Sam Eggington: Accidental champion

John A. MacDonald
03/10/2015 11:19am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PbYLJY0ZjA

At just 18, Sam Eggington found himself unemployed and with a young family to support. Having had 31 amateur bouts as a junior, he sought to earn some money in the ring. Boxing was not a career he had ever considered – amateur boxing was just a way to set himself apart from his friends. He wasn’t looking to be a champion, not even a contender. “I was a forklift driver and the only reason I turned professional was I got made redundant and I had a son,” Eggington told Boxing Monthly. “If I didn’t have a son, I probably wouldn’t have boxed because I would just have tried to find another job in the meantime. It’s a mad story. People don’t believe me when I tell them, but for me to get in to boxing was – literally – a fluke."

Langford eyes defence, bigger stage

Andrew Harrison
02/10/2015 11:16am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tVJnRqc27E

Middleweight prospect Tommy Langford is something of an original. A wild-eyed, volume-puncher fascinated with defence and world-rated despite being just inside the domestic top ten, Langford is a convivial soul in an often cold and unforgiving trade. A perfectionist, Langford has since stepped up his defensive drills. “I try to watch a lot of Andre Ward and [Floyd] Mayweather obviously, because they’re so good defensively. I’ve always had an offence. I’ve always been able to throw punches in numbers and been quite accurate. The thing I think I need to always concentrate on and try to work on is defence. They’re so elusive and hard to hit I try to pick things up off them. It’s mainly their feet really – the way they dictate the fight with their footwork and adjusting distance.”

The hunger remains for Donaire

Mark Butcher
29/09/2015 11:59am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBgPKornHoY

A deep love of family propels Nonito Donaire. Yet, despite winning titles in five weight divisions and experiencing glories beyond the sphere of most of his peers, a raw, fighting hunger remains. The Filipino-American is a throwback to boxing’s old school, when the best fought the best and those with a world class pedigree, or even a pretence of one, never shirked a challenge. In an astonishing period from July 2010 to October 2014, Donaire took on 12 consecutive world champions and battled many of the dangermen swerved by other fighters. A willingness to engage with all-comers is a badge of honour Donaire wears proudly. “I want to fulfill that desire for fighting the best out there,” the affable Donaire told Boxing Monthly. “I could have just taken it easy in my career. Even when I fought all these champions in a row, some still thought I was fighting patsies. I was fighting world champion after world champion and they thought I was still picking my fights. I wasn’t - I was fighting them because they were champions. I was trying to get their belts."

'Relentless' Henshaw hits the big time

Shaun Brown
28/09/2015 10:22am

There are those who are born to fight. Those who have no choice but to fight and then there are individuals who have the fight forced out of them for their own good. Unbeaten cruiserweight ‘Relentless’ Russell Henshaw (5-0, 2 KOs) falls into the final category. The boxing bug was a necessary remedy for a schoolboy who had fallen victim to one of education’s nastiest problems - bullying. “I got bullied at school and I didn’t dare say anything or do anything,” Henshaw told Boxing Monthly. “I was imploding, not exploding with anger and imploding with being terrified. I didn’t want to feel that anymore so I went to gyms and enjoyed it. I’m not very clever but I can scrap. I just carried it on. I’m pretty sporty to be fair. I love competition. Cricket, football and then I found fighting; kickboxing and boxing and that was it. I got addicted.”

Latest World and British Ratings (October 2015)

Colin Harris
26/09/2015 10:57am

Boxing Monthly’s World and British rankings for October 2015 are explained by Colin Harris, our in-house ratings statistician. Trainer, fighter, manager and promoter queries are welcome.

Booth joins the Eubank Jr revolution

Mark Butcher
25/09/2015 6:56pm

Few impartial judges dispute the talent of Chris Eubank Jr, but there has long been a sense that something was missing. An elite coach to coax the true potential from the 26-year-old middleweight and fulfill his father’s bold predictions. The final piece in the puzzle may just have fallen into place with the addition of Adam Booth, one of boxing’s most astute trainers, to the Eubank team. “I am a coach first and foremost and if I think there are some technical and strategic things that I can add to Junior as a fighter, with all the ingredients he’s already got, then it should work for a more complete fighter,” Booth told BM today at Trinity House, London, where Eubank Jr’s new promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing was announced.

Collins bullish on Buglioni chances

Shaun Brown
25/09/2015 10:55am

When Boxing Monthly chatted to Steve Collins it hadn’t been long since the former two-weight world champion had finished some promotional work with ‘the one that got away’ Roy Jones Jr. No, the pair of 1990s boxing icons had not finally reached a deal to fight after two decades of ifs buts and maybes. “Listen if a promoter puts the money on the table me and Roy Jones Jr will fight," said the former WBO middleweight and super-middleweight champion. The fire still burns for Collins. Instead, this was some of the necessary PR work to promote this Saturday’s WBA ‘regular’ super-middleweight title contest at London’s Wembley Arena between champion Fedor Chudinov and Collins’ fighter Frank Buglioni.

Undiluted Fury

Terry Dooley
24/09/2015 1:15pm

When Boxing Monthly caught up with Tyson Fury (24-0, 18 KOs) on a hot summer day in Bolton, the 27-year-old greeted this writer with a stern look and said: “You’d better ask some interesting questions, I had to drive for over an hour to get here.” Fury takes on Wladimir Klitschko (64-3, 53 early) at Dussedorf’s Esprit Arena on 24 October. The former British, Commonwealth and European titlist has had enough of the usual “How is training going?” questions to last him a lifetime, so BM decided to ask him about matters outside the ring. For example, his relationship with long-time promoter Mick Hennessy has remained intact from his first pro fight all the way through to his biggest bout, despite Hennessy suffering a few blows during that period. The promoter has seen fighters and TV contracts come and go yet always hustles up a TV deal or a new signing, Fury admires and respects this ability.

Is Wladimir Klitschko an all-time great heavyweight?

Michael Montero & Tiffany Lam
23/09/2015 7:53pm

Michael Montero discusses the career of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (who faces Tyson Fury in Germany on 24 October), analyses his current championship reign, compares him to the all-time greats of boxing's most storied division and breaks down why the Ukrainian star has earned his place in their company.

The life and times of Chris Sanigar

Andrew Harrison
23/09/2015 1:17pm

It is forty-one years since Bristolian boxing icon Chris Sanigar - a frustrated footballer who harboured dreams of playing for his beloved Bristol Rovers - fell back on a latent talent for using his fists. Since his first amateur contest in March 1974, Sanigar’s roles have been varied: England international, hard-man pro, father, manager, trainer, promoter and survivor. Sanigar lit a spark under the West Country’s boxing scene and the spark became a flame as the likes of Ross Hale, Glenn Catley, Scott Dann and Dean Francis captured professional titles between 1994 and 2004. Yet despite recently turning 60, it appears Sanigar’s best days lie ahead

Fresh Rhodes for Ryan

John A. MacDonald
22/09/2015 9:53am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O91mheGn5Xc

In a professional career that spanned 17 years, Ryan Rhodes has seen, done and achieved almost everything possible in boxing. Whilst it seemed almost inevitable that Rhodes’ knowledge would be highly sought after by the next generation of fighters, coaching wasn’t something he had considered after retirement, until his long-time friend Curtis Woodhouse approached him. “It was something I’d never even planned on going into, but boxing has been a big part of my life since I was six years old and I felt that I had a hell of a lot of experience and knowledge to pass on,” Rhodes told Boxing Monthly over the phone from his gym in Sheffield.