Boxing Monthly: Preacher's Corner

[reggaereggae]

This isn’t a shameless plug for the magazine, although I imagine they won’t object to any extra purchase, but Billy Graham has been doing a regular column in Boxing Monthly since before Christmas. The thinking behind it was that it’d give him a chance to communicate with boxing fans as he hasn’t been to a show since doing his last corner in 2008. He asked me to ask people what they’d like him to talk about as the months tick on, so any suggestions would be welcomed and we’ve already looked into a few topics on this forum. And, yes, he will talk about Junior Witter at some point

You actually write the column right? I mean you interview him and then put it together.

I don't really understand the point of the column.... It seems odd and not particularly relevant

[dalcumly]

I'd like him to talk about the tactics he discussed with Hatton before his fights and how he was able/ or not to change them as the fights progressed.
I like the idea of him wanting to know what the readers want to hear.

[palooka]

I enjoy the column, Billy is a loss to boxing, there's all sorts of sillyness imagined about him - like he was a lucky amateur. Billy Graham was a high class trainer and tactician, I bet he misses being involved.

[reggaereggae]

This isn’t a shameless plug for the magazine, although I imagine they won’t object to any extra purchase, but Billy Graham has been doing a regular column in Boxing Monthly since before Christmas. The thinking behind it was that it’d give him a chance to communicate with boxing fans as he hasn’t been to a show since doing his last corner in 2008. He asked me to ask people what they’d like him to talk about as the months tick on, so any suggestions would be welcomed and we’ve already looked into a few topics on this forum. And, yes, he will talk about Junior Witter at some point

You actually write the column right? I mean you interview him and then put it together.

I don't really understand the point of the column.... It seems odd and not particularly relevant

It’s exclusive and unique to BM, so that’s a good starting point. There’s still good support for him within the trade and, according to the old hits we used to get on BS, the fans enjoy it. Some people would do an interview with a bag of chips, the fact Graham only does his thing for us is a good thing. It's well-received, this is the first negative remark it's netted, and is generally quite topical.

I'd like him to talk about the tactics he discussed with Hatton before his fights and how he was able/ or not to change them as the fights progressed.
I like the idea of him wanting to know what the readers want to hear.

No problem. I’ll raise that one. It’s coming up to a decade since Tszyu-Hatton so that might be a good example to use.

I mean I just don't understand the concept; how it works. I feel it's rather personal RE Hatton even.

Maybe an article/story might work better.
Is graham still involved in boxing?

[Gnome]

This isn’t a shameless plug for the magazine, although I imagine they won’t object to any extra purchase, but Billy Graham has been doing a regular column in Boxing Monthly since before Christmas. The thinking behind it was that it’d give him a chance to communicate with boxing fans as he hasn’t been to a show since doing his last corner in 2008. He asked me to ask people what they’d like him to talk about as the months tick on, so any suggestions would be welcomed and we’ve already looked into a few topics on this forum. And, yes, he will talk about Junior Witter at some point

You actually write the column right? I mean you interview him and then put it together.

I don't really understand the point of the column.... It seems odd and not particularly relevant

Bit of an odd comment this one, I thoroughly enjoy the column.

[Rexob]

would he like to pass on some of the skills and experience to some up and coming trainer anywhere in the world? as hes a respected trainer and it seems a waste, just to turn your back on it.

[kamicazze]

I'd like him to talk about what got him into boxing coaching, champs camp, branching out on his own from there and the current British trainers he rates highly and why

[reggaereggae]

I mean I just don't understand the concept; how it works. I feel it's rather personal RE Hatton even.

Maybe an article/story might work better.
Is graham still involved in boxing?

That was the thinking behind it, to respond to things as they happen. A standalone article’s not in our thinking at the moment as Graham prefers it if he feels he’s in direct dialogue with the fans, and an in-depth piece would be more personal as you'd have to catch up on a good few things. Plus he wanted to help out after Glyn passed away. That was the spur.

As for the Hatton response, people requested it and it was a double-edged sword as you could hardly ignore Ricky’s ringside spot. It had to be done, so just had to figure out the best way to handle it.

Billy’s not involved at the moment. This is his way of getting back into it and has reawakened his desire to attend shows. There’s a few fights in the pipeline that he won’t be able to resist

Ok. Good luck with it. Let's see how the column develops

[seanilius]

I'm sure I've seen a picture of him working John Fury's corner. With Tyson's title shot looming, I'd like to hear of his experiences working with Big John and other heavyweights.

[seanilius]

I'm sure I've seen a picture of him working John Fury's corner. With Tyson's title shot looming, I'd like to hear of his experiences working with Big John and other heavyweights.

I wasn't sure, so I asked. He said good spot and it was for John's last fight. I've put all suggestions to him for future columns as this month's sorted.

[Bodyshot3]

The column's getting there Terry and is a nice read; plenty of frank/fresh and upfront opinion in there....so congrats for giving it a whirl and giving Billy G an authentic voice which is not sanitised and also having the cojones to go back onto a fairly spikey boxing forum and asking for feedback (good or bad) that you can use to further improve the content. Not many writers would do that!

On the downside...I sadly felt the last issue was actually a (very rare) poor one, which was a shame. The Michael Marley piece on Kushner did not read at all well and just felt like some vox-pops hastily cobbled together...the guy had an incredible life, maybe better to wait and actually do a more detailed/considered piece later?

I also did not go a bundle on the Life Changing Fights feature....the 20th anniversary of Benn V The G-Man was a story in it's own right and I'd have preferred a whole feature on that with some of the key players interviewed rather than some snippets on some other well-known bouts that have been covered before.

You know, must readers of Boxing Monthly know that Henry C dropping Ali was a big game-changer for him. That was a missed opportunity....the Benn v G-Man fight could and should have been a standalone piece. I also found John Exshaw's book review of the Jimmy Tibbs book....ermm, slightly pompous. Not really interested in John's views on the protocols of using christian and surnames; just want to know whether it is a decent read.

Sorry if this sounds harsh...the Preacher column is going somewhere...but overall, the last issue was not a classic.

[Jon Saxon]

Nah, it's not what I want from a prominent column within the mag.
Billy's a nice guy but I want some hard hitting stuff from say Donald McCrae or FX O'toole (if he wasn't dead) or some really good journo.
The mag needs a bit more depth.

I really miss Glyns editorial, just like I miss Claude's.

PS Glad to see this forum is still full of the same miserable feckers..whenever I get annoyed at the rubbish being written on the other forums I come here in the knowledge that at least this place is the most reasonable and grounded of all the boxing sites.

The FaceBook migration has killed a ton of forums and that's a shame.

[mickey1975]

Nah, it's not what I want from a prominent column within the mag.
Billy's a nice guy but I want some hard hitting stuff from say Donald McCrae or FX O'toole (if he wasn't dead) or some really good journo.
The mag needs a bit more depth.

I really miss Glyns editorial, just like I miss Claude's.

PS Glad to see this forum is still full of the same miserable feckers..whenever I get annoyed at the rubbish being written on the other forums I come here in the knowledge that at least this place is the most reasonable and grounded of all the boxing sites.

The FaceBook migration has killed a ton of forums and that's a shame.

McRae regularly writes a column.

[Boxerbeetle]

Nah, it's not what I want from a prominent column within the mag.
Billy's a nice guy but I want some hard hitting stuff from say Donald McCrae or FX O'toole (if he wasn't dead) or some really good journo.
The mag needs a bit more depth.

I really miss Glyns editorial, just like I miss Claude's.

PS Glad to see this forum is still full of the same miserable feckers..whenever I get annoyed at the rubbish being written on the other forums I come here in the knowledge that at least this place is the most reasonable and grounded of all the boxing sites.

The FaceBook migration has killed a ton of forums and that's a shame.

McRae regularly writes a column.

McRae writes for Boxing News doesn't he? Not Boxing Monthly?

[mickey1975]

Nah, it's not what I want from a prominent column within the mag.
Billy's a nice guy but I want some hard hitting stuff from say Donald McCrae or FX O'toole (if he wasn't dead) or some really good journo.
The mag needs a bit more depth.

I really miss Glyns editorial, just like I miss Claude's.

PS Glad to see this forum is still full of the same miserable feckers..whenever I get annoyed at the rubbish being written on the other forums I come here in the knowledge that at least this place is the most reasonable and grounded of all the boxing sites.

The FaceBook migration has killed a ton of forums and that's a shame.

McRae regularly writes a column.

McRae writes for Boxing News doesn't he? Not Boxing Monthly?

Right! I read both so got confused.

[Matt W]

Alright mate, good to see your work published more and more, well deserved! What does he think of the current obsession with moving through the weight divisions? I miss the days when someone like Hagler would clean out a division.

[MightyWarrior]

Ahhhhh new boxrec format !!

Good idea, but he does bang on about Floyd Mayweather a bit much, though I guess that one's unavoidable in the next two months

His take on a upcoming big fight would be interesting, like I thought maybe he could have talked about the Butler fight in the latest issue...

You should get a 'where are they now' feature going as well

[reggaereggae]

The main hope is that Boxing. Monthly keeps its gritty and critical approach. I hadn't bought an American boxing magazine for years, but got a Ring the other day for a journey. Lord what a waste. Just so dry and good of interest.

[fighting_irish]

Terry would love to hear the Preachers opinion on up and coming talent, also who be his top 3-4 potential world champs that we might have on our hands. Would love to hear his opinion also on the current coaches out there and how he rates to, i.e Jamie Moore, Harrison and such. Also of late there has been a hell of alot of mis-matches put together to fill shows, to me its happening more and more. Best boxing magazine by a country mile but i have my copy reserved at local bookshop who sells it, quite hard to come by here in Ireland. Keep up the good work all at Boxing Monthly

[Sklar]

What is the ideal trainer:fighter ratio in a gym, and how much detrimental impact does each fighter more/less than that make? Following on from that, does he think there was ever a time when he'd bitten off a bit more than he could chew in terms of bodies in the gym and how did he deal with that?

[maninthemiddle]

I would have thought Billy's views on forthcoming fights and tactics would be interesting.
Also his comments on the "performance of corners" in recently completed contests.
Id be interested in his views on the current crop of trainers, but if he hasn't been on the scene recently he's probably not in a position to comment.

[veriton]

1) do you feel responsible for helping to encourage two-bob titles (WBU) that helped to destory boxing's credibility in the eyes of many casual fans

2) would hatton's career have been better if he hadnt crashed and gained weight and why didn't you stop him doing so?

3) who would win a fight between you and joe gallagher?

4) if adam etches is from droylsden as stated in this month's boxing monthly, why does he have a sheffield accent?

5) if you were walking down the street and you saw junior witter, would you try to hide in a bush rather than have any kind of interaction with him?

[Boxerbeetle]

I'd be interested to hear Billy's opinion on the current standard of British referees, obviously a bit of a hot topic at the moment.

[Noxy]

I'd be interested in his thoughts on training -

What makes a good trainer?
Can a good trainer make much difference to a fighter, i.e. make an ordinary fighter good or vice versa.
What does he think about a trainer being nutritionist, strength coach etc. and boxing trainer instead of having different people for different roles.
What trainers does he think highly of and why.
What about a fighter's mindset, everyone agrees it's very important. What impact can a coach have there and how easy is it to improve a fighter's attitude.

Also could we maybe do without the f*** word. Billy may use it sometimes (don't we all) but it doesn't mean we have to read it.

[olij999]

Terry - I enjoyed this month's column, and appreciate you being on here and responding. Only thing I didn't like was the swearing, which was mentioned by a previous poster too. Is it really necessary? I'm not asking for real life to be sanitised (e.g. I recall some publications in the 1970s and 1980s alluding to boxers' recreational drug use as "lifestyle problems", which is just daft), but I don't think it adds anything to the column. Also, did Billy Graham really only swear once in saying all that? I would have expected someone with an earthy approach to the English language (and nothing wrong with that) to have sworn a couple of dozen times! And what if, in your next interview, he goes swearing crazy, or drops the C-bomb - will that go in? Stylistically, isn't it an all or nothing thing?

Also, I have to declare an interest - I am probably influenced by having two small children, one of whom is just learning to read, but it would be good if I could still leave Boxing Monthly lying around at home once he can read. (I know he'll hear worse in the playground...).

Anyway, keep up the good work!