I WAS recently asked to provide a list of the outstanding overseas fighters who had impressed in the UK in 2024. One or two, sure, but an entire list feels a stretch. To bastardise that old Muhammad Ali quote – ‘The pickings are slim and none. And Slim just left town’.
With the advent of Riyadh season, Matchroom’s growing influence in America (led by Bam Rodriguez, Jaron Ennis and Shakur Stevenson) and Queensberry’s excellent, but domestic rivalry driven ‘Magnificent Seven’ shows, the days of quality imports appear to be fading from memory as the boxing landscape shifts further to the Middle East and beyond our reach.
Many of boxing’s leading lights have illuminated UK rings – the list rolls out like a red carpet: the aforementioned Ali; Sugar Ray Robinson; Jack Johnson; Floyd Patterson; Mike Tyson; Oleksandr Usyk; Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko; Ezzard Charles; Bob Foster; Archie Moore; Sergey Kovalev; Virgil Hill; Marvin Hagler; Mike McCallum; Henry Armstrong; Terence Crawford; Errol Spence; Vasily Lomachenko; Alexis Arguello; Azumah Nelson; Vicente Saldivar; Eusebio Pedroza; Guillermo Rigondeaux; Marco Antonio Barrera; Naoya Inoue; Nonito Donaire…. even Johnny Tapia and James Toney enjoyed fleeting but random visits to the York Hall.
Many readers will have their own memories of a special night where they dropped everything to catch a rare glimpse of an elite American, world-class import or once-great-name to experience that flash of genius or dose of nostalgia in real life. Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright, of course, effectively rebuilt his career in the UK with a trio of wins over British contenders.
As a young fight fan, I made it my mission to travel to London to see Gerald McClellan and Meldrick Taylor box on these shores.
Despite being the reigning WBA welterweight champion, the once-dazzling Taylor was a shadow of the razor-sharp 140lbs king who stopped Buddy McGirt and pushed Julio Cesar Chavez to the brink in their epic first encounter.
His reflexes and resistance dulled by time and toil, the Philadelphian was halted by Belfast-based Venezuelan Crisanto Espana, a criminally underrated, spiteful puncher, on the Lennox Lewis-Razor Ruddock show at Earls Court on Halloween night in 1992. That undercard also featured fine South African Dingaan Thobela in between world title appointments.
Detroit’s McClellan, meanwhile, was entering his explosive peak when he arrived at the Royal Albert Hall to face a depreciating John Mugabi for the WBO middleweight belt (vacated by Chris Eubank) in November 1991. After a steady start to his career, McClellan’s freakish power was coming to the fore.
During the undercard, I spotted Emanuel Steward observing the prelims on his own by the doors that led to the Albert Hall dressing rooms and, in a scene reminiscent of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible (okay, maybe not), slipped several security guards to chat with the celebrated trainer.
As you will have no doubt heard, Emanuel was as much a gentleman in real life as a boxing visionary. After signing my programme (this was the simpler, purer, pre-selfie, pre-mobile phone era), we discussed McClellan’s prospects later that night.
Gerald was looking sharp, focused and Emanuel was quietly confident. A couple of hours later, McClellan clinched his first world championship, effortlessly brushing Mugabi aside with three knockdowns in the opening round.
Fast forward a few years and I was seated at the Boxing News’ 85th Anniversary dinner, having arrived at the publication as an ‘Office Junior’ a month earlier when Emanuel wandered over to our table. “Hello, I’m looking for Mark?” Editor Harry Mullan had thoughtfully sent him over and Emanuel kindly obliged, engaging us all in captivating conversation. The boxing world felt a far more accessible place in those days.
It is a nagging concern that younger fight fans here today may not witness the great overseas fighters and boxing men first hand any more. In their absence, the fascination of the fight game gradually dulls and marginalises. Stadium fights and major promotions remain a huge draw in the UK with the right backing, part of that appeal delivers quality imports. The most invigorating experiences in life are not delivered through a screen or buffering stream. It is all about being there.
After America, the UK has remained the centre point of the boxing universe for most of its existence. A significant part of the nation’s fighting tradition has been its allure to boxing legends from other lands.
This year, the leading overseas fighters to box here are probably Mikaela Mayer and Regis Prograis, slim pickings as mentioned, with the standout performer Cuban contender Jadier Herrera, of Queensberry Promotions, who could prove more than a nuisance around 130-135lbs.
One hopes that 2025 will deliver bigger names to the birthplace of boxing, rather than the carousel of Latin journeymen who lock horns with ticket-selling hopefuls here every week during the small hall boxing season, spoiling and surviving until the next one.
The stars of boxing draw our initial gaze but they are not quite the same when viewed from afar.
