20.11.08 – By Ted Sares – I thought, ‘I’ve got him here’ and I saw his legs do a little dance, but he got close enough to hold on to me and simply said, ‘are your hands hurting yet?’ –Tony Bellew, Paul Bonson opponent
Slovakian Jozef Kubovsky, now 13-101-14, recently reached the 100 mark when he lost to Jindrich Kubin, 1-0 coming in.. Fellow Slovakian Anton Glofak, 2- 77 (KO 39) – 8 seems intent on making his mark as well. But these two seem like they are standing still when it comes to a quartet of extremely active blokes from the UK who seem to be in a race to see who can lose the most fights.
Ernie “Gypsy Boy” Smith
“Gypsy Boy” has lost 45 in a row and sports a dreadful mark of 13-133-5. While leading the current active pact of UK Centurions, he seldom gets stopped and remains a promoters dream. In fact, he has gone the distance with Kell “Kid” Brook on three occasions. Smith is not to be confused with another “Gypsy Boy” by the name of Billy “Gypsy Boy” Smith who has his own ugly slate of 12-76-1, but is rarely stopped as well.
Karl “Plug” Taylor
Karl sports a plug ugly record of 16-116-6 and last fought against none other than ’The Arabian Warrior”, Eisa Al Dah, 2-0 coming in. “Plug” has won just once in his last 60!
Booth, Bonson and Dunn
Then there is the trio of Tony Booth, Paul Bonson, and Peter “Desperate” Dunn.
Booth made his pro debut in 1990. By the year 2000, he achieved his centurion status by losing a hundred fights in ten years. His current mark is 52-105-9 in 166 outings and he is currently on a two-fight win streak. His level of opposition has been much higher than his Centurion counterparts, as he has done battle with the likes of Omar Sheika, Enzo Maccharinely (twice), David Haye in Haye’s pro debut, tough Michael Sprott, Montell Griffin, Johnny Nelson, Ralf “Rocky II“.Rocchigiani, and rugged Bash Ali.
“Desperate” Dunn’s current record stands at a desperate 12 (KO 0) – 103 (KO 11) 4 and he shows no signs of slowing down. His signature is to be a bill saver by stepping in on very short notice.
Feather-stone campaigner Paul Bonson, teak-tough and a former Rugby player, is tied with Dunn at 103 losses. His record is 20-103 (KO 3) – 8. Yes, he has only been stopped thrice in 131 bouts–and only once since 2004. Bonson is capable of the occasional upset and even gave the then WBC’s number one contender, Clinton Woods, a gritty performance before losing over six rounds in 2001
Still, these lads have a way to go in order to catch the now retired trio of Seamus Casey (30-129-5), Brian Coleman (24-141-7), and of course the one and only “Professor”, Peter Buckley, currently at 32-256 (KO 10)-12 in 300 fights. He also has boxed an astounding 1,684 rounds. Buckley last fought on October 21, 2008 when he beat one Matin Mohammed, 0-0-1. In an interview following that rare victory, he announced he was retiring. Time will tell.
Now it’s easy to make light of these blokes, but they are game and as durable as can be. Indeed, without Buckley and his ilk of fellow centurions, where would the matchmakers and promoters be when they need a fighter on short notice? In the end, there is a need for such fighters; after all, without losers, there would be no winners.