by Terence Dooley

Edinburgh’s Kenny Anderson had his first outing of 2010 at Colne’s Municipal Hall earlier this month, a fourth-round retirement win over Celtic rival Joe Rea, as the 28-year-old got his career back on track under Steve Wood’s VIP Promotions banner.  Anderson signed a deal with Hatton Promotions last June only for them to hand his contract back when a proposed March 2011 date was pulled and they exercised a clause stating that he could be taken off their books due to a defeat to George Groves back in November. 

Indeed, the 2006 Commonwealth Games light-heavyweight title winner was involved in a smashing fight with current British and Commonwealth boss Groves, a sixth-round stoppage reverse, and had expected to be pushed up the rankings by Ricky Hatton only to find himself in limbo for seven months.

“I’ve had fights fall through since the George Groves fight so it has been hard to just get into the ring.  It is difficult when your fight gets pulled but I was in still in the gym.  I was in condition and I was ready for a 26h [of March] bout in Wigan that didn’t happen,” recalled Anderson as he mulled over his recent inaction.

“It was good to get out there [against Rea], put on a good performance, which I definitely did, and work on the things that me and [trainer] Kevin [Maree] have been working on.  A lot of things have started to come together.  Joe was a tough opponent, he made it as awkward as possible and that is what we wanted so I’m absolutely delighted just to get a fight in.

“Joe came to fight so I won’t bad mouth him but if he hadn’t have pulled out in the corner after hurting his shoulder I have no doubt that I’d have stopped him.  Kevin was telling me in the corner that it was almost over but the guy is brave, tough and is not going to quit over nothing, that is not the type of man he is.  After so many fights called off it is just satisfying to put in a performance.”

Anderson’s move from the Hatton camp came as a surprise; the brawler made a big impression in the loss to Groves and was expected to be one of Brand Hatton’s big stars of 2011.  Anderson acknowledged that promoters and fighters split all the time before admitting that he is still smarting over the way Ricky Hatton handled the situation.

“We took the Groves fight on short notice,” he explained.  “I had signed with the Hattons and it was Ricky’s first public appearance [since news broke of Hatton’s depression], he walked out with me, we were draped in the Hatton gear and I feel I done the Hatton brand proud.  Ricky promised me that I’d be busy.

“The fight came and went – nothing happened.  I have to say that I was very disappointed with Ricky.  As a boxer himself, knowing what we go through, he shouldn’t have promised me what he did then not give me a phone call after the fight [Writer’s note: Hatton Promotions have pointed out that Ricky personally stayed in touch with Steve Wood ahead of Kenny’s move over to VIP].

“What can you say?  I have to take positives from it, I went on and met Steve who is one of the most genuine guys in boxing.  He doesn’t say he’ll do this and that, which is refreshing, he just says it the way it is, no bullshit, and that is all you’re after.  Too many people bullshit you, giving you this and that but you just have to learn and move on from it.”

Part of the problem lies with Anderson himself, his 13-1 (9) record includes stoppage wins over guys who do not get halted often, throw in the Groves performance and he presents an ‘all risk, little reward’ proposition and is therefore a tough guy to match.

“Of course,” he said when asked if his record and lack of a major title works against him.  “I am quite a strong fighter.  If you don’t do your work then I’m going to hurt you, I’m not the type of fighter who gives anything away.  I am heavy handed.  If you have an opponent who is thinking of taking a fight that isn’t going to go their way then they might take it if they just think they might lose on points.  If they think they’re getting knocked out they will think twice.

“I’ve a good record.  The guys I’ve beaten, Shon Davies, Patrick Mendy, had good records when I beat them so I was knocking about guys like that, good journeymen, and that makes it a bit more difficult.  I’m not saying fighters are scared of me in any respect but I feel that some opponents might be wary of taking a fight with me.”

That helter-skelter Commonwealth challenge to Groves was a double-edged sword for the canny BBBoC Celtic 168lb title holder.  Prospects do not want a bar of him, titlists can cherry pick easier fights and journeymen face the prospect of a stoppage reverse.  Anderson, though, does not regret taking the Groves engagement.

“The Groves fight was a good one to have,” he insisted.  “You’re supposed to go out there and fight the best so I’m glad I did that.  I was meant to be fighting Tony Quigley in an eliminator but I’m glad they got George in.  I had sparred the likes of Carl Froch and have showed my class so I like competitive fights.

“It is just hard to get the fights after that.  I want to be busy, have regular fights and to show the benefit.  Hopefully I can get another fight after this one in Meadowbank on August 27 [where he fights Lee Duncan on an Alex Arthur-promoted bill] and against different types of people.  Promoting is not my field.  I concentrate on the boxing when I get a chance.

“I’m delighted with the way I performed in the last fight because I am usually pretty critical of myself but I felt that stuff I’d showed in the gym was coming off.  I felt good, as if I was really getting into it.”

Anderson’s win over Rea had a revealing moment.  The pugilist winked at his coach when coming back to the corner after round one; Maree gave his charge a slap of acknowledgement, the two men saying a thousand words with the brief exchange.

“Aye, ha, ha – I didn’t think anyone saw that,” laughed Anderson.  “Obviously that was a wee personal moment between myself and Kevin because a lot of stuff has gone on.  It was a little nod to Kevin to let him know that I was not frustrated, not anxious and sticking to my boxing.  I stepped up in the second round, worked different body shots and I think Kevin was pleased.”

Kevin believes that Anderson can be VIP Promotions’ next Jamie Moore, a fighter capable of winning titles, working the rankings and providing excitement.  Kenny travels down to Greater Manchester in order to hook up with his mentor, he is enjoying the experience.

“We’re gelling more and more.  Boxer and trainer is a special relationship, it requires a massive amount of trust.  I am getting to know him better, he’s getting to know me and it is onwards and upwards from here.  Kevin has expertise in sports science, nutrition and conditioning – I’m never been in condition like this in my life,” smiled Anderson.

“I never experienced this level of professionalism even when I was in the Commonwealth Games.  Kevin demands a lot in the gym, he expects a lot and is very professional in his conduct.

“Fighting and training is a hardship.  I am away from my family and have to get the mental side right.  You have to be happy in what you’re doing or you’ll get angry and annoyed.  My wife needs to be happy.  I need to have happiness in myself and I have that.

“I train at a place called Maree Leisure and stay in a place called the Stirk House hotel, where the people are massively good to me.  They are friendly, they make me feel at home and they do stuff for my diet, it is world class.”

Skeptics will point to the Groves encounter as evidence that Anderson will blaze a trail through the rankings but stop short when pushed hard at title level.  Kenny scoffed at this suggestion, pointing out that a tactical error on his part allowed Groves back into their bonanza.

“Right, I have watched the fight back and couldn’t see myself losing steam with George after the first five rounds.  I didn’t think it happened that way,” his answer to my question of whether he ran out of vim too early.  “He had a big sixth round, I was having a bit of a recovery round because I’d knocked him about and onto the deck, I hadn’t taken a step back up to that point, and maybe that’s why it seemed that I lost steam when he came at me.

“I wasn’t hurt at the time of the stoppage, I was tired, there is no harm in that, but there wasn’t any big head shots landing and my head was as clear as day.  Then you look at when he was down in round three and he didn’t know where he was, I’m not going to complain about that but how close was he to getting stopped and how many big shots did he take?

“I was the opponent on a big David Haye show against the star fighter so no one really complained.  That is the reality of boxing.  I was promised a rematch after it.  Then they didn’t honour what they had said, which is annoying as I’d given up my British title eliminator for a shot at the winner of Paul Smith against James DeGale to take that fight.  I definitely deserve a rematch.  It has not happened so I’m not going to shout about Groves like Groves maybe did a wee bit too much to get a fight with DeGale – I’m not that type of fighter.  I am here.  I am waiting for a call so I can fight him again and beat him because I’m a winner.

“I find it hard to believe that I’ve been beat.  But you have to move on, take what positives you can from it, and there are loads, so I sometimes wish that people would look to my future and not keep looking back to that Groves fight.”

Anderson, however, was less complimentary when turning his attention to the people around ‘Saint’ George.  Stressing that promises were made in haste and broken as easily as uncooked spaghetti by Adam Booth and key members of George’s Hayemaker team.

“There are other fights, other titles and I’m just delighted that David Haye got beat by Wladimir Klitschko because him and that Adam Booth are a couple of big ponces.  That is why I came in to the Klitschko song for my last fight.  They made a promise they didn’t keep,” his accusation.

“Those promises weren’t kept because it was one-sided until I went backwards.  It was a fucking mismatch early on.  Everyone was shocked, I wasn’t – I knew it was my fight.  I wouldn’t even say Groves boxed badly like some people said, he boxed out his skin the laddie but it is hard when someone is constantly walking you down and being as aggressive as I was.  George is fine against people who sit back, give him time and allow him to in his comfort zone.  I’m not letting anyone get into a comfort zone, not Groves, not DeGale, not anybody – the boxing ring isn’t a comfy place.”

Anderson’s confidence was given a further boost when Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch came calling for some quality rounds of sparring.  Carl is one win away from becoming the consensus number one at super-middleweight, his kindness towards Anderson a bright spot during a dark period for the Scot.

“Aye, Carl sparred with me and wanted me to spar him in New York and all that.  He seemed delighted with the sparring I gave him but I’m no one’s sparring partner.  I did it last year because I felt it would enhance my career, give me benefits and it was a massive confidence boost to spar Froch.  Carl is a really nice guy, he picks up his phone if you call and sent me texts,” he attested.

“You find out about people after you lose a fight because the calls and texts stop coming.  Not too many people outside your team contact you.  Having someone like Carl phone me a week after the fight to take the time to talk to me was massively beneficial and it makes you feel better as the WBC world champion is contacting you.”

With that it was back up to Scotland for the accidental tourist, Anderson’s career is being honed in the hills of Lancashire but was forged in the Highlands.  Tougher than a frozen tin of Irn Bru, equally as uncompromising, the Scottish terrier believes that he has to keep knocking people aside in order to get his due.

“I’ve had a lot of criticism,” he growled.  “I have had a few comments made about me but I just want to get out there and fight the fights.  It is not like I’m arrogant or not worried about what people think.  I just ignore everything else and get out there.  There are too many people in boxing who talk a lot and think they’re better than they are, some guys get underrated and some are massively overrated – I believe I was underrated ahead of the Groves fight.  People won’t underestimate me again, especially the bookies!”

Maree shares Anderson’s belief, the energetic trainer told me that he saw enough in the Groves-Anderson clash to suggest that Kenny could come again and Groves would upset the odds in his clash with Olympic gold medalist James ‘Chunky’ DeGale.

“I thought in my own mind that George would take Kenny again,” mused Maree.  “I can’t think of anyone else he can fight.  Everyone wants to see it.  We’re not going to go on about short notice or anything else, that was our judgment and we stand by it.

“I think it was one of the best domestic fights of 2010 so you can put it on anywhere.  Who else in the UK can Groves fight and bring that type of excitement?  I told everyone that George would beat DeGale.  People were quite disrespectful of Kenny when they talked about the Groves fight.  We knew how good George could be and Kenny was just as good.  Let’s get the rematch, get it on again and see what happens.”

Maree also feels that Anderson has turned a corner promotionally; claiming that VIP’s head honcho Wood is the right man to kick start his charge’s stalled journey.  Saying, “Steve is the best man in boxing, the best manager and promoter, the straightest man in the sport; he is on the phone asking about how the training is going and all the rest.  The Hattons were the biggest disappointment I’ve had in boxing.

“I wanted Kenny with the Hattons because I thought that as a former boxer Ricky would look after him.  It didn’t work out so we moved him over to Steve.  The Hattons benefitted from Kenny’s fight with George but we never heard anything after it.

“We were put on for one of their shows in Wigan [March 26].  It was down on Boxrec.  Everything was great.  Kenny had paid for the hotel, training costs and then I heard he was off the bill through the Internet so I had to phone through for confirmation.  That is not how you treat people.  If I’m finding out on my computer that a fight that we’re training for is pulled then it is totally wrong.  I have never seen anything like that.

“No one gave us an explanation.  We asked for his contract back and were delighted we could move on.  Kenny wants to win a title for Steve, he wants to repay his faith and the fact he’s done everything he said he would do for us.  All I can say is that I contacted as many people as I could who represent Ricky to say we were upset but we just got Kenny’s contract back.  I think Ricky has lost a really good fighter who did everything that was asked of him.”

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