Brian Anderson: A credit to boxing
Posted: 05 Jan 2007, 14:23
Former British middleweight champion Brian Anderson has made a real success of life after boxing - he is Britain's first black prison boss.
Anderson, who boxed out of the legendary Brendan Ingle camp in the 80's, is now in charge of Doncaster Prison, the same prison former stablemate Naseem Hamed served time in recently and where the two were reunited.
"It was just very sad," said Anderson.
The 45-year-old Sheffield man was a classy pro who won the British title with an eight-round stoppage of Croydon's dangerous Tony Burke in Belfast in 1986, flattened former world champion Eckhard Dagge in two rounds and former European champion Gratien Tonna in one, floored Chris Pyatt on the way to a narrow points defeat in a 12-rounder in 1984, and licked quality Welshmen Pat Thomas and Darwin Brewster in 10-rounders.
He lost his British title in his first defence to Tony Sibson in 1987 at the Albert Hall - but gave it a real go before Sibson's left hook won out in the seventh of a make or break fight. Sibbo went on to challenge Frank Tate for the IBF middleweight title; Anderson retired, and tried his hand at refereeing for a while, before training to become a probation officer and subsequently a prison officer.
His remarkable rise has continued.
Anderson, who boxed out of the legendary Brendan Ingle camp in the 80's, is now in charge of Doncaster Prison, the same prison former stablemate Naseem Hamed served time in recently and where the two were reunited.
"It was just very sad," said Anderson.
The 45-year-old Sheffield man was a classy pro who won the British title with an eight-round stoppage of Croydon's dangerous Tony Burke in Belfast in 1986, flattened former world champion Eckhard Dagge in two rounds and former European champion Gratien Tonna in one, floored Chris Pyatt on the way to a narrow points defeat in a 12-rounder in 1984, and licked quality Welshmen Pat Thomas and Darwin Brewster in 10-rounders.
He lost his British title in his first defence to Tony Sibson in 1987 at the Albert Hall - but gave it a real go before Sibson's left hook won out in the seventh of a make or break fight. Sibbo went on to challenge Frank Tate for the IBF middleweight title; Anderson retired, and tried his hand at refereeing for a while, before training to become a probation officer and subsequently a prison officer.
His remarkable rise has continued.
