Wayne Alexander
Former EBU champion
I’m not keen on boxing behind closed doors and wasn’t overly excited about it. It all looked a bit like a glorified sparring session. It just didn’t look right to me, but I do understand that it has to start somewhere and the fighters need to fight. I would fight in that environment if I was still active.
Tris Dixon
Boxing Life Stories host
I thought it was fine but of course the lack of a crowd has been startling on both the eyes and the ears. It’s still an exploratory process but as we’ve seen with football, if the games are good and exciting they can draw you in regardless.
Chris McKenna
Boxing journalist
The main was an excellent, well-matched bout which is all you can really ask for. The return of boxing in the UK couldn’t be a big-name clash straight away but it was a good headline act. I didn’t like the canned crowd noise but the studio set up looked good. It will improve as the summer goes on.
Spencer Fearon
Historian and former pro
I enjoyed it. It was great to see boxing return, it was a starting point and that’s what we needed after so long in the wilderness. It was different, seeing boxing in that environment, but it was so important as well. Without the fighters fighting, boxing doesn’t exist. It’s good to be back.
Read Steve Bunce’s behind the scenes account here
