Inside the Ropes: Boxing’s brutal dark side should never be underestimated

Every Thursday, Steve Wellings — a man with over 20 years' experience covering boxing for various publications and current online editor of Boxing News — will be drilling down on some of the boxing world's biggest topics via our new column, Inside the Ropes.

“No boxing, no life”, as multi-weight world champion Canelo Alvarez often mutters. It’s a modern-day adage that many fans of the noble art can instantly relate to. I’ve been interested in the sport since Eubank-Watson in 1991. 

The Monday after the fight, we rumbled around the playground, four jumpers for four corners of the ring, and shirt sleeves rolled up to replicate the two combatants. One person played Eubank, the other Watson. 

In the real ring, it ended in a majority decision win to the mercurial Brighton man. Almost three months later to the day their rematch would end in tragedy as Watson suffered life-changing injuries. Many of the playground pugilists had forgotten about boxing by then and moved back to football. I retained a fleeting interest, that swiftly turned into fascination around the Tyson-Bruno era, and later an obsession when Lennox Lewis was at his peak.

The Watson tragedy, unfortunately, is the kind of incident many recite whenever the subject of boxing is brought up. Ignoring the element of prizefighting nobility or any talk of the sweet science, they view boxing as an opportunity for two primal beings to try and take each other’s heads off.

Watson has made a miraculous recovery since his life-threatening bout with Eubank. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Almost 20 years ago, I moved from Wolverhampton to Belfast, a city that reveres its fighting men. Statues, books, exhibitions, and a spider’s web of boxing clubs weave around the entire city. It has it all. As Steve Bunce often remarks whenever he visits Belfast, everyone he speaks to either boxed themselves, has a family member who boxed or knows somebody who donned the gloves in some capacity.

While the knockouts and displays of astounding bravery are satisfying payoffs, any ardent fight fan can appreciate the artistry, intelligence and guile that is often required. The barbaric nature of punching someone repeatedly in the head and body can turn off fans, old and new. It’s not unheard of for people immersed in the boxing game to witness something too dark and despairing, and it has made them not only question their love for the sport but walk away entirely and never return.

Over many years following and covering boxing, I’ve had a few minor brushes with the darker side. When unbeaten featherweight Ludumo Lamati slumped into his corner following a 12th-round stoppage to Nick Ball in 2023, we watched for several minutes as medical staff dealt with the ailing South African. The longer it took, the more concerned the crowd became. Lamati was eventually stretchered to a nearby hospital, where it was revealed that he had suffered a stroke in the ring and was placed into a medically induced coma.

In 2016, on Channel 5, Nick Blackwell’s resilience was displayed to millions of viewers following a 10-round pounding from Chris Eubank Jr. Blackwell had waited patiently to get stuck into Eubank Jr, but the fight became increasingly one-sided. When the doctor pulled him out, a smattering of boos could be heard. 

Chris Eubank Sr later claimed that he could perceive Blackwell’s body was failing in battle. He implored his son to switch downstairs to end it as an act of compassion rather than a tactical move to drain any last droplets of Nick’s energy. True or not, Eubank Sr could be forgiven for his spidey sense tingling when it comes to such events, given his part in the aforementioned Michael Watson incident 25 years earlier.

During my podcasting days, one Sunday evening, I was presented with a guest who had been involved in a ring fatality. Declan Spelman came on to talk to us about the night his opponent, Scott Westgarth, died following their 2018 English title eliminator. It was a harrowing discussion, difficult to navigate through. Spelman spoke with dignity when describing the evening’s events to a spellbound audience.

“No boxing, no life” sounds like a cool mantra until boxing causes a loss of life. Then, we have to sit back and take stock of what we are actually watching.

Sitting at home or beside the ring, cheering them on through the good times, perhaps slightly complicit during the bad. It’s a hard sport to watch at times and an even harder sport to stop watching.

Ennis ready to put his stamp across world title rematch

This weekend in Philadelphia, hometown hero Jaron Ennis and Karen Chukhadzhian take part in one of the most pointless world title rematches of recent years. The pair first fought in January 2023 for the Interim version of the IBF welterweight title.

What took place was a 12-round snoozefest as the Ukrainian challenger employed extremely negative tactics in order to last the distance. Ennis has since been elevated to full champion and Karen has won an eliminator for a second chance. 

‘Boots’ Ennis is determined to make a stoppage statement here and usually takes a round or two to warm up, so rounds 7-8 at 7/2 or rounds 9-10 at 8/1 are worth a look.

Philadelphia welterweight Ennis hopes to repeat his victory over Chukhadzhian from last year. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Supporting Ennis is an intriguing chief support featuring one of the most exciting lower-weight champions, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. The pint-sized puncher has already disposed of Charlie Edwards and Juan Francisco Estrada inside the distance. 

Therefore, next opponent, Pedro Guevara, looks like a step down, which is a disservice to the solid world-level operator. If Rodriguez is to score another knockout finish, it’s likely to be later on in the contest. A round 10 KO is 10/1, round 11 is 12/1 and the final round 16/1. Guevara is a tough nut, indeed.

* All odds taken from Oddschecker as of 5/11/24