Lynes, Qato and Dingsdale Victorious – Kasiulevicius, McCarthy, Lama And Pettitt Impress Big Time.

 Report By: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

On Saturday evening, at the York Hall in London, TRAD TKO supremo Johnny Eames made his long awaited debut as a promoter, and boy did he do it in style.

The esteemed Mr. Eames pulled out all the stops to ensure the fans in attendance a night of boxing they are likely never to forget.

The mouth watering line up was headed up by former two weight British and World Champion Colin Lynes, against Beka Sutidze, with current English Middleweight Champion and former World Champ Qato Kreshnik, in a titanic battle with former British title challenger Max Maxwell, as main support.

The undercard was featured some of the UK’s top prospects, including Lewis Pettitt, Adam Dingsdale, Matt McCarthy and Festim Lama, as well as the pro debut of two time Lithuanian Amateur Heavyweight Champion Paulius Kasiulevicius.

There would have also been further top prospects in action, but the sensational Freddie Turner had to pull out due to a chest infection and exciting heavyweight Tom Little didn’t get medical clearance in time to fight.

Anyway enough scene setting, believe me this show was that good it doesn’t need any.

It’s been a year since Colin Lynes was last in action, so his legion of action starved fans raucously greeted him before breaking into a chorus of ‘Lyno, Lyno, Lyno’.

Which was in complete contrast to the reception Beka Sutidze received on his ring walk, which consisted of some polite clapping but not much else.

Round one started slow, with both protagonists taking a little time to feel out their opponent. The first real action came about midway through, when Lynes followed a stiff jab with a cracking right to the body.

Sutidze responds with a big right that Lynes ducks under before punishing the Georgian with another body shot.

Sutidze decides to go on the back foot, big mistake as this allows Lynes to control the proceedings with some excellent jabbing and the occasional combination, don’t get me wrong it wasn’t all one way traffic, just Sutidze was being outclassed by Lynes.

Round two is more of the same, although Sutidze does manage to stand his ground more, even catching the elusive Lynes once or twice. By midway through though Lynes began to exert his authority, seemingly landed crisp jabs and bruising body shots at will.

In the later part of the round Sutidze became more forceful in his attacks, even going toe-to-toe with Lynes for about five seconds or so, when Lynes lands a wickedly fast body shot that clearly hurts the Georgian.

Round three sees Sutidze taking more punishment, as Lynes gives an exhibition of his exquisite boxing skills, picking off the youngster at will.

Round four sees a change of tactics from Sutidze, which results in two public warnings for the youngster, the first for a head-butt and the second following his constant holding and pushing.

Lynes’ reaction is to calmly pick him off with solid jabs and the occasional right, however that’s as far as it would get before Sutidze would grab hold, before leaning in and pushing Lynes back to the ropes.

At the end of the round referee Ritchie Davies made it clear that any more of the same and he will disqualify the Georgian.

Lynes puts in another round of exquisite boxing, even when Sutidze starts grabbing hold again, Lynes just steps around him and picks him off once more. This goes on for about three quarters of the round, when Sutidze’s frustration gets the better of him and he starts the holding and pushing tactics once more.

Ritchie Davies is less than amused, finally pulling the youngster up for yet another public warning after what can only be described as a desperate attempt to push Lynes though the corner post!

I know that sounds a strange description but Sutidze grabs Lynes, after the Hornchurch man lands a beautiful combination, and literally rushes into him, pushing Lynes back – quarterback style – at speed into the corner.

It came as no surprise when Ritchie Davies’ patience finally came to an end in the sixth, instead of heeding the warnings issued earlier in the bout Sutidze constantly grabbed and held Lynes throughout the early part of the round, even so Lynes had still managed to land a few cracking shots to get the crowd up and cheering.

It’s a real shame the fight had to end this way, it started out as such a promising fight, albeit one that Lynes was dominating with his superior technical skills.

Prior to Lynes-Sutidze, Tilbury’s highly popular Matt McCarthy took on Bognor Regis’ Liam Griffiths in a four rounder.

After a rather inactive first round from either boxer it soon turned into a one sided affair, firstly with the highly touted Essex teenager sending the Bognor man to the canvas.

From that moment on McCarthy controlled the bout with his vastly superior boxing skills. Round after round McCarthy stalked his prey, before letting rip with vicious combinations and big left hands.

Have to admit I was surprised this fight went the distance, as McCarthy seemed able to pick off Griffiths at will, but it did, ending with a tidy 40-35 points victory for McCarthy.

The fifth bout on the card featured English Middleweight Champion Kreshnik Qato against former British title challenger Max Maxwell.

The fight got off to a storming start, with Qato rushing in with a double handed attack to body and head. Maxwell calmly covered up, absorbing the barrage easily on his arms and gloves.

With the crowd urging him on Qato kept up the attack at a pace, unfortunately though he didn’t appear to break through Maxwell’s fortress like defense at any point.

After patiently absorbing Qato’s relentless onslaught for about a minute or so, Maxwell started to turn the fight around in his favour, letting rip with clinically accurate shots of his own.

By the end of the round the level of accuracy from the Brummie battler’s shots was clear for all to see, as Qato’s right eye was beginning to swell badly.

More of the same in the next couple of rounds, with Qato seemingly content to throw wild double handed shots, whilst the Brummie would counter with ridiculously accurate left hooks, which were causing further damage to the Albanian’s damaged right eye.

So much so that by round five referee Kieran McCann called for the doctor, as the eye had virtually swollen shut. The doctor gave the OK to continue and Qato stepped up the pressure on Maxwell.

Round six was a stormer, with the pair going toe-to-toe from start to finish, Even after the final bell the highly appreciative crowd were still on their feet cheering, rightly so in my opinion it was a cracking bout and would later be declared ‘Fight of the Night’.

When referee Kieran McCann’s scorecard was read out as a 60-55 points victory for Kreshnik Qato I have to say I was mightily surprised, this was a much closer bout than that score indicates.

When I compared scorecards with Paul Zanon from the Daily Sport, we both had it as 59-58, myself in favour of Maxwell and Paul’s in favour of Qato, that’s how close the fight really was and I for one hope that there’s a rematch in the near future and I want to be there.

Erith’s Lewis Pettitt, put on a mightily impressive display against Venezuelan Jose Elizabeth. It would be fair to say that for the first minute or so it was a competitive fight, but after that it was all Pettitt.

From the second minute of the first round onwards Pettitt put on a masterclass, keeping Elizabeth on the back foot the youngster from Slough took the opportunity to showcase his extensive arsenal of punches.

In the later rounds Pettitt stepped up the pace and looked sure to bring the bout to an early end, however Elizabeth is made of sterner stuff and managed to see the fight out.

No surprise then that referee Ritchie Davies scored it a shutout 60-54 points victory for Pettitt.

Third fight of night see the professional debut of Paulius Kasiulevicius, in what to some in the business must have seemed a ridiculously matched bout against Frantisek Kynkal from Prague.

The reason I say this is usually a potential prospect, such as Kasiulevicius, would get a nice gentle introduction to the professional game, however Johnny Eames wasn’t worried one iota with putting his boy in with Kynkal, even though the Czech is ranked #8 in his home country, was some three and half stone heavier than his boy and had stopped his last two opponents.

Johnny’s faith in his young charge’s ability was proved a hundred percent correct, right from the off Kasiulevicius used his jab efficiently to keep the big man on the back foot, about a minute or so in Kasiulevicius let rip with another solid jab, this time though followed straight in with a lightning quick right, which sent the big Czech to the canvas – for the first time.

You’ve got to give Kynkal his due, not only did he get up but also went on the attack on the restart.

Not that he had any success as Kasiulevicius got straight back on the jab, then as before just as Kynkal started to come forward Kasiulevicius let rip with a massive right to send the Czech to the canvas a second time.

This time Kynkal looked a bit wary on the restart, which was like a red flag to a bull for Kasiulevicius, who instead of waiting for the Czech giant to come to him went on the attack, initially with solid jabs until the opportunity to throw a yet another big right into the temple of Kynkal.

No surprise Kynkal hit the deck for a third time, this time though the Czech looked wary about rising, leaving referee Ritchie Davies no option but to call a halt to the proceedings on the two minute twenty five second mark.

The second bout of the night, between Adam Dingsdale and Jason Nesbitt, also didn’t make the distance, but for a totally different reason.

Highly rated unbeaten prospect Dingsdale started strong, taking the fight to the highly experienced Nesbitt. The Hoo, Kent man kept Nesbitt on the back foot throughout the first round, launching some wicked combinations behind his solid jabbing.

The canny Nesbitt kept a high guard as he played a waiting game and looking for any openings the Dingsdale may leave. He didn’t find that many in the first but the second was a much more open affair, however this wasn’t to last as in the final minute of the round Nesbitt dislocated his shoulder.

Determined to see the round out Nesbitt tried to box and defend with just the one arm. Dingsdale, who, as was everyone ringside, was aware that the Birmingham man was in distress and just used his jab until the bell went.

It came as no surprise to anyone that Nesbitt’s corner retired their man in the corner, so he could receive medical treatment.

The opening fight of the night, between TRAD TKO’s Festim Lama and Dan Blackwell, was a real barnstormer.

Lama, who in his debut back in February stopped his opponent, was clearly fired up and looking for a second stoppage win. However twenty two fight veteran Dan Blackwell is one seriously tough cookie.

Right from the off Lama went hard on the attack, forcing Blackwell onto the back foot. Lama continued his double handed assault whist the Trowbridge man covered up behind a high guard.

Lama must have felt confident, as he kept up the barrage for a good minute and half, then suddenly Blackwell whipped out a solid counter and now the fight really got under way.

This heavy handed exchanges continued throughout the second and third rounds, both of which Lama secured with his much higher work rate and more meaningful shots.

By the final round Blackwell was getting more success, but nowhere near enough to win the round. No surprise then when the scorecard was read out that Lama had secured his second pro win by a shutout 40-36 points decision.

Congratulations are in order for Johnny Eames and the TKO Events team, they put on a sensational debut show – the event went like clockwork and more importantly for the fans, it was a great evening of entertainment, crammed full of drama, sensational action packed bouts and even a little controversy - what more could a boxing fan ask for.

Word is there’s more to come next month, as the TKO juggernaut returns to Bethnal Green for a second installment on the 27^th July.

Fight Report: York Hall, London, April 27th: Weaver, Marston And Poetsh Impress In Style

By Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

Chris Goodwin versus Oisin Fagan, for the vacant World Boxing Federation Inter-Continental Lightweight title, was due to headline the Dave Murphy promoted ‘Thunder and Lightning’ event, that took place at the famous York Hall, in Bethnal Green, London, on Saturday night.

However, following Goodwin failing to make the championship weight of Friday, as well as an agreed catch weight on Saturday, the organisers were forced to cancel the Championship bout.

With Goodwin versus Fagan fight off, the headline status moved instead to eagerly awaited professional debut of European Silver and Commonwealth Boxing Championships Gold medalist Iain Weaver, against Poland’s Damian Lawniczak.

Weaver entered the arena with the largest entourage I have ever seen take part in a ring walk at York Hall, amongst the twenty strong team were Southern Area Champion Bradley Skeete as well as many of Weaver’s gym mates from Al Smith’s iGym.

Right from the opening bell Weaver determinedly stamped his authority on the fight, landing some superb sharp jabs and crisp lefts. Weaver’s amateur pedigree shined through, his movement and ring craft was nothing short of poetry in motion.

You couldn’t help but feel for Lawniczak, who responded whenever the opportunity arose - which wasn’t as often as I’m sure he would have liked. Each time the young Pole had any success, Weaver would respond in kind with double handed flurries, forcing Lawniczak to go back on the defensive.

Round two see Weaver step up the pressure, unloading a multitude of shots, to both body and head, from every conceivable angle possible. His seriously quick hands were virtually a blur as he unloaded a barrage of double handed shots.

About midway through the round, weaving changed tactics and started throwing hard right hand jabs, often followed with sharp left hooks to the body.

More of the same followed in the third, although the savvy Lawniczak used holding tactics a little more, to keep the barrage of shots reigning down on him to a minimum.

In the final stanza Weaver played to the crowd, keeping his distance to prevent the Pole from holding before stepping in and picking his shots and weaving to prevent any return shots from landing.

To describe Weaver’s performance as excellent is one of the understatements of the year, it was an awesome display from the Dorset youngster, as such it came as no surprise to anyone, when world class referee Micky Vann’s scorecard was read out, it showed a shutout 40-36 points win for young Weaver.

Main support see another professional debut, this time it was Marianne ‘Golden Girl’ Marston, the protégé of legendary Heavyweight Champion of the World Smokin’ Joe Frazier.

Marston, who faced a late change of opponent in Hungarian Gabriella Roman, who stepped in after Aleksandra Jasjukevica pulled out just a few days previously, was intent on enjoying every single second of her well overdue professional debut.

On entering the arena Marston played to a legion of chanting fans, many wearing identical red BoxFit t-shirts to her own, each emblazoned with the legend ‘Team Golden Girl’ as well as sponsors TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, BoxFit, Optimax and Winkball, and more significantly a dedication to the memory of her legendary mentor Smokin’ Joe Frazier, before standing and shadow boxing to her ring walk track ‘Move’ by Thousand Foot Crutch.

About a minute into the track Marston slowly began her ring walk, bumping gloves with the many admirers that lined the route.

Soaking up every moment of the occasion Marston finally entered the ring and once again acknowledged the highly vocal and appreciative crowd until the final chord of the emotive ring walk track.

Once referee Ken Curtis had completed his pre fight rule talk it was time for action.

Marston lithely prowled her way across the ring to meet her opponent head on with a massive right hand jab, closely followed with a big left, Roman was clearly stunned by the massive early assault, but still managed to cover up just as a second double handed barrage was thrown, closely followed up with a big left to the head sending the Hungarian girl to the canvas.

Roman recovered sufficiently to box defensively against the ever forward moving Marston, however after about twenty seconds or so Marston corralled the Hungarian in her own corner, with nowhere to go Roman covered up in preparation for yet another double handed assault.

As the seemingly never ending barrage rained down Roman succumbed to the inevitable and went down for a second time.

With barely enough time to catch her breath Roman once again was forced to cover up, as Marston continued to throw massive double handed barrages.

The onslaught proved too much for Roman, who had let her hands drop enough for Marston to land a big right to the head, followed by an equally vicious left to send her reeling against the corner post.

Marston could smell blood and pounced in for the kill, first landing a massive overhand right closely followed by another wicked left hook, which shook Roman to the core.

Then, on the one minute forty seven second mark, just as Marston was about to throw yet another big left to the head of the clearly disoriented Hungarian, referee Ken Curtis jumped in to save the now virtually defenseless Roman from further punishment.

As soon as she realized it was over and she had won, an ecstatic Marston turned towards the legion of fans to her left and made an emotional statement, dedicating her victory to the memory of her mentor Smokin’ Joe Frazier.

Prior to the mid-event break Ideh Ockuko faced Brendan Bean.

The first round started quite edgily, as both men played a waiting game, but soon livened up about midway through, first to go on full attack was Ockuko who first backed Bean up before letting rip with a solid right.

Bean stepped up to the plate and went toe to toe with Ockuko for the final quarter of the round.

Second round started as the first ended with both men in centre ring with big exchanges, Ockuko decided to mix things up a bit, slipping in a series of big shots to the body followed by a wickedly quick sharp uppercut, which if it had landed would surely have knocked Bean out cold.

Throughout the round both men fought their hearts out, but it was Ockuko who was landing the better shots.

Round three was more of the same, again Ockuko landed the best shots throughout, including a sweet left uppercut.

Both men slowed the pace in the final round, but as before it was Ockuko getting best from each exchange.

When referee Paul Thomas’ score card was read out it rightly showed Ockuko as the victor, but by a surprising 39-37 points margin, whereas I had it as a shutout 40-36 points victory for Ockuko.

Third fight of the night see Chris Rackley against the Hjag Gill.

It was a quick start by both combatants, although most shots from either man failed to penetrate the others guard in the early exchanges. First clean shot came from Gill, who landed a peach of a body shot.

From then on it was Gill totally dominating the round, leaving Rackley to go more and more defensive, with the odd counter to the body of the elusive Gill.

Throughout the second round Gill’s superior movement caused Rackley to miss way too often, which in turn left openings for Gill to pounce and rough Rackley up.

However as the second round came to a close Rackley had started to get a little success, landing a succession of clean shots in the final seconds.

Round three see Rackley start to take control of the fight, forcing Gill onto the back foot. Gill fought well defensively but by the end of the round Rackley was well in control, following Rackley landing a cracking right that clearly stunned Gill.

With the fight in the balance it came as no surprise that both combatants came out hard and fast in the final round. Almost right from the start the crowd were on their feet, as a true toe to toe Battle Royale ensued.

Both men enjoyed success throughout, however it was Rackley that landed the more meaningful shots, enough to win the round, which in turn proved to be enough to secure the contest, by a close 39-38 points victory.

The second fight of the night pitted Scrappa Smith against Lewis van Poetsh.

Right from the off Poetsh pressured Smith, who kept trying to get his jab going to try and stymie the relentless forward coming attacks from Poetsh without much success. Poetsh was getting more and more success, landing vicious left and rights to the body.

More of the same in the second, although Smith was getting some good success when working on the inside, problem was Poetsh was getting more!

About midway through Poetsh landed a scintillating left-right combination which clearly hurt Smith, so much so that Scrappa became more defensive minded, which left Poetsh opportunity after opportunity to showcase his excellent boxing skills.

The pace slowed in round three, Smith used his jab effectively in the early part of the round, but by the midway point Poetsh had once again began to exert his authority and was able to pick of Smith at will.

Realising he was behind, Smith went hard on the attack in the final stanza, leaving Poetsh no option but to counter, which he did rather effectively, so much so that once again he had landed the more meaningful shots.

Even before referee Mickey Vann’s scorecard was readout it was clear an upset was on the cards, so no surprises then when the result showed a 39-37 points victory in favour of Poetsh.

Opening up the show was Mark Douglas versus Dmitri Kalinovskij.

Douglas shot out of his corner like an Olympic sprinter, when the bell rang to start the contest, quickly closing down Kalinovskij and landing a storming overhand right that had clearly stunned the Lithuanian visitor.

Douglas then went to work, throwing bomb after bomb to head and body, Kalinovskij tried to counter at any given opportunity but the pressure from Douglas proved too much and around the two minute mark, Douglas sent the Lithuanian to the canvas with massive right.

Douglas kept up the pressure in the second, pounding Kalinovskij’s body with big left and right hands, around the one minute mark the Lithuanian found himself backed into the corner, Douglas stepped in and started letting rip with big left and rights. After about ten to fifteen seconds of pounding, with nothing coming back from Kalinovskij, referee Paul Thomas had no option but to step in to save the Lithuanian further punishment.

Have to say it was so refreshing to attend a small hall show where there fights were properly matched, something lacking on the British scene for a long while, where instead so called prospects are getting ridiculously easy fights way too far into their career.

Dave Murphy and his crew deserve a big slap on the back for keeping the show on track, not an easy task with not only the loss of the Goodwin-Fagan title fight, but also the loss of the proposed main support bout, Dean Byrne versus Jay Morris for the vacant International Masters Welterweight title just days previously.

The reason Byrne-Morris failed to materialize is very different to that of the headline bout, in this case the British Boxing Board of Control told BBBodC license holders taking part, stating that if they take part in the event it will be deemed they have resigned their license with the board or at least put their license holding in jeopady.

Hmm, that sounds familiar, didn’t they do the same prior to David Haye versus Dereck Chisora back in July last year!

In addition to the loss of the two main fights, just ten days before the event Murphy and his crew also had to find new sanctioning, following the Luxembourg Boxing Federation, who sanctioned the infamous Haye-Chisora event at Upton Park last year, pulled out after pressure exerted on them by the Luxembourg Sports Ministry, following the BBBofC contacting the Luxembourg Embassy in London to complain about the LBF sanctioning another event in the UK.

However, after some nifty negotiations with the extremely efficient German Boxing Association (GBA), which was only finalized on the preceding Monday, the show was back on track.

As I said the show was of a much higher standard, bout matching wise, than we are used to here in the UK. Hopefully that means all future events, sanctioned by the GBA in the UK, will be to the same high standards, if it is that can only be good for the sport.

Two Time Heavyweight Champ Tim Witherspoon Appointed VP of Malta Boxing Commission

One of boxing’s greatest ambassadors, two time Heavyweight Champion of the World ‘Terrible’ Tim Witherspoon, becomes the latest big name to join the board of the newly revitalised Malta Boxing Commission.

The American superstar, who has been appointed Honorary Vice President, joins fellow legend, two time, two division Champion of the World Steve ‘Celtic Warrior’ Collins, who was appointed President earlier this month
and his long time friend, Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro, who is a founding partner and the other Vice President of the Malta Boxing Commission on the top table.

Tim’s exceptional pro career began in 1979, fours years later, and with just fifteen wins under his belt, Tim hit the Championship trail for the first time in May 1983, when he challenged fellow Pennsylvanian Larry Holmes for the title he’d held firmly in his vice like grip since 1978, and had successfully defended no less than fourteen times previously, just one less than the total of fights Tim had to date.

Considering this was Tim’s first tilt at a title, and against a long time Champ like Larry Holmes, who had previously successfully defended against such luminaries as Gerry Cooney, Leon Spinks, Trevor Berbick, Muhammad Ali, Ernie Shavers, Ken Norton etc,, Tim put on a fantastic performance to take big Larry the distance, something even the legendary Ali didn’t manage, only to lose by a controversial split points decision (115-113, 118-111 & 114-115).

Tim may have ‘lost’ but at the same time he had ‘arrived’, that fight against Holmes had put ‘Terrible’ Tim right up there as a true World class boxer, and future World Champ.

Four months later Tim was back in Championship action, this time beating James Tillis to secure the NABF title, which he vacated six months later, after he rightly earned another shot at the WBC title, this time against
Greg Page, for the now vacant World Boxing Council version, following Larry Holmes having switched from the  WBC to Championship sanctioning rivals, The International Boxing Federation (IBF).

On this, Tim’s second attempt, the Philadelphian finally became World Champion by a majority points decision (117-111, 117-111 & 114-114).

Tim’s reign as WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World lasted just five months, after he was beaten, by a majority points decision (112-115, 112-116 & 114-114), by Pinklon Thomas on his first defence of the title.

In April 1985 Tim was again in Championship action, when he successfully secured the NABF title once more, with a second round knockout of James Broad. Tim successfully defended the NABF Crown once, against James
‘Bonecrusher’ Smith, before turning his attention towards the World stage once again.

This time Tim had the World Boxing Association Championship belt firmly in his sights as he headed to Georgia, USA, in January 1986, to face WBA Champ Tony ‘TNT’ Tubbs.

After fifteen exhilarating rounds, Tim emerged victorious, by a very close majority points decision (144-143, 143-143 & 144-141), to become a two time Heavyweight Champion of the World.

For his first defence Tim crossed the pond, to face the ‘Pride Of England’ Frank Bruno in his own back yard, at the famous home of English Football - Wembley Stadium.

In front of over forty thousand baying partisan fans, and millions more watching on TV, Frank Bruno seemed to be heading towards certain victory after ten rounds, however Frank’s muscular physique and high work rate, seemed to work together to noticeably drain him at the start of the eleventh.

After two minutes of high tempo back and forth action both men connected with big right hands to the head, Tim held his punch much better than Frank, the combination of fatigue and a known suspect chin was too much for the challenger, who crumbled in the corner, while Tim let rip with bomb after bomb until referee Isidro Rodriguez stepped in to stop the fight with just three seconds of the round left on the clock.

For his second defence Tim had the short hop from his Philadelphia home to Madison Square Gardens, New York, to face his old foe James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith.

This time though ‘Bonecrusher’ exerted maximum revenge on Tim, by knocking him out in the second minute of the first round.

Whilst Tim never again fought for a World title, he did add the USBA Heavyweight title to his collection, as well as unsuccessfully challenge for the WBO Continental Americas and Intercontinental titles before retiring from active duty in 2003.

Since retiring Tim has kept busy, as a trainer to his son Tim Jr. and others lucky enough to catch the big man’s attention, as well as being a celebrity, unlike most these days Tim is a genuine Celebrity with a capital C, guest speaker and a magnificent ambassador for the Sport Of Boxing.

Of his appointment of Honorary Vice President of the Malta Boxing Commission Tim said.

 “It’s a true honour to have been asked to be part of such an exciting young organisation.

It’s great for Malta, or any country, to have a national Boxing association that makes sure that boxers are properly licensed and looked after.

Boxing is in a sad state right now and we’ve all got to work together, boxers, officials, everybody has to work together to get the sport back to where it used to be.

All the hard stuff and the things I have fought for in the past is picking up now, you know, so them having me involved with the Malta Boxing Commission is just beautiful and I’m really looking forward to participating in the commission.

Steve (Collins) is a brilliant guy, Steve as an individual is great, with Steve Collins there’s no bull, so I know we have the right guy on top of the board.

We’ve done several things together in the past, so I know you can trust Steve, if there’s one guy you can trust, besides me, it’s Steve Collins.

Not just that, but it’s gonna be great to work with my friend Rio (Gianluca Di Caro) again. I know that Steve and Rio are dedicated and professional boxing people, as are the rest of the commission, which can only be good for Boxing in Malta.”

www.maltaboxingcommission.com