of fighters wives and/or girlfriends (some have both I can assure you).

Format
A token interview about what it's like to live with a boxer accompanying an extensive series of fully naked, open legged photographs - handwraps, copious quantities of vaseline and a gym could be used to add authenticity.

Circulation would increase substantially (and I don't just mean in the current readers' nether regions).

FlawedGenius wrote:"FIGHTER WIVES"

Interviews, profiles and pictures of fighters wives and/or girlfriends (some have both I can assure you).

Boxing News would suddenly move to the top shelf at your newsagents. Yes it'd have to run on page three. Then Claude could change his photo on page two, and have himself looking towards page three with a big smile on his face.

I think you guys should have your own columns. Brilliant.

What about writing about the abuse of supplements in the game.

I don't read a lot of boxing magazines, so it may well have been done but I'd do interviews with a lot of journeymen. There are some people with huge negative records but have fought some of the biggest names in their country if not in the world, so I'd interview them about the stories they had amassed over the years. It would be especially good if you could do some that had been a big names first opponent. Maybe if Al Malcom you could've interviewed on Lennox's retirement. I know that might not be the most interesting bloke to interview, but ask him his thoughs on Lewis, his fight with Lewis and if he knew what would become of him, what he has been doing since retiring in 1991, and about his 8 contests since.

Having watched got into the British scene in the past couple of years, I know there are plenty of guys who have been in with plenty of top British talent, who must have plenty of interesting stories.

Definitely a weekly where-are-they-now article - guys like Kaylor, Sibson, Christie, Hodgkinson and 1000's of others. It'd be really interesting to hear what they're up to.
Speaking of which, I found myself sitting in a tiny hotel bar in Porthcawl Wales last year, next door to my Gran's house.

Sitting at the bar and worse for wear was a face I recognised. I just couldn't place him, and he kept glancing at me, obviously wondering why the hell I kept staring at him.
I was tempted to ask him, but he looked like someone you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of, so I left him alone.

He left and I later mentioned him to the land lord, asking if he was maybe a boxer?
Paul Loyd he replied, works with a railway crew fixing lines, and in the bar most nights. The guy couldn't believe it when I told him Paul had fought for two world titles only a few years back.

I would do an in depth feature into Wolverhampton's boxers the likes of Alex Mason, Andrew Facey and of course Nigel Rafferty, with a sub section written by John Coyle! "John tells it like it is", yeah that could work...hmm forget Boxing Monthly this project warrants an entire magazine of it's own :P

Just had another idea!

How about articals on different training principles? Either features with different fighters and trainers and how a fighter prepares for a fight, e.g. A diary type thing, stating information and sparring, road work, bag work, diet etc etc. I mean a real detailed study not just general information.

Or just do general items on different elements of a fighters preperations for a fight and maybe compare different techniques of training that are used by different camps all over the worl. Even looking at the training regimes of old time fighters would be of interet.

Sorry if this idea is a little bit all over the place but I'm sure you get the general idea.

Boxing News is for me the ABSOLUTE Nuts just as it is and I can't see many ways it could be improved. Maybe a betting column (weekly prices - long term markets etc) might be popular as there are plenty who like a flutter on fights. Getting it out may prove troublesome (Is the deadline a Weds?) but I reckon it would be a goer.

TheGoods wrote:Boxing News is for me the ABSOLUTE Nuts just as it is and I can't see many ways it could be improved..

I have to say I'm like a Bear with a very saw head if my Boxing News does not drop through my letter box on a Friday morning.

Interviews with past champions and the journeymen would be a good feature. What about features you would change…How about a more balanced report on the amateur scene, 4-6 pages and they still hardly ever mention the Welsh scene.

A get together with some of the great rivals to discuss their fights against each other. Obviously if they are talking to each other.

How about

Conteh and Chris Finnigan

Colin Jones and Kirklaind Laing

Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn

Colin Jones and Milton McCory

Dennis Andries and Jeff Harding

Ayers and Rigby

Eubank and Thompson

and several others.

maybe write a year review from the past, like a reivew for 1914, what was special about that year, who was the british fighter of that year etc.

REAL_DEAL wrote:maybe write a year review from the past, like a reivew for 1914, what was special about that year, who was the british fighter of that year etc.

1914!

There be a lot more of the older pre-world war stuff appearing on BritishBoxing.net soon.

God know's why Real Deal picked 1914!!