Maloney says sorry

Promoter apologises for below-par Latvian opponents

By Ally Fisher   Last updated: 14th December 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Maloney says sorry

Maloney: Apology

I can only apologise to people who bought tickets, Sky Sports who broadcast the show and of course the viewers who deserve better.

Frank Maloney
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Boxing promoter Frank Maloney has apologised to fans after the standard of opposition faced by Olympic bronze medallists Tony Jeffries and David Price.

The pair boxed below-par opponents in Newport on December 11, registering first-round victories against Latvian opponents.

Price took just 33 seconds to defeat Dmitrijs Basous with Jeffries taking two minutes and 17 seconds to knock out Anrejs Tolstihs.

Both boxers fell a long way short of the standard expected by Maloney.

Maloney insists that he will not book Latvian boxers again unless they have a proven track record or are British-based where their records give a true reflection of their ability.

Maloney said: "It is embarrassing for my company when foreign opposition comes in and fold so easily.

"I am not saying David or Tony should be in wars at this stage of their career, but I admit Friday's win didn't give them any education.

"In the future I will not book any fighters from Latvia unless their records are decent or they are based in Britain with managers or promoters I trust.

"I can only apologise to people who bought tickets, Sky Sports who broadcast the show and of course the viewers who deserve better."

Blamed

However, Maloney said he or his organisation couldn't be blamed for British super-flyweight champion Lee Haskins' one-sided victory, as he easily outpointed Commonwealth title holder Don Broadhurst.

The promoter claimed it was Broadhurst's management and trainers who didn't prepare him for the fight, maintaining he wasn't ready for the step up in class.

He said: "This was a mandatory fight and Broadhurst clearly wasn't ready for the championship level and his people should have known better.

"Beating a few Africans doesn't mean you are ready for an accomplished British title fighter like Haskins."

Comments (5)

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Jim Holborn says...

I'm glad for the apology but Frank knew what he was doing. It's difficult for the commentators to say what anyone who knows boxing a little feels but isn't it about time we congratulated Olympic success during and shortly after instead of having us all waiting for the same successes in the pro game. This is why young, less than privilaged boxers don't get a sniff, especially when they are not KO merchants. I feel that a lot of good lads are ignored because of boxers with past amateur success making the headlines just because they have a fight coming up. I want Tony Jeffries to be a champ, hes got talent and hes a very likeable lad but I would like to see him in a fight that gives him pressure. Whats all the "I don't want him in any hard fights at this stage" about? Its like saying; lets give him certain wins until we get a shot at something big. How many times have we seen failure due to this? Its so bad the anouncer won't even call Paul "The Mackem" Holborn by his pro name when Tony is around. Hes had it for nearly 4 years now but due to the privilaged set he is anounced as simply, Paul Holborn. This is not a rant against Tony, I think hes great, but surely it should be what your doing now that counts. Hope you read this Frank cos I like you too.

Posted 19:57 30th December 2009

Adam Whiteley says...

jesus what is it about peopls obsession with "landing a lucky one, and carees are over"? stupid comment there by Martin Price, carees are made on losses. many of the legends are simply that because thay have the guts to get back in the ring and come back from silly defeats, lewis, de la hoya, jones junior, hopkins ali, tyson, pacquiao, gatti, cotto, sugar shane, theyve all lost, and all come back to win titles in there respective divisions and some have gone up in divisions and that is what gains them the respect they deserve, these perfect unblemished records are boring, and loosing 1 or 2 fights does not warrent the retireing of any boxer.

Posted 18:06 29th December 2009

Daz Zy says...

thats not an apology.he new exactly what he was doing, pricey isnt ready for the big lads yet anyway. maloney has always bin about the money and not the fighters

Posted 15:17 19th December 2009

Martin Price says...

Well done for the apologie Frank. Whats important here is that you have realized the public won't have too much of that. Add to that the boxers had a pointless outing against these talentless Lithuanian guys. god for bid one of them could have landed a lucky 1 & Jefferies career would be over - losing to someone like. We had too much of that in the Naz days with Warren, unfortunatley for Naz - the bums & shot ex champs were no preparation for the coming of age fight against Barrera..........Nuff Said............

Posted 21:25 17th December 2009

Mr Wibble pants says...

Fair play for making an effort to apologise for such a dire show, I couldnt see his namesake doing likewise

Posted 08:22 15th December 2009
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