By Terence Dooley
Billy Graham retired from boxing in August of 2008 after working the corner of erratic journeyman Ojay Abrahams, who also retired from the sport that night. The veteran trainer has been working on a documentary in the meantime as well as considering a number of book offers. The documentary is partially completed and will be finished after the conclusion of Graham’s court case with former charge Ricky Hatton, who Graham is taking to court for unpaid monies.
Graham caught up with BoxingScene.com to give his take on this past boxing year, a year that saw some highs and lows on the British boxing scene. Firstly, Graham lamented the loss of some big boxing names during the course of 2009.
“Well you have to start by talking about the people we lost in boxing this year, f**king hell,” declared Graham. “A lot of people have been missed this year. I am a huge Alexis Arguello fan – to find out he’d killed himself was a tragedy. I never got to meet Alexis but would have loved to have met him in person. Darren Sutherland took his own life as well in a tragic moment for British boxing. Darren is a kid that I didn’t know personally but he was a promising young fighter and it was a terrible loss.”
British boxing is also mourning the loss of Terry Lawless, who passed away aged 76 on Christmas Eve following a bladder operation. Graham did not know Terry personally but had admired the work of Lawless.
“I didn’t know him well as Terry was on his way out of the sport when I came up with Phil Martin”, admitted Graham, “but everyone knew that Terry always had all the best fighters and trained British and world champions. Terry also improved Jim Watt all the way up to a world title and Jim always talks well of Terry. That was the first time I’d seen a fighter improve in his 30s and that inspired me to try and rejuvenate people in my own training career.”
He continued: “Arturo Gatti passed on this year as well, that was terrible. Then, and this really pissed me off, there was the murder of Vernon Forrest. Vernon was a fantastic fighter. Anyone who can do what he did to Sugar Shane Mosley is special and I was really surprised when [Ricardo] Mayorga chinned him. Greg Elder [father of former The Contender contestant Ebo Elder] knows a couple of ex-fighters, Fred and Xavier, over in Georgia and we’d made arrangements for me and Xavier to go to Vernon Forrest’s funeral.
“I fell off my quad bike and tore the cartilage in my rib then I got food poisoning and couldn’t attend Vernon’s funeral, which was a huge disappointment as I wanted to pay my respects – I was devastated about his death and would have attended with a rib injury but the food poisoning was really bad.”
Secondly, Graham admitted that his retirement had briefly curbed his obsession with the sport; to that end the trainer has kept a selective eye on the game during 2009. “I’ve not looked in that much to be honest with you,” confirmed Graham.
“There are people who I personally know and I’ll always watch their fights or I’ll watch a fight if I know it is going to be really good. I tend not to watch boxing late at night anyway as the adrenaline gets going and it keeps me awake. I’ve watched all the big fights and am still a big boxing fan but I’ve not been to a fight since I last worked the corner.”
“Manny [Pacquiao] has stood out this year,” revealed Graham when asked to name his fighter of the year. “He has been outstanding. Floyd [Mayweather] has not been busy, he had one fight, against [Juan Manuel] Marquez, and it was like a sparring session, which shows you how good Floyd is. I haven’t been to any fights. I’ve hardly been out of the house if I’m honest – I intend to change that.”
“I am finishing off my gym in Georgie and plan to go back over there to put the last touches to my training camp. I’m going to start working out again and take things from there,” revealed Graham.
“I miss the gym and the banter but in the last couple of years the people around Ricky Hatton became too much to bear - it was hell for the last couple of years. They were encroaching on the gym and the gym decisions so I miss all that like a fucking hole in the head. I’d never go through that again.”
He added: “What I do miss, and this is becoming stronger as time goes on, is the night itself, the fights, working in the corner. I miss being a cornerman, badly. I miss Kerry Kayes and Mick Williamson. I miss the laughs that we all went through together. We took it all seriously but we were always laughing and joking. Mick and Kerry took the piss out of me and I did the same to them so I do miss it all. I miss those feelings, the nerves you get on the night.”
Still, Graham’s had a few nervous nights in 2009; he became completely immersed in the British super-middleweight title brawl between Tony Dodson and Tony Quigley back in March, which Quigley won courtesy of a thrilling final stanza TKO and, later, Graham was left biting his nails when Paul Smith, who Graham once trained, challenged Quigley for the title.
“I’ve seen some cracking British title fights, what a year. Dodson against Quigley stands out, that kept me awake. I liked Paul Smith against Quigley – a tough fight,” Graham enthused.
“F**king hell, Ryan Rhodes against Jamie Moore for the Euro. Wow, no one will forget that one in a hurry. Jamie is a really good friend of mine, I’ve known him since he was a kid, and Ryan is also someone I’ve known for ages. That was a wicked fight. It was competitive. The way Ryan turned his career around is really commendable. The best man won on the fight and it was a great fight, and a great shot from Ryan to turn it in his favour.”
Graham believes that David Haye is bringing a touch of skill and excitement, not to mention power, back to the premier division in boxing. Billy is a convert to the ‘Hayemaker’ cause, maintaining that David is reminiscent of the some of the seventies heavyweight greats.
He said: “I think David Haye is a proper heavyweight fighter, the type of heavyweight people like to watch. Those big, lumbering giants hold no interest for me whatsoever. Haye brings it back to the days when Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton and Shavers were around. They didn’t move like glaciers, they were fast, could hit and were exciting.
“The Valuev fight wasn’t a great fight. It was a spectacle and ‘David and Goliath’ was a great tagline for it. I’m glad Haye won, as he is one of the most exciting fighters in the world. Personally, I’d love to see Haye clean up - I love watching him fight but he has got a tough test ahead in the shape of the two Klitschko brothers.”
“I think Froch has come on and really proven himself as well”, continued Graham, “he had a few knockers in the past but hats off to him. Carl has had some cracking fights and I’d love him to win the Super Six.
“Amir Khan had a wicked year. Credit goes to Frank Warren for Khan. Frank has done a great job with him. Frank didn’t want that Prescott fight, he knows how to develop a fighter, but they took it and paid the price. Then Frank helped him turn it all around again. Amir is much better now.
“Look, Amir was doing great with [former trainer] Oliver Harrison anyway, things take time, but he has a great trainer in Freddie Roach and is now at a more natural weight. He is bigger and stronger, and his chin might be better at 140lb.”
Indeed, Graham believes that 2009 has been the year of the comeback with one of his long-term favourites making waves in the super-bantamweight division.
“British boxing is fantastic at the moment,” Graham raved. “I love that little Booth kid, Jason. Wow, he is fantastic to watch, he always has been, but he went off the rails a little bit and was matched a bit hard early on but the way he has turned his life around is great. I also love the way he’s also turned his career around by winning the British title. Jason is a great boxer, a great mechanic. I love to watch him.”
Another thing that is occupying Graham’s mind right now is the potential lightweight blockbuster between British champion John Murray and Kevin Mitchell, who won the WBO Inter-continental lightweight title by defusing and bemusing Columbian banger Breidis Prescott.
“John Murray did a great job on Jon Thaxton,” stated Graham. “Obviously, Thaxton had seen better days but he is a tough man and Jon is still a strong banger. Murray went to work in a really nice way: he was economical with his work, he knows when to move and when to stay in close, he knows when to step it up, he is patient and I think he has come on a treat, and will get better.
“What a job Jimmy Tibbs has done with Kevin Mitchell as well. I saw Kevin’s first few fights and saw there was a big commotion over him so I knew he was a popular kid. I was on a Sky panel and they brought him up and I remember saying that you wouldn’t see a better prospect in Britain.
“Over time, he has made a few mistakes by keeping his chin high and his elbows wide. People told me that he wasn’t listening and that is why he was making these fundamental mistakes. Then he took that really tough fight with Prescott and boxed Breidis’ ears off! Tibbs did a great job with the tactics and Mitchell carried them out. Bring on Murray and Mitchell next year.”
Finally, Joe Calzaghe settled comfortably into retirement during 2009, Graham believes that Joe has made the right decision and that Hatton should take heed of Joe’s lead.
“I’ve known and believed in Joe and Enzo [Calzaghe] for years”, gushed Graham, “Joe did an unbelievable job for British boxing but I hope he sticks to his word, and I think he will. Joe hasn’t lost a fight since he was a kid. I never really took to his style, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but I remember watching him and thinking, ‘How would you train someone to beat this guy?’ You’d ask that question and the answer would always be, ‘Fucking hell, I don’t know!’
“Tony Booth used to spar with Carl Thompson, and has fought everybody, and Tony told me that Joe hits harder than Thompson - I find that strange but there you go. Joe Calzaghe, nothing but admiration for what he did for Welsh and British boxing. I can’t see Froch beating Joe but I don’t think Joe should come back for that fight anyway - what’s he got to prove.”
“I can see Ricky coming back next year if he’s talked into it. I’ve not seen Ricky since the meeting after the Lazcano fight but I don’t think he wants to fight again,” declared Graham.
“I think some of the people around Ricky want him to fight, they can’t walk away from the glory and the glamour. This is my opinion, right, and I can have an opinion but personally I hope he doesn’t come back.
“Ricky’s got nothing more to prove. He’s one of the best fighters to come out of this country and when he’s on form he is the best fighter for the boxing fans to come out and watch. I want to remember Ricky Hatton as a fighter as he was at his peak. Look, Ricky can still beat most light-welterweights in the world but can no longer beat the very best, so why would he want to hang around at a lower level. Walk away while the time is right. Enjoy life.”
As the interview wound down, I recalled Graham’s statement that he intends to get back into the gym - could we see a Graham comeback?
“Well, my house in Georgia is also a training base,” he answered. “It is extremely possible, or probable, when I get fit again, that you will see me in the corner again but probably in America. The days of being a moving human punch bag are long gone but if someone takes my fancy then you never know.”
“This one thing sticks in my head, gets on my nerves, and that is that I’d love to train the world bantamweight champion, undisputed and everything else. If I could get a good bantamweight then I’d have a go. I do miss the excitement and the drama. Yeah, I think you’ll see me in the corner again,” he concluded.
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