It has been a boxing year of brave losers in many ways.
In early December, over 60,000 watched the brutal beating of Derek Chisora; the big lump from Finchley added his name to an often-ignored list of men and women who lost in world title fights in 2022.
A lot of boxers left for foreign fights, knowing they were massive underdogs and far too many returned with nothing but their bruises and cuts to show for daring to win. They went under the radar, just tiny footnotes in a year of billions and record gates.
We waved them goodbye at the airport, hoping they would not get hurt. “It’s our business,” we mused if a moment of doubt crossed our minds. We said that, but we still had – those of us who care – a bad feeling about their fights. That’s the truth, sorry.
Off they walked, smiling and hopeful and desperate to change their lives. They had on the best tracksuits their sponsors could find, new shoes and haircuts. They all lost, obviously, but they were brave enough in a year of extremes to go for it. And this year was vintage for lost-cause heroics.
In May, Danny Dignum went to Las Vegas on a hope and a prayer in a city without a soul. Dignum was unbeaten in 15 fights, matched against Zhanibek Alimkhanuly for the WBO’s middleweight title. It was bold, a risk, a tricky fight and it never made a lot of sense. Dignum had the offer, he had to accept, and he was stopped in two rounds. He has not fought since.
At the time, some said that Dignum never deserved the shot and that might be right, but we are a business first and a sport second. Remember the old Don King axiom: “In boxing you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” Danny took the chance, he never jumped on the floor or turned away. Alimkhanuly’s people got it right; Dignum’s people got it wrong.
Dignum lost and in November, back in Las Vegas, Denzel Bentley went down the same path; Alimkhanuly had been made the full champion. The Kazakh was being compared with the very best, compared to legends. There was a massive effort to make him the most avoided boxer in the modern business. He played the role well, was suitably cold-eyed and menacing, the latest Beast from the East.
However, it seems that Alimkhanuly’s people failed to take a long, hard look in Denzel Bentley’s eyes. Bentley had put in some hard rounds, lost a fight, bounced back, grown, toughened up and had a serious fearless streak. We use “throwback” far too often in British sport, but Bentley does feel like a man from another time.
On the night in Las Vegas, Bentley was brilliant at times and lost a hard decision; he could have made it a lot closer if he had worked a round or two earlier. It was a fabulous performance, and it delivered a reality check on Alimkhanuly’s path to greatness. It will make Bentley a better fighter; Dignum will need to get back some lost ground.
At the start of December, Paul Butler went to Tokyo to fight Naoya Inoue; there were fears that he would lose his version of the world title quickly. The private sneering was unnecessary. Butler’s record deserved respect. Take a long and hard look at his record. Sure, it was most definitely a mission, make no mistake; Butler dared and then lost. It happens. He has been accused of being too negative and that, against a man like Inoue, should be a compliment. Inoue might be the best fighter in the world right now.
In February, at an outpost in Arizona, Carly Skelly was dropped twice and stopped in the fourth by American, Jamie Mitchell. The fight was for the WBA bantamweight version; Skelly has not fought since. In November, in Dubai, Nina Hughes, from Essex, beat Mitchell for the title. Extremes? Hughes is 40 and was fighting for just the fifth time.
It was a late call, and it was a call that Zelfa Barrett could not refuse. Barrett went to Abu Dhabi to fight Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov for the vacant IBF super-featherweight title. Rakhimov was unbeaten in 17 and he was dropped heavily in the third. The fairy tale looked on for a few rounds; Barrett was stopped in the ninth round. He believed he could could have done better and that is the way. Bentley is the same.
They all dared, went on the road and lost, and they deserve a little bit of recognition from a year when the inept YouTubers and influencers looked like Charlie Chaplin fighting a kangaroo whenever they made their millions in bad, but popular comedy fights. Dignum, Bentley, Barrett, Skelly and Butler made their money the hard, hard way.
