By Jim Haley – Awooga to all my fellow fight fans, Jim Haley here giving you my humble take on the ‘Magnificent Seven’ British bonanza, in a rather rhythmical way….
With gallons of blood, sweat and tears,
Some ‘Big Macc’ fears,
Too many beers, and a few stoppage jeers,
Frank Warren has raised his game and delivered a terrific card,
here are some whimsical ramblings from my involvement at the event..
The Brummy taxi arrived extra price contrived,
LG Arena looking great hardly a wait.
Searched on the door, “no drugs” I implore,
The Misses in tow, wanting to go and see J.L.S.
But ‘sold out’ it beams, oh how I scream,
That I am here to see fights not pop horror frights.
Into our seats we go, to my left I think ‘No!’,
It cant be, its not, it’s a Welsh Santa, what?
But this isn’t Christmas, he has a jolly face, but he denies me all space,
And leaves me arched to one side, oh this will be a ride.
As box office begins, James De-Gale sings,
To a fistic tune is the stoppage too soon?
Carl Dilk’s does not moan, he must have known,
But he’s never been stopped, that balloon is now popped.
‘Chunky’ missed the weight, but still looked a great,
But bigger tests await, in the form of an old team mate,.
Critics will call for a ‘Saint’ who could get past that feint,
What a present it would be if we all get to see,
These two stars align and promptly sign, in time for Christmas.
I must make haste, Matty Hall did he waste, his shot at the title?
He was game and strong, it was entertaining, not long.
Drafted in at short notice it looked a good ploy,
To suitably replace an injured ‘spice boy’,
But Konecny is class, never a Euro farce,
And when the time was right, he finished with might,
Finishing a contest that was a delight.
As for Mr Hall, he gave it his all, but another fall,
Suggests his level is not as high, as he believed he could fly.
Cleverley and Murat engaged next,
An odd running order left me perplexed.
A terrific battle ensued, Cleverly looks a star,
Murat was there, but a little afar.
The stoppage was odd, Murat seemed fine,
But he was saved for a day when he can shine.
Talk of the top may be premature,
But Nathan’s a talent, that’s for sure.
Braehmer is beatable, but a beast,
If this transpires next, oh what a feast.
Brook and Jennings, it promised much,
But never quite got going as such.
Brook rusty, Jennings quick,
‘Special K’ not as slick.
As the fight warmed up, it got flowing,
Oh dear lots of blood showing.
All done, its stopped,
Jennings eye has popped.
As for Kell, he possesses the power,
To give Matt Hatton an early shower.
But we will need to wait for another time,
Jennings was unlucky, bit of a crime.
The big guys were next,
Barely time for a text.
Sexton looked pumped, ready to go,
Derek makes him wait, that robe…”Whoa!”
Strolling to the ring he looked like a sight,
Sam thinking, “Will he take a bite?”
I wonder, can he make him miss,
But then why didn’t he go for a kiss.
Great action early, fast give and take,
‘Del Boy’ looking stronger, Sam needs a break.
A lull in the middle, this wont last the twelve,
The winner will be the one who can delve.
Into the locker and pull out the punch,
That will bring up the others lunch.
Chisora does it, a fine punishing strike,
Sexton on empty, couldn’t find his bike.
Derek moves on, maybe a shot,
To a man with the Ali shuffle, Not.
The furious one is waiting to decide,
Who’s the Daddy on the domestic side!
Attempting to get a beer before ‘Big Macc’ arrived,
The queues were too big, I wouldn’t survive.
A cracker for sure, KO power galore,
Frenkel a threat you cant ignore.
Tentative start, respect the dynamite,
At any point this could ignite.
Enzo in control, leading he must be,
Afolabi memories too plain to see.
A huge right missed, chin in the air,
Turns into a bomb that brings despair.
Down heavily, its over I bet,
He staggers up, Frenkel is set.
Jelly legs, glass eyes, he’s bound to fold,
BOOM! BANG! brutally old cold.
Worrying moments, is he alright?
The future for Frenkel could be bright.
With a huge heart and punch, he had his day,
He would not want to leave this way.
But its time to go, and close the show,
He gave us some good nights, earned some dough.
Thanks very much, big Enzo.
The mood turns sour as a big scrap ensues,
And rightly brings a chorus of boo’s.
As some fans wage a war,
They forget what they came for.
As the louts are taken out, and given a clout,
The fans left over can once more shout.
In the final fight, of this magnificent night,
Macklin reclaims his title back.
But his opponent is no sack,
And puts a good effort in at first,
Before he starts to dread the worst,
And waves off the fight to save him taking,
A Macklin based fistic baking.
The only regret of this terrific night,
Is that Barker was absent for his fight,
So I hope before Mack takes on the best,
He will once more attempt the Barker test.