SITTING in Madison Square Garden, waiting for the main event between Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Derevyanchenko, I was living out a dream. I was surrounded by passionate boxing fans, true boxing fans, and we often got on our feet as we saw an awesome battle for the IBF middleweight title. The dream just got better and better. The underdog was dropped and cut early, but he kept answering back with combinations. He countered the former champion’s often wayward punches. What a fight it was and what a story that was developing. Then the scorecards came, and the New York fairy tale is ended by the reality of one of the worst things about boxing. I am a big “GGG” fan but he lost that fight by two to three rounds. I joined the chorus of boos at the end, not for Golovkin but booing the unjustness of what occurred. There is too much of this in boxing when fighters like Derevyanchenko have their dreams denied. PAUL THORPE
WHAT A FIGHT!
WOW, what a weekend. The Big Drama Show goes on. Gennady Golovkin won a highly entertaining and close-fought battle with Sergey Deverenchenko. It was action-packed from the opening round as the action then ebbed and flowed throughout the contest. Whether you think “GGG” deserved the win or not, he is rarely in a dull fight and we should appreciate him while he is still plying his trade in the ring. Maybe the end is nearing for him but after all the knockouts and great fights he’s been involved in over the past decade, I’d like to see him face Canelo Alvarez for a third time. It is, after all, still the biggest fight in boxing. JAMIE INGLEBY
STILL REELING
I STILL can’t believe how Nigel Benn vs Sakio Bika is being allowed to go ahead! With all the tragedies we’ve had in this sport from young fit fighters, how can we allow a fight like this to happen? I pray Benn comes out of the fight with his health intact but the people around him and people staging this fight need to take a long hard look at themselves and realise how dangerous this could turn out to be, not only for Benn but for boxing itself. KYLE OLDROYD
CREDIT TO BOWERS
I MUST say what a fantastic article on Martin Bowers in the September 26 edition of Boxing News. It was excellently written and provided some overdue recognition to Bowers and what he has achieved at Canning Town’s legendary Peacock Gym. Good luck to Martin, his brother Tony (also an integral part of Peacock’s success) and to future champion Daniel Dubois. MARTIN WAGER
