Reflections: Holding on to the past

Reflections: Holding on

GBN's Scottish scribe, Donald C Stewart, warns fans not to hold on to the past glories and advises fans to enjoy the present prospects

Over the last month, I watched the Four Kings documentary over three episodes that Channel 4 did. It reminds us of a golden age, looking at the careers of Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr. If you haven't already had a look at it, please do, because it is an exceptional piece of documentary work. It covers not only the beginnings of their careers, but also what happened in the aftermath, charting the retirement of each. Only Lennox Lewis retired on his own terms.

The demons that came to roost in the minds of Frank Bruno and Nigel Benn are fairly well documented, however, what is less well documented is Chris Eubank Sr and a suggestion by him in the documentary, online and elsewhere that he was released from a mental health facility to attend his son's first fight with Conor Benn. That was a bit of a revelation. Given the way that he behaves it should hardly come as a surprise that Chris Eubank Sr. suffered similar demons to those that visited his contemporaries.

I watched it in the week that the career of Ben Whittaker almost hit the skids; or at least meandered into a cul-de-sac. Doubts expressed when he fell out of the ring against Liam Cameron were revisited. Tony Bellew began the broadcast by stating that he felt Ben Whittaker was the best six-round fighter in the light heavyweight division in the world, but that we needed to work out whether or not he could sustain it over 12. That was eerily prophetic, because by the ninth-round Whittaker, well up on all the cards, was playing with his food.

Connor Wallace, who it had been suggested beforehand had a game plan which included waiting until the later rounds so that they could test Whittaker's resilience. It came to fruition, but it nearly also brought success. Rounds 10, 11 and 12 seem to be the three in which Wallace managed to pull himself back into the fight. Given that one judge only gave Whittaker the win by two points, had Wallace started his assault earlier in the fight perhaps Wallace would have walked away with the win.

Of course, he had to wait for Whittaker to fade, much like Filip Hrgovic did with Moses Itauma.

Itauma and Whittaker are/were the two lead candidates in the search for British boxing's next huge prospect.

And as AJ and Fury get themselves together for the Principality Stadium in Cardiff at the beginning of December, focus is on the old guard making way for a new generation. But where exactly is that generation going to come from?

Whittaker's behaviour over what happened with Cameron was one thing and his immediate comments belittled himself and his opponent. Enjoying yourself should last the whole time you are at the table. You should leave room for pudding, especially if you realise it’s coming. Then Andy Lee doing the equivalent of David Haye’s big toe comment when he said Whittaker had COVID didn’t help. Managing the aftermath of a fight is as important nowadays as managing yourself in the ring. Sometimes, I need a moment to go and then will see you at the press conference is not rude, but necessary.

But some wanted to know if there is a problem, not with British boxers being unable to last, but always looking for the big knockout? Are Itauma and Whittaker their own worst enemies? Oftentimes I think that the hype surrounding boxers are really their biggest enemy as they tend not to believe in the hype but to be affected by it. This was Whittaker's homecoming, but the crowd seemed to be very split. Wallace brought many from the island of Ireland, north and south, into Birmingham to support him which made the crowd seem far more partisan than it ought. It's suggested though Whittaker has a massive online presence that perhaps the love that he's looking for has not been found in his own home patch. Perhaps by getting Whittaker to go to Australia and beat Wallace in his own backyard or to continue to make waves in America is how his career should go.

But who am I to tell Eddie Hearn or Frank Smith how to build a fighter's career? They've been here before and done far better than I could suggest for many fighters.

In the aftermath of the Whittaker win, I was reminded of Prince Naseem Hamed in his interview with TalkSport where he was telling us that Moses Itauma was levels above AJ and Fury. When Whittaker was mentioned, he was very quick to tell Simon Jordan and others not to put his name on his. Now, you can see the similarities, but for once I will agree with the Hamed. There is a difference. I didn't like Hamed when he fought and like less the persona he uses now, he's out the ring, but I like Whittaker. Why? His emerging humility. I didn't like Hamed because I felt his arrogance was the one weapon that would eventually eat him up and so I think, it proved. His relationship with Brendan Ingle and the fighters who have challenged his stories of how it came to an end is quite interesting.

As for Whittaker, I think that his persona, since he moved to Matchroom, has changed because instead of being the braggadocio that people want to see he has become far more able to reflect upon the gaps that he has in his boxing ability and start to close them.

In the fight, Andy Lee told him, stop playing with your food. Ben Whittaker didn't listen.

Perhaps now as he's facing more dangerous opponents, he's going to start doing that.

We await Itauma's next fight and his rebuild as well.

Both of these prospects are exactly what they should be. Prospects.

We should not hold onto previous glories to judge current fighters by them. Whittaker is not Hamed, and Itauma is not the next AJ/Fury. If we are not careful, like Whittaker in his last fight, we shall end up holding on desperately rather than enjoying the present.