Jamie Moore looks back on 25 years of Sky Sports Boxing
Thursday 21 April 2016 11:58, UK
The Macklin war, huge occasions, great fights and pigeon excrement... it's Jamie Moore on 25 years of Sky Sports Boxing.
What are your abiding memories of that incredible clash with Matthew Macklin?
First of all, the atmosphere. The ringwalk was unreal. The fight would have taken place at the GMEX Manchester but that didn't happen because the Labour Party were having a conference there, so we could've gone to the MEN which wouldn't have been cost effective or go to a smaller venue. We ended up going to a leisure centre and that created an amazing atmosphere - everything was enclosed and everyone was close up to the ring.
I can't remember a lot of the fight. Probably from the fifth or sixth, I can't remember because I was on auto-pilot. Afterwards, the main feeling I remember was fear. I was hoping nothing bad happened. I went to see Mack in the hospital and everything was alright. The story after that is that we remain close friends.
Which fight felt like the biggest occasion?
I'd have to say Ricky Hatton against Kostya Tszyu. I think Ricky was the first fighter who ended up a household name having been brought through by Sky Sports. You had the likes of Nigel Benn, Prince Naseem Hamed and Frank Bruno who ended up on Sky but had begun on terrestrial television, and Ricky was the first one who came through Sky Sports Boxing.
The night when he fulfilled his dream and became the legitimate No 1 light-welterweight in the world was unreal. It was the only fight at the MEN that I wasn't at because my son was born the day before. I'd been in the hospital all night and wanted to spend the night at home with my son so I ended up tuning in to Sky at home myself. That one stands out, along with Frank Bruno finally becoming world champion by beating Oliver McCall.
What about the best actual fight we've screened?
Good question. One that comes straight to mind is Diego Corrales v Jose Luis Castillo I for the WBC and WBO world lightweight titles in 2005. That was just great to watch.
The best British fight to watch, going a few years back, was Michael Brodie v Neil Swain for the British super-bantamweight title back in 1997. I was lucky enough to be ringside for that fight. It was an absolute humdinger of the fight and if anyone wants to catch it on YouTube, it's a cracker.
I've got to have one more on there. I'll go for two more, in fact! Both the Carl Froch v George Groves fights were massive occasions. I was working ringside and the first round of the first fight, I'll never forget - it was such a shock to see Froch on the floor and you got the feeling that the upset was on.
There haven't been many disappointments, but which bout did you feel let down by?
The one that trips off the tongue is David Haye v Audley Harrison. There was so much hype and so much said before the fight and it just didn't live up to expectations at all. I hate to mention Haye twice, because I'm really pleased he's back on the heavyweight scene and I think he's such an exciting fighter, but his defeat to Wladimir Klitschko was another that wasn't quite what we'd hoped for.
Internationally, you'd have to say that for the biggest build-up and for being billed as 'Fight of the Century', Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao didn't live up to the hype.
What's been the funniest moment for you on Sky Sports Boxing?
I had some funny moments when I used to do the gym tours on Ringside. There were some funny times and some of the funniest ones weren't shown on Ringside, that's for sure. They probably can't even be printed now! I couldn't even put it in to words because we'd still get in trouble.
Bobby Rimmer made me cleaning out his pigeon coop out as part of the programme. To be fair, it's true when he told me that in this boxing game, you've got to do as you're told. It was a little bit like the Karate Kid, where Mr Miyagi makes him paint the fence, except a lot less hygienic. You've definitely got to wash your hands after cleaning up after those pigeons...
