By Terence Dooley
Sky TV’s Ringside show will focus on boxing brothers this week to celebrate the release of the Oscar nominated film The Fighter, which deals with the relationship between Micky Ward and his brother Dicky Eklund.
Duke McKenzie, Matthew Hatton and John Murray join regular hosts Adam Smith and Johnny Nelson. Duke won WBO titles in two divisions; his brother Clinton lost a thriller for the British light-welterweight title against Terry Marsh in 1984. Matthew Hatton is the younger brother of former light-welterweight world champion Ricky Hatton; ‘Magic’ is the EBU welterweight boss and has bravely agreed to travel to California to fight rising star Saul Alvarez on March 5th. John is the current EBU lightweight king; his younger brother Joe is 9-0 (5 early) as a professional.
The three fighters will discuss family bonds in boxing. Jason Booth will speak about the drink and drug demons he and his brother Nicky have struggled against in a hard-hitting recorded interview. Sky will also bring viewers a special feature recorded at the UK premier of The Fighter.
Sky’s Ed Robinson will continue the brotherly theme; the former fighter has filmed a feature on Mexican brothers Gabriel and Rafael Ruelas. Norfolk’s Walsh brothers – Liam, Ryan and Michael – complete the sibling showcase.
Sky Sports 1 and HD1 televise from 9pm on Thursday night.
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