BoxRec

Is it me or are there no big fights there any more? I think boxing is much more popular now than it was 10 years ago and the big promoters are not seeming to use this venue. Remember seeing Skelton Vs Francis here and it was cracking. Excel etc seem to be more popular now.

Also what happened to the Royal Albert Hall - didn't they get a license then basically nothing?

It still get used a fair bit for non tv shows like the Goodwin cards and Wazza still puts on the odd televised show on BN,Matchroom will only really use it for Prizefighter so the venue is less seen on Sky.In London you have the o2 for big shows then you have the Excell which is pretty poor for boxing accept for the Olympics where they set it up great,I like Wembley Arena and the Copperbox is apparently good I hear also then you have the Royal Albert Hall which like you say now has the licence for it but has the hassle of debenture ticket holders I think which makes it more hassle going theree after that you have Alexander Palace or the Olympia which have been used for boxing.

The point I`m getting at is there are plenty of venues which have a better capacity but the York Hall still has a cracking atmosphere imo

Unfortunately "Big Fights" require big money these days, and the capacity isn't there at York Hall, to sell enough tickets. It would have been awesome to see Joshua v Whyte there, but the money generated from ticket sales wouldn't be enough. Yes, sponsorship adds to it, but actual footfall doesn't raise enough cash at York Hall

It's probably easier for the tv men to set up their stalls in the big box venues. One big box is the same as the next. No quirks.

My favourite venue. Saw Froch fighting there twice, including against Magee which was perhaps the last fight there between two high caliber fighters outside of Prizefighter? Also saw Witter beat Colin Lynes there.

MacTavish wrote:Is it me or are there no big fights there any more?

I've noticed this.

It used to get used quite a lot when you got weekly Friday Fight Night shows, but nowadays not as much.

As said before, Eddie prefers the big arena type fights, I think.

$hit hole. Cant stand the place.

The Insider wrote:$hit hole. Cant stand the place.

Seriously??? I love it. You can get so close to the action.... Yes there are coked up bell ends there but the actual venue is great

The Insider wrote:$hit hole. Cant stand the place.

Really shocked at this mate, I agree the facilities are awful but the nostalgia make up for it surely?

Love it.

Shame it's not on TV shows anymore perfect for solid British title fight headliners.

Never actually been, bit worried i've left it too late now aswell!

taffytoon wrote:

The Insider wrote:$hit hole. Cant stand the place.

Really shocked at this mate, I agree the facilities are awful but the nostalgia make up for it surely?

Facilities are shocking, it's literally crumbling away, it smells, parking is dire, usually full of Danny Dyer wanna be's. There are loads of better similar venues around the country that knock spots off it I.e Kings hall stoke, civic hall wolvo, the forum bath. Just not a fan sorry.

It's a dump, but it has a lot of character.

I was there for the third time in three months at the weekend and it was a good night due to the atmosphere and how good the views are no matter where you are in the venue.

That said, there are better venues in Britain of this size. As mentioned, Wolverhampton Civic Hall is great. My favourite, though,is Leeds Town Hall. Just a shame that the council price it so highly that nobody promotes there any more.

"it's literally crumbling away"

Is it really that bad - thought it was ok when I went a few years ago for one of the Prizefighters.

Although do remember the upstairs bogs been a bit cramped.

Its just a proper spit and sawdust venue. Who wants padded seats with leg room anyway?

Been there numerous times and seen some proper dust ups that go under the radar.

Worst thing about the place? The beer. Shocking lager with shocking prices.

All a matter of taste I suppose. My favourite view is in the balcony at York Hall directly over the ring but stadium venues do nothing for me. If you're watching on TV the view is pretty much the same whatever the venue.