By Terence Dooley
Billy Graham guided Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton to the linear light-welterweight crown and WBA welterweight strap as well as going over to Las Vegas with Hatton for massive fights. The two men also took in Atlantic City – a single stanza icing of Kevin Carter in 1998 – the scene of Carl Froch’s WBC super-middleweight title defence against Glen Johnson later tonight.
Graham is a huge admirer of ‘The Cobra’, citing Carl’s fighting spirit as a breath of fresh air. However, the veteran trainer was quick to point out that Johnson made a huge statement of intent when relocating to 168lb in search of titles.
“Johnson is coming down in weight late in his career to win titles,” mused Graham. “Here’s a guy who won all his major belts up at light-heavyweight but has come down looking for more. Glen looked tired at times in the three fights with Clinton Woods so you have to ask yourself how long he can keep on doing it.”
“Glen had that win over Allan Green last time out but let me tell you something, it is ridiculous when you get hit on the back of the head, quite frightening. It is a strange feeling – a terrible pain,” said Graham, alluding to Green’s complaints about rabbit punching after the loss.
“The key is that Johnson is getting on and Froch is a real fighting man. He’s heavy handed, tough, brave and not always pretty to watch but good at what he does. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him in this fight. Froch is one hell of a fighter. I backed [Mikkel] Kessler over him last year. I wanted Froch to win, I want him to clean up, but thought Kessler was a bit too much. Carl will do well tonight.”
The Super Six semi-final will be televised live on Sky Sports HD1. Graham believes the move to Sky is a good one for Carl and that Froch should be a household name by now. “Carl has had a really tough run of fights,” stressed Graham.
“It is terrible that the average man in the street doesn’t know Froch’s name. He’s not had the publicity he should have. Everyone should know who Carl is. If I went out in the street and asked people if they know who he is too many would probably go, ‘No’. Go out and ask people if they know who Nigel Benn is and they’d say, ‘Fucking right I do!’ They’ll be talking about Carl tomorrow.”
Graham’s goodwill towards Carl is almost eclipsed by his respect for Robert McCracken, Froch’s coach. Billy took Steve ‘The Viking’ Foster into a British 154lb battle with a prime McCracken in 1994 only to see his man lose by unanimous decision.
Graham’s pain on the night was softened by a belief that his boxer had lost to a future world champion. McCracken, though, fell short at the top level, losing a WBC middleweight title tilt to Keith Holmes at Wembley Arena in 2000.
“I like Robert McCracken as a person, a fighter and as a trainer,” says Graham. “I’ve been up against Robert in the past and I have the greatest respect for him. Robert had to wait too long for his world title shot; he should have been a world champion.
“If Rob was around today with a top nutritionist like Kerry [Kayes] then he’d have always made the weight properly and would have showed people that he was the real thing, because he was.
“Ricky fought on the same bill as Rob in Atlantic City in 1998 so I got to see him close up. There’s a lot to admire in him as a fighter and trainer. The same with Carl Froch – I can’t say enough good things about them. I hope Carl gets his name out there more after this fight.”
Froch recently told me that Jean Pascal was at the top of his post-Super Six hit list. Pascal has since lost his WBC 175lb title to Bernard Hopkins, the canny Philadelphian proving too smart for Jean over the course of the twofer – drawing the first one and getting the decision after last month’s rematch.
“It was fantastic for boxing to see Hopkins make history by winning the title at that age (46),” enthused Graham. “It is really commendable the way he’s looked after himself but Pascal lost that fight, he didn’t try hard enough to force Hopkins into making mistakes.
“Hopkins is great if you let him box so you have to make him work, we saw that when he lost to [Joe] Calzaghe, where he made the most of low blows to get himself a rest. No matter how hard you look after yourself Father Time catches up with you eventually. Pascal should have made Bernard work at a pace he didn’t want to work at to age him. I am glad Hopkins won to be honest with you. I enjoyed watching him in that one.”
As talk turned to world level, Graham summed up the continuing farce of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather’s non-fight by telling me that, “It is time for them to fight because this has become an embarrassment.”
There is one positive; we will get to see Manny face Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time come November 12th – music to the ears of Marquez’s fans. “How long can Marquez keep going to that well,” marveled Graham.
“In the second fight especially, he could have taken the decision. He had Manny cut and in discomfort. If he had stepped on the gas he’d have had it won but he didn’t, he gave Manny too much respect and didn’t do what he had to do. That was the one Marquez threw away. He missed his moment. Marquez can do it all. He can box, he’s smooth, tough as fuck and venomous. Marquez can out-box you or slug it out. I love him to bits.”
Marquez and Hopkins are no spring chickens, nor is Roy Jones, the former middleweight, super-middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight world champion lost via a bad final session KO to Denis Lebedev in Russia last month.
“Someone needs to sit Roy down and get him to watch some footage of the KOs suffered by some of the heavyweights in the seventies and later footage of how it affected them after they retired, and some before they retired. Make Roy understand that he should have called it a day after he lost to Calzaghe,” implored Graham.
“Guys who suffered from pugilistic dementia later in life weren’t always sluggers. In fact a lot of these guys were stylists, the likes of Jimmy Quarry, Jimmy Ellis and others. They were great fighters, had great fights and carried on for as long as they could get away with it. They paid the price. Call it a day, Roy.”
Still, this is the hurt business. KOs are part of the sport. There were some huge knockout reverses during the sixties and seventies. Graham again reiterated that Roy should learn a few lessons from the past before admitting that watching reruns of classic fights has lit a fire under him.
“The fights Jerry had with Floyd Patterson were really tough fights, proper battles. Then you’ve got Jerry’s first fight against Joe Frazier [1969’s FOTY]. Jerry’s whacking Frazier with all sorts, winning the fight in the eyes of many, and then Joe says to him, ‘Are you through – it is my turn now’, and comes right back at him,” he laughed.
“Frazier was great. Those fights with Muhammad Ali, [Jerry] Quarry and Oscar Bonavena, wow. Anyone out there should check out these guys at their best. You also had tough guys like Ron Lyle in that mix. Every time a fighter was on the way up, they’d try to use Quarry as a stepping stone. Lyle’s on his way up, 19 undefeated, and Jerry tore up the script by out-pointing him. Then they give Jerry to Earnie Shavers and he bombs Earnie out!
“I still remember Jerry’s world title fight with Jimmy Ellis [in 1968]. Jimmy was underrated – he was a really slick fighter. Don’t forget, he did everything right against Joe Frazier for the world title [in 1970] but it wasn’t enough to win, he was fighting a prime Frazier and got taken out. The likes of Quarry and Ellis mixed in good company.
“Jimmy also got taken out by Shavers – and that was one brutal KO – when Earnie first became famous. People forget that Ellis was all over him and boom! Earnie takes him out with the uppercut. Ellis tried to get up but it wasn’t happening.
“It reminds me of when Carl Thompson got knocked in four out by Ezra Sellars in Manchester [in 2001]. I wasn’t with Carl then. I knew that all Carl had to do was bide his time but he went for it early even though the guy was known for being chinny and not having stamina. But Sellars was also known for being a ridiculous puncher. He got Carl with one shot that put Carl down on his back with his knees bent underneath him.
“There was another guy, Chris Aston, a local trainer who really knows the business. I used to phone him up if I hadn’t seen a fighter when we were putting guys in for six rounders. Anyway, I had a kid called Nick Boyd and he knocked Chris out in 1994. Chris was out that night.”
Talk of KOs of the past brought us onto David Haye’s world heavyweight title fight against consensus kingpin Wladimir Klitschko on July 2nd. Haye has it all to do. Graham feels that Haye could conjure up one of those retro KOs finishes to net the undisputed crown.
“People watch boxing for the skills but you also watch it for the knockouts because when you get a good one it is unbelievable. I always believe that you should dismantle the opponent and then knock him out if possible. David Haye does that. You know what you will get with him.
“David is not one of these big, lumbering monsters. He’s been a breath of fresh air, really. Klitschko might be too big and too direct to be honest with you but I want Haye to do it. There’s a big punchers chance if he catches Wladimir because Klitschko’s been down eleven times. It would get a lot tougher for him if he took on Vitali because the puncher’s chance disappears in that one as the bigger brother is made of iron.
“I do like David. I was worried when he didn’t want to be interviewed with Klitschko [on Sky Sport’s Ringside show]. I thought Wlad won that first round. David might not have wanted to be around him, and everyone can understand that, but he should have just gone out there. That was unusual for David, who is quite in your face, loud, fun and brash. It was odd that he wasn’t in the same room as him but who knows.
“I want him to do it. The retirement talk is worrying but then again it is better to retire before you get punchy. As I say, a lot of my idols suffered with this so it is sometimes best to get out when the going is good.”
As for the man himself, Graham has had a three-year break from the sport. Batteries recharged, the itch has returned. Billy hopes to be in a position to return to training duties before the turn of the year.
“I’m coming back,” he stated. “There are some good kids coming up in British boxing. It is thriving. You see kids out there and think, ‘I could help them’, but I’ve never, ever chased a fighter and wouldn’t do that now.”
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