By Terence Dooley
Kenny Anderson netted his second win since last November’s reverse to George Groves by dismantling Lee Duncan over four rounds on Alex Arthur’s inaugural promotion, Anderson’s August 27th workout at the Meadow Bank Sports Centre coming hot on the heels of his victory over Joe Rea on July 10th.
Kevin Maree trains the tough super-middleweight contender, the two men took the Groves job on short notice in the belief that Kenny’s toughness would offset the Londoner’s ability only for ‘Saint’ George to survive a third round knockdown en route to a sixth stanza win. It was George’s first defence of the Commonwealth crown, the 23-year-old then bounced into a May 21st grudge match with James DeGale, taking DeGale’s ‘0’ and British title after a tactical battle.
Maree believes Anderson is more than capable of giving Groves another tense tussle, telling me that Kenny had to drop a lot of weight in the weeks leading up to the contest but could not turn the opportunity down.
“Kenny was sparring with Carl Froch, we get the call to come in with two week’s notice so Kenny lost a recovery week and had to drop 14lb,” revealed Maree. “Kenny was a bit weakened, we knew that going in so to do what he did was fantastic. Had he had the extra week you’d have seen a different fight.”
Kevin has long championed the cause of Yassine El Maachi, his faith was rewarded during June’s Prizefighter: The Welterweights when ‘The Showman’ beat Peter McDonagh, Colin Lynes and Junior Witter to win the tournament. Don Charles currently trains Maachi; Maree coached him in the past and is still part of the London-based, Moroccan-born southpaw’s team.
“One of my best moments in boxing so far,” enthused Maree when recalling the Prizefighter win. “Yassine’s one of the nicest guys you can meet so for that to happen to him is great. He’d welcomed a baby into his family, was a bit ill going in so to do what he did was amazing. It was a proud moment, he talked about giving the prize money to charity afterwards but we told him to hold onto it for himself and his family.
“He was a guy who needed a break, he got one and did great. He’s with Don Charles in London, Don’s a great guy, Steve Goodwin promotes him, I’m up there as often as I can and he comes to me when he can so it is a good team, a good experience. Hopefully he’ll get a big fight. I’d love to see him against Matthew Hatton, I really rate Matthew but think Yassine would give him a lot of problems.”
Kevin’s Clitherowe camp boasts Anderson, Jeff Thomas, who features in Thursday’s Prizefighter: The Light-Middleweights II, and Chris Betteridge, a 2-0 boxer known locally as the ‘Baby Bull’. Maree maintains that this tight-knit group of fighters will keep him busy over the coming season.
Saying, “My gym is also a leisure centre where people come and train so I can’t fill it with a load of lads. I’ve always wanted to work with a top athlete and a prospect, now I’ve got Kenny, Chris Betteridge, Jeff and Yassine so I can’t ask for more.”
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