By Terence Dooley
Tony Salam has been denied the chance to avenge the sole defeat on his record after Courtney Fry pulled out of their rematch, which was set to headline a Hard Knocks Boxing promoted show at London’s historic York Hall this Friday night. Fry has suffered a personal bereavement and the clash will be rescheduled. Salam vowed to put the disappointment behind him and will take a making time fight in order to keep himself sharp ahead of a rescheduled clash.
“I'm looking forward to fighting very much, but unfortunately Mr. Fry has pulled out,” confirmed Fry when speaking to www.boxingnewsonline.net . “I've got a new opponent in Shon Davies. I know nothing about him. Courtney pulled out (last) Tuesday or Wednesday, and it's a real sickener for me. I couldn't train when I heard it. It's so disheartening. I've not even been training to be honest.”
Spencer Fearon echoed Salam’s disappointment. “We are obviously disappointed at losing such a great fight, but primarily our thoughts are with Courtney and his family,” said Fearon.
“It speaks volumes for Courtney as a person that at a time of personal tragedy he felt bad about me losing my main event and even spoke about trying to make the date. I told him I didn’t want him in a contest he wouldn’t have been emotionally ready for and promised him there will be more opportunities with Hard Knocks for him down the line.”
Still, Salam’s bad news is a bit of a tonic for Shon, especially given Tony’s admission that he has not been training as diligently as he could have been; the 23-year-old Welshman is 7-5 (3) and hardly a world-beater but will now be sensing an upset come Friday night.
Salam, though, is a quality operator; he should be able to overcome his disappointment, as well as a four-month layoff, to take care of business come Friday night; the Nigerian-born, London-based fight is 8-1 (4 KOs) and will be expected to notch his ninth win against Davies, who has lost his last three and dropped a wide decision to Fry in last year’s Prizefighter: the light-heavyweights competition.
Hard Knocks Boxing, which is led by Spencer Fearon and Ciaran Baynes, was recently given a big boost by former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Lennox Lewis, who has become the patron of the organisation.
“I have seen what he (Spencer Fearon) is doing with Hard Knocks and believe he is a breathe of fresh air in the promoting world. I look forward to working with him in the future and have told him I will support him in his bid to make Hard Knocks a force in boxing,” pledged Lewis.
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