BoxRec

Who remembers this lad?

Yeah I do, went to see him at the York Hall, decent puncher but chin not too good.

A proper hard case who lived on the wrong side of the tracks and did plenty of 'bird' as a young man before boxing saved him and made him a minor celebrity in and around his native Hackney. As an amateur he got sparked by Georgie Smith (who could spark anyone) but turned pro shortly afterwards at the age of 26 and began putting it together. He caught my attention when he stopped Bunny Sterling's son, Alex, in four rounds early in his career and he continued overwhelming his opponents on the way to a fine three-round stoppage of talented Brummie Shaun Cogan down in Ashford in 1993. He also stopped Liverpool's previously unbeaten Carl Wright, former ABA champion Paul Denton and yet another son of Sterling's, George Wilson, when the first signs of a chin problem emerged in a thrilling encounter with Spain's Oscar Palomino at the Albert Hall in July 1995. Paul was down twice in a desperate third round that night and seemed to wobble every time Palomino caught him but he hung in there and eventually overpowered his man in the eighth to stretch his record to 18-0 (16).
As a result, Paul was a big outsider when he squared up to Bristol southpaw Ross "Rooster" Hale for British and Commonwealth light-welterweight titles at York Hall in December 1995. Hale had established himself as champion with four impressive defences after winning the belts from Andy Holligan and could punch just as sharply as the challenger and looked much the better boxer but Paul jumped on him and nailed him with big right hands to score a sensational first-round knockout in front of big local support. Nobody can take that win away from Ryan, nobody can take that night away from Ryan.
Sadly, the new champion's time proved brief. Somebody in his camp decided it would be a good idea to match him with Jon Thaxton in a non-title affair when everyone else knew such a match was risky. I remember Harry Mullan telling me that Thaxton, who started fast, would undoubtedly win and so it proved in the first round in February 1996 at York Hall and it was a bad knockout for Ryan, who lost his unbeaten record, all his momentum and seemingly all his punch resistance. A few months later, Liverpool's Holligan overwhelmed him for the British and Commonwealth titles and Geoff McCreesh also despatched him quickly when Paul tried his hand at welterweight, and the man decided to walk away.

bennie wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 07:04As an amateur he got sparked by Georgie Smith (who could spark anyone)

Georgie Smith, there's a name from the past. Was he the lad who used to wear England flag shorts and had a bit of a pineapple haircut?

steve689 wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 07:21

bennie wrote: ↑26 Aug 2019, 07:04As an amateur he got sparked by Georgie Smith (who could spark anyone)

Georgie Smith, there's a name from the past. Was he the lad who used to wear England flag shorts and had a bit of a pineapple haircut?

Still boxes today does Gerogie, cruisweight now though.