Friday 24 April 2020 08:08, UK
From Anthony Joshua nights to York Hall fights, a raucous rendition of Sweet Caroline has become a soundtrack for the sport, writes Sky Sports Boxing's Adam Smith.
Hands, touching hands
Reaching out, touching me, touching you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I'd be inclined
To believe they never would
Those classic lyrics that have literally captivated boxing audiences - whether dedicated trade or sporting casuals, young and old - virtually everyone in boxing loves to sing-a-long to Sweet Caroline!
World heavyweight king Anthony Joshua told Sky Sports: "It doesn't matter where you go or what country you fight in, from London to Saudi Arabia, Sweet Caroline is one of the most recognised boxing anthems.
"It has really grown with the sport and is a large part of it."
Last year, AJ even asked a New York restaurant to pump out the track at full blast during a surprise birthday celebration for his brilliant publicist Andy Bell.
Last weekend, our intrepid reporter Andy Scott collated a whole host of boxing voices - some surprisingly tuneful, others like myself more on the woeful or down-right horrendous scale; but everyone having a laugh recreating Sweet Caroline. It got me thinking - and researching…
Where did this most catchy of tunes emanate from? Who brought it into boxing and why is it just so popular?
Of course, Sweet Caroline was one of the many many hits from the incredible American singer-songwriter and actor Neil Diamond. Written personally - in a Memphis hotel room about his second wife Marica Murphey, Sweet Caroline has also long been thought of as a tribute to Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the American President JFK.
First released in 1969, the song only reached No 8 in the UK (No 4 in the US); ever since it must be one of the most played, most sung, most cheered on tracks of all time.
Many elite artists from Frank Sinatra to Robbie Williams have made covers, and of course it has entered the much wider social and sporting domain. I have heard it played at Red Sox games in Fenway Park, and am told Arsenal, Oxford United and Castleford have all used it, but it is of course in boxing where it has become synonymous with the big fights.
So how did it really hit the boxing arenas? I got the contacts book out and made some calls.
One of the first to answer was a familiar face on the British circuit and an unheralded hero of the boxing scene. Mike Goodhall. MD of Ringcraft, MC of thousands of events, the man who has built most of the boxing rings in the UK, and who for years then changed into his tux and called the fighters into battle. An extraordinary stalwart who has worked unbelievably hard over the years and has surely seen more boxing than virtually anyone else!
"I was MCing for Irish promoter Brian Peters in about 2005," Mike told me. "The time of Bernard Dunne and Andy Lee - and we wanted some music to fill in the gaps around the swing bouts.
"We tried Sweet Caroline and it just went down so well with the fans, we then gave it a go on the Frank Warren shows and it was just amazing for the build-up," Mike continued.
"It's extended further than boxing - Proms in the Park, Radio One Roadshows, you name it. But boxing is where it's most familiar - Eddie Hearn loves it and so do the fans - who really react and let themselves go. Neil Diamond even knows himself how popular it has become in UK boxing. It's amazing that it is 15 years now since those days in Ireland," Mike concluded.
I tracked Brian down to his Irish home to investigate further. A wonderful, charismatic man, Brian absolutely loves a chat - and has many great tales….
"The song has always been very special to me. It was one of my dad Paddy's favourites. He was a cattle dealer, he used to take me round the country and I remember sitting in the back seat, with smoke billowing at me and Sweet Caroline blaring away," Brian began.
"Neil Diamond was playing at The Point in Dublin and I went along to the rehearsals and met him. I asked why, with all the money in the world, tour and stay in hotels for weeks on end? He said: 'It's what I do.'
"What a great answer. The Neil Diamond I met off the stage was like an old man, but I couldn't believe the transformation when he performed. When he was on stage, he was so pumped up he could have gone 12 rounds with AJ. Changed like The Incredible Hulk!
"He called out a lady in one of the seats and asked which song she wanted and she said Sweet Caroline," Brian continued.
"Even though he had already played it, he did it again and was so pleased to. I remembered that interaction with the fans, and when I started putting my shows on I wanted some of that. Get the crowds going. Give them a prize. So I would give away a signed glove, things like that. I would try and bring a few celebs, give the fans a great experience and then we thought of music…and boom!"
Matt Macklin remembers it well: "The first time I heard music being played between fights was at a Brian Peters' show in Dublin.
I remember thinking, they should do this at the shows in England - the place was absolutely rocking!
"Bernard Dunne was the main event and like always, there was a gap in the action while the TV pundits on RTE gave their predictions from the studio.
"At ringside, the atmosphere was really building towards the main event with literally the whole arena singing along to Sweet Caroline! I remember thinking, they should do this at the shows in England - the place was absolutely rocking!"
Brian chipped in: "I always had good sound systems, great DJs as I had been in the nightclub business, and we started playing some music and the fans really loved Sweet Caroline. It gave them some participation and it was also a nod to my dad. MC Mike Goodhall was involved and it went from there."
The MC that we always picture conducting Sweet Caroline - leading the mass swaying, singing and chanting is of course Hall of Fame MC. 'Let's Get Ready to Rumble' himself. Our good friend Michael Buffer.
Michael told me from his LA home: "When the song starts, there's always a spontaneous burst of sound. It's vocal plus applause as the crowd realises the main event fighters will soon make their entrances. It's such a great moment of fan unification."
A few years ago I got caught up in that excitement and couldn't resist trying to encourage the fans to react with even more gusto!
But what of his now pivotal role as the circus master?
"A few years ago I got caught up in that excitement and couldn't resist trying to encourage the fans to react with even more gusto!" Michael explained.
"The reaction was a positive one and I just love seeing and hearing the never-failing excitement and enthusiasm generated by Sweet Caroline!'
It is of course aimed right at the fans. The heartbeat of our business.
Emerging professional coach and lifelong fight fan Ali Ahmed is one of those: "You know it's the time to sing along with Michael Buffer and really get behind the fighter you are backing to win!
"When Sweet Caroline comes on you know right away that the main event is not far away. It's a fantastic song that will run through generations to come. Goosebumps and heart rate goes up - we're all ready for action!"
I even asked my mum Veronica Soskin who loves the big nights and has a particular soft spot for AJ, and Dillian and Derek….most of them to be fair!
"Sweet Caroline never fails to get me in the boxing mood. It unifies everyone to a great pitch of excitement," my mum told me, enticed just even thinking about it.
Her son has a slightly different perspective. I love the song. I love the crowd. Yet this is work time; it's my cue to place the mic down, let the commentary breathe, look at Matt and Carl or Tony and have a final ringside team moment. Sometimes the phones even come out to capture the occasion. We are ready for business, and we are making memories.
We look over to our presenter Anna Woolhouse who is usually to our right, but always right in the middle of the drama!
"There really is nothing quite like hearing the opening bars of Sweet Caroline on Fight Night, especially on PPV nights," Anna explains.
"When you do, you know the main event is just moments away, the atmosphere is absolutely electric. It's so loud you can't hear anything in your ears which makes my job shall we say fun," Anna adds.
"You'll often hear me say 'let's just soak up this amazing atmosphere' and when you do, you know I can't hear anything in my ear or from my guests. It's just brilliant, I absolutely love it, Sweet Caroline quite simply is the British boxing anthem."
Andy Scott is just to our left: "When you hear it at ringside you know that everything that has gone before is over and it's fight time. It's the last thing the fans enjoy before the ringwalks and truthfully it's the ultimate uniting anthem," Andy told me, obviously missing the live events.
"Even if you don't like the song you can't help but sing it and I have seen many people who have told me they hate it, standing on a chair filming it with a mobile phone in their hand. It's catchy, it's fun and it's the perfect chance to have a sing song. It is the boxing fans song, and the rest of the world envy us for it."
Carl Froch adds: "Sweet Caroline only has real fond memories for me of working on all the big shows with the Sky Sports team. It makes me feel excited for the show/tv broadcast, as well as nervous for the fighters as I know what they're going through in their final moments before they ringwalk. Not many things in life actually trigger my adrenaline, but Sweet Caroline always does."
"For a fighter, we knew it was big time when being introduced by Michael Buffer. But now as an analyst and a fan Sweet Caroline makes you feel part of something big time," says Johnny Nelson.
Then, what of the big-time promoter who has orchestrated the event from the start and whose shows have been lit up by a white-hot atmosphere, a vibrancy and real electricity - but who also has huge amounts at stake.
Eddie Hearn told me: "When it begins, it is an iconic moment. For me, it's when the butterflies really start."
It's so important for the crowd's energy; but it's just as important for a fighter to switch on. This is it.
Eddie relives it. "When it begins, I am always backstage and I hear and feel the vibrations on the walls and the hairs on the back of your neck go! It's so loud, sometimes I run behind the stage to feel the energy, watch the fun on people's faces.
"Then it's back to the fighter's team, that vibration on the walls as the gladiators are getting ready for battle. Everyone knows. It is fight time. It's deafening in the corridors and I Iook at the fighter's faces. It's so important for the crowd's energy; but it's just as important for a fighter to switch on. This is it."
You can feel how much Eddie misses the buzz.
There is of course hard business to take care of. For the chosen few, this is not a night of fun with your friends…
For those key personnel waiting for their entrance….
Trainer Dave Coldwell explains: "When you're backstage with a main event fight - and that starts playing, you're hearing it in the changing room with all the fans signing along, you know it's almost time to go to work! You know what - I really hate the song!"
The nerves. Those butterflies. The expectation. As the fighters get gloved up and pace around their dressing rooms in the final agonising minutes.
Matt Macklin recalls: "As a fighter, in the changing rooms, gloved up ready to go, my trainer has put the pads away."
"There's a horrible and yet amazing silent anticipation with both a fear of failure and the excitement of triumph equally flowing full speed through my body," Matt explained.
"Then you get the drowned-out melodies of Sweet Caroline creeping through concrete walls, signalling that the time for battle is almost here. I take a deep breath - this is it, let's go!!'
For those brave and spirited headline prizefighters, it is of course the point of no return. No turning back - and as the song ebbs away….the call to the arena is upon them. The truth, as always will be in the ring.
Sweet Caroline has literally provided so much.
The build-up. Growing tension. Unity. A cacophony of noise. Fun, electricity. Anticipation. Freefall. Everyone letting themselves go. And maybe most of all - Familiarity.
You know it's coming. And you know what is about to happen.
So what does Brian Peters think of it all these years later:
"I always allow myself a wry smile, just in the background when it is being sung by thousands in England. I message those who thought I was crazy way back when at home."
Thanks to the Irish. How I love them. And like most things in boxing, it is a pretty crazy tale.
How we just can't get enough of it. How much longer will we wait?
No one really knows as the frontline NHS workers rightfully take all the applause every Thursday. They, not our fighters for now are putting their lives on the line. We all salute you, and how good would it be to see those brave women and men, doctors and nurses at our first big show back.
Can you only imagine how loud, how passionate, how desperate all of us who love boxing are going to be when we hear those first Diamond chords…..
Hands, touching hands
Reaching out, touching me touching you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I'd be inclined
To believe they never would
