Reflections - Joe Gallagher loses it
Reflections - Joe loses his temper over Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall
In a recent interview, boxing trainer Joe Gallagher lost his temper. He was asked to provide a prediction on the Tommy Fury-Eddie Hall fight and was unwilling to so do because in his eyes it wasn't a boxing fight at all: it was just entertainment.
I get it, I understand it and I wholeheartedly agree.
Just exactly what Tommy Fury is going to do next; I don't know if I actually care.
He talks about being one of the biggest stars in boxing. He is certainly one of the biggest stars in Misfits and they have an audience and appeal that is gathering more and more eyes on their prizes. However, for most boxing fans, it is not worth the airtime.
Or is it?
Have the shenanigans that Misfits have produced during fight week, in particular worth it?
It has lots of similarities with the boxing world, Big John Fury, controversy amongst the fighters, John Fury, weigh in battles, the father of Tyson Fury, slagging offs at the press conferences, some big guy called John… you get the picture.
However, one of the points that 57-year-old Gallagher made was, that you may as well ask him who he thinks is going to win at Soccer Aid than who is going to win between Eddie Hall and Tommy Fury.
Soccer Aid, looks like football, has all of the trappings of football, and even is football, but it is not an authentic football match. Didn’t Tommy Fury once play in it too? Ah! That’s why Soccer Aid isn’t boxing – Tommy’s dad never went.
Msfits does, however, highlights a lot of the things boxing does badly, then doubles down on them. We get lots of beef, plenty slagging and loads of trash talk – a carbon copy of what you see week in week out in the real boxing world.
It also has a number of referees who happen to have lost their places like Ian John Lewis in the British Boxing Board of Control. That means that, although they may not any longer be accredited by the BBBofC what Misfits has is pedigree in their refereeing. They also have a body that will sanction the fights and therefore there are protections in case anything goes wrong.
But the absurdity of having Eddie Hall fight Tommy Fury whilst being over seven stone heavier when the mantra always is we have weight differences for a reason was its own level of absurdity.
At least nobody was permanently hurt. Well, some were hurt in their pockets because it was deemed worthy of being pay per view…
Endorsed by Tony Bellew and Derek Chisora who were two of the judges, providing two of the three decisions that led to Tommy Fury winning the fight. Ex-boxers as judges, that surely will never catch on…
Next time I see either of them talking about weight differences or weight classes perhaps somebody will tap them the shoulder and go so what do you think about being seven stone over? Fighters get uppity over seven pounds over and the difference it makes, because small margins at the top end of boxing makes a difference. And neither Hall nor Fury are at that top end but they got away with it.
Where does MisFits go from here?
Will they come out with even more outlandish matchups? As long as people are willing to do it they're willing to stage it. Their move into professional promotions is a positive step away from he circus but the big top element of their work pays and pays well it would appear.
In the meantime, Ricky Hatton's son Campbell has announced that he's coming back in the professional ring. His debut, as the son of his father was a pretty tough one so perhaps not having the expectations in the auditorium and the legacy of his father in his corner shall help him. Time may well tell. Of course, Campbell’s pressure as being the sone of someone who was a world champion is obvious. Connor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr., Michael Gomez Jr., Steve Collins’ son have all had the baton passed form their fathers and done with it what they can. Tommy doesn’t have the same level of professional legacy from his father, though does have a brother…
Pressure makes diamonds, perhaps that is why Tommy’s professional career may not have world titles in it, but it might make him a few quid. It already has made him a few quid. What else it makes us, we can but wait and see, hoping it does not make us as angry as dear Joe.
