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WWW.BOXINGNEWSONLINE.NET10 lBOXING NEWSlJULY 25, 2019 http://www.boxingnewsonline.netNEWS AND OPINION
MY grandfather, Terry Downes, is remembered as
a fantastic fighter, but also as one of the sport’s
great characters – so it shouldn’t be altogether
surprising that I’ve chosen to make a comedy
show about his life.
Terry was always armed with a clever
quip as well as a stiff jab, and many
of his one-liners have gone down
in boxing folklore. After losing an
early fight to Dick Tiger, a reporter
asked who he wanted to fight next.
Quick as a flash, Terry replied, “The
bastard who made that match.”
My show, The Boxer, tells the
story of Terry’s life: the cockney kid
who became a US marine, before returning
to Britain and ultimately becoming a world
champion. It tracks his career from his first
professional fight against Peter Longo until his last
against Willie Pastrano. It also touches on what
it’s like to inherit that kind of legacy – and how it
feels to be the grandson of a brave boxing icon
when you once hospitalised yourself trying to put
a contact lens in.
I’m no fighter myself. I’ve been a
comedian and actor for my whole
adult life, but Terry even manages
to outdo me in my chosen field.
He was in five films. That shouldn’t
be a great surprise. After all, Terry
was a proper star: born for the ring
but equally at home on the stage. All
fight fans are welcome to come along
and relive some of his finest moments.
James McNicholas: The Boxer is on at
the Pleasance Courtyard for the duration of the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For tickets visit pleasance.
co.uk or call 0131 556 6550.HITTING EDINBURGH FRINGE
COMING TO TERMS
Terry Dooley
speaks to
unbeaten
prospect
Danny
Wright
about his
enforced
retirement
IGHTERS are
devastated when an
unexpected defeat
derails them. A loss
can throw carefully
made plans into
the air and strip
away confidence. Still, a reverse can be
overturned in a rematch so boxers can
come back from an in-ring setback. An
out-of-the-ring hindrance is harder to
recover from, especially if a gifted young
fighter is told that they have to retire
prematurely for medical reasons. This
was the scenario faced by Failsworth’s
Danny “The Wolf ” Wright, 10-0 (4),
late last year and his retirement was
confirmed a fortnight ago.
The super-lightweight prospect
was pencilled in for the undercard of
Josh Warrington’s IBF featherweight
title defence against Carl Frampton at
the Manchester Arena in December.
Unfortunately, though, a pre-fight brain
scan threw up an adverse result and he
was removed from the show.
Robert Smith of the BBBofC told
Steve Wood, Wright’s manager, that
they could appeal the decision. Despite
some promising initial reports from his
medical advisors, Wright went before
the Board again and was told that he
would not be licensed, but, as he told
Boxing News, he has come to termswith the decision.
“I am gutted,” he said. “We knew it
was coming. When I got the news of the
second result I knew I had to focus on
other things and let it go. I can’t dwell
on it. The second hearing that I had was
a bit of a formality. The Board weren’t
happy because on the scan there was a
second stage of damage due to trauma,
just from your brain getting rocked
when you take shots.
“I had two injuries,
which showed
them that my brain
was starting to get
structural damage.
Down the line that
could lead to early
onset of dementia, so
for my own wellbeing
they saw it fit to tell
me to stop boxing.
They knew that going
in, they just had to
legally give me a chance to appeal. We
saw it as a chance that maybe I could
get the licence back.
“The biggest thing for me was that
I felt I was just wasting time until the
appeal, both in my boxing career and
in terms of me moving on and doing
something different with my life.
Fighting is over for me now. It is sad.
“The amount of support has beenmad, though. You need people around
you at times like this. If I hadn’t gone
back to work, or had that support, I’d
have dwelled on it. If you are sat around
just thinking about stuff, that is how you
can get poorly or down and depressed.
I’ve not felt like that. I’m devastated and
upset yet I’ve not wallowed in it – I’ve
just tried to get on with things.”
The 23-year-old Junior and Senior
ABA titlist will continue to work within
boxing; he has been
handed the promise
of employment by
Wood and former
fighter Jamie Moore.
“I’ve got to move on
and not just sit there
in the past,” admitted
Wright.
“I’ll do my coaching
badges. Boxing is my
area of expertise so
I want to stay in it.
The majority of my life has been spent
boxing. My love for the sport hasn’t
changed. It is just a shame that I’ll never
be able to fulfil my potential in the
ring. I know I could have won titles.
I had a good following, my coach, Ben
Lancaster, is like a second dad to me
and I’ve obviously got Steve.
“Steve wants me to do stuff for
VIP Boxing Equipment so I’m doing a
little bit with them, promoting them
and then maybe taking over the
management side of stuff with Jamie.
Steve has given me that opportunity
and Jamie has offered me a job
when his boxing academy opens. It
is something I can’t turn down. After
all this, Steve still wants to give me an
opportunity to do something. He must
see something in me.”
Wright will not be tempted should
offers come his way from the bare-
knuckle or unlicensed circuit. He said:
“No disrespect to the people who do
it, but I just can’t see myself going into
bare-knuckle or the unlicensed scene.
I’ve a whole life to live. I fought because
I was good at it. It wasn’t just about
having a scrap, even though I loved
fighting. I won’t go out getting myself
beaten up for a bit of money.
“The whole point of boxing for me
was to make a career for myself. If
specialists tell me not to box and I try
it somewhere else, you are just going
against what they’ve told you, and
against the advice you’ve been given by
them and the Board.”‘BOXING IS
MY AREA OF
EXPERTISE
SO I’LL DO
MY COACHING
BADGES’
F
James McNicholas on his comedy show about his grandfather, Terry Downes