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Holmes: McCrory fan

Anything that boosts boxing in the north east is good news and while we might have lost Michael Hunter, young Paul Truscott can now get some decent paydays and continue to prove to all the local kids who don't have much going for them, that if you have a goal and set your mind to it, anything can be achieved.

Glenn McCrory
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It's been a great few days for me up here in the north east, not least last night which I spent in the company of the one and only Larry Holmes.

He is touring over here and someone asked me along to Newcastle where I actually had a seat on the top table. It was a fabulous night and Larry was in great form. He looked really, really well, has still got it together and had his family with him.

Larry had everyone in stitches with stories of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and of course Don King. It was lovely to meet him again though because I did come across the great man many, many years ago.

It was back in 1985 when I was out training in Las Vegas for the first time and Holmes was fighting David Bey. My manager - in his wisdom - managed to get us ringside seats on the back of me being a young, undefeated white heavyweight and the possible chance of a match with Larry, the heavyweight champion of the world.

You don't need me to tell you it never came off and that meeting was the last we saw of Don King, but Larry did invite me to his dressing room, which as a young fighter was just great - and a real inspiration to meet the champion of the world.

Then in 1999 when I won the world title I went back over for George Foreman against Gerry Clooney and was actually on the guest list! There was my name alongside Ali, Frazier, plenty of other boxers and celebrities like Sly Stallone and of course Larry - in fact when I read through the guest list mine was only the name I didn't recognise!

Well would you believe that Larry remembered me and even came up to me to ask for an autograph! He had a bar and collected signatures and last night when I told him that on Tuesday night, he remembered it and we had a good chuckle. I still can't believe he wanted my autograph though.

Crazy years

Next week there is another former world heavyweight champion in Toon as Mike Tyson pops over. I sparred with Mike back in the day and even blackened his eye for the Tyrrell Biggs fight and back then, he was a lovely young kid. But how things change.

For a start I helped him prepare for his fight with Holmes, which I wasn't at all happy about because Larry was a hero of mine but then a few years later when myself and Ian Darke went over to interview him during his 'crazy years' and that wasn't nice at all. So much so that I am not sure a seat next to him all evening is really what I am looking for!

I also went back down memory lane on Friday, when the Sky Sports cameras were in Middlesbrough for Paul Truscott's sensational win over Osumanu Akaba. As Jim Watt said on commentary, it really did look like a big, big ask, but credit to the lad he came through and showed just what can be achieved.

Paul comes from South Bank which is a rough tough part of Middlesbrough - as if they all aren't! I am only kidding because actually when I was fighting, I was kind of based in the town. I fought there and in Newcastle (luckily managing to avoid Sunderland!) and funnily enough the Eston Sports Academy was where I made the first defence of my world title.

As soon as I walked back in, I saw the fight poster up and I couldn't believe how many people came up to me to say they were there that night. People were chatting to me like they had known me all my life, so I can imagine their delight when Truscott became Commonwealth champion.

Last year was such a great year for British boxing, but with Gavin Rees, Clinton Woods and this weekend, Junior Witter, losing their world titles and Ricky Hatton losing to Floyd Mayweather, it is not looking so good.

But it shows just how hard it is when you get into that world title level and just how well Ricky and Joe Calzaghe have done to stay there for so long. When you're up there every fight is going to be hard, and you know it.

But lads like Truscott and Rendall Munroe are proving more and more that there is another level of young, hungry fighters coming through the ranks, ready to show that Britain can still make a big noise on the world scene.

Anything that boosts boxing in the north east is good news and while we might have lost Michael Hunter, young Paul Truscott can now get some decent paydays and continue to prove to all the local kids who don't have much going for them, that if you have a goal and set your mind to it, anything can be achieved.

Although maybe not sitting through a dinner with Mike Tyson...