An Evening with...

Sugar Ray Leonard - November 28th Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Bradford.

Tickets £20 - VIP tickets £40 (including photo with Sugar Ray

Organized by MJK Sports events

Some of you may be interested although may not be prepared to travel to Bradford!!

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/14776767.Sugar_Ray_will_hit_the_sweet_spot_in_Bradford/

Bit more info re tickets at the bottom of the article

Rowley's done a few of these I think... Might have done a Leonard one too from memory... If so any good rowls?

Rowley doesn't venture on the boxing boards these days, he says it's full of opinionated f*ckwits.

I'd absolutely love a vip ticket to this. If I lived in England, I'd be there fore sure.

I live about 20 mins drive from the venue ...and I'm not f*cking going! It would be a betrayal to Hagler and that's too much of a price to pay. Hagler/Minter, the first fight I can vividly recall as a youngster and the one that got me into boxing.

But Dave you could tell him to his face how hagler was jobbed

DAVE667 wrote:Rowley doesn't venture on the boxing boards these days, he says it's full of opinionated f*ckwits.

... And that's just our good points

milkyboy wrote:But Dave you could tell him to his face how hagler was jobbed

He'd only start crying a lot and talking about his alcoholism and alleged child abuse as a means of distracting people from the main crux of the argument. I would be then seen to have been given a silent verbal beating

I have indeed been to a few of these and one was with Leonard and it is comfortably one of the best I have been to. Firstly whether you like him or not Leonard is a genuine megastar, one of the few the sport has left and he knows it, as such he has a bit of an aura and presence about him. He has also got his faculties still intact so is lucid and coherent. Add into that the fact he has done stuff like motivational speaking and commentary work and he is totally comfortable on the mic. He also comes across as a decent guy, during the meal he spent a bit of time with some of the young boxers who were in attendance, giving them advice and the like.

I dare say was anyone to attend this event they would hear pretty much exactly the same stories I heard but for anyone who has not seen him before he is genuinely very good. The only other fighter I have seen who comes close to being as good as Leonard is Johnny Nelson somewhat surprisingly. There is one round our way soon, an evening with Kell Brook! Decent fighter and all that but he is not exactly Mr Charisma, Nelson is on with him that night. Suspect Johnny will be doing the heavy lifting for that one.

All very well and good but I still think there's more chance of me putting on a dress and spending An Evening With...Bill Cosby!

milkyboy wrote:But Dave you could tell him to his face how hagler was jobbed

Why bother telling Leonard something that he's been told many times already?

I have seen Frank Bruno. He was very good.

AdamT wrote:I have seen Frank Bruno. He was very good.

Don't think Sugar Ray's doing Panto, mate!

He wasn't doing panto ha. He was sitting chatting about his career. Was very good.

AdamT wrote:He wasn't doing panto ha. He was sitting chatting about his career. Was very good.

Including his career in Panto?

Atila wrote:

milkyboy wrote:But Dave you could tell him to his face how hagler was jobbed

Why bother telling Leonard something that he's been told many times already?

Trust me he has been asked, I was there! It was quite funny, when they had the q&a the first question was would you have beaten Floyd? SRL turned round to the organiser and said told you. Leonard is proper slick. Can't remember his answer to the Hagler question but he did not miss a beat.

Boxers don't interest me....

An evening with Clint Eastwood would make my day though...

Or an evening with Meg on our own.....Or even an evening with red and Meg..

I like to watch....

Watch what, women wittering on without pausing for breath, saying anything remotely interesting or learning anything as a result? Sounds like you should tune into "Loose Women"

I will be attending this DAVE, we need to be careful CC rules and whatnot.

Fear not Rick, as mentioned above I will NOT be going anywhere near SRL

Atila wrote:

milkyboy wrote:But Dave you could tell him to his face how hagler was jobbed

Why bother telling Leonard something that he's been told many times already?

Would it not feel theraputic to tell the man you loathe, to his face, that hagler beat him?!

I do appreciate that it would involve having to squirm through all his stories, and you'd be lining his pockets with the ticket cost.

You should go Atila... Buy the VIP ticket and get your photo taken with him... doing a 'loser' sign with your hand, while whispering 'quiet beating' in his ear.

I'll be there, whispering sweet nothings in his other ear

milkyboy wrote:

Atila wrote:

milkyboy wrote:But Dave you could tell him to his face how hagler was jobbed

Why bother telling Leonard something that he's been told many times already?

Would it not feel theraputic to tell the man you loathe, to his face, that hagler beat him?!

I do appreciate that it would involve having to squirm through all his stories, and you'd be lining his pockets with the ticket cost.

You should go Atila... Buy the VIP ticket and get your photo taken with him... doing a 'loser' sign with your hand, while whispering 'quiet beating' in his ear.

I'll be there, whispering sweet nothings in his other ear

Wow, SRL getting fluffed and fisted at the same time...be like the old days for him...allegedly!

DAVE667 wrote:Fear not Rick, as mentioned above I will NOT be going anywhere near SRL

Excellent.

Must ensure CC Rules are not breached irrespective of circumstances.

On a serious note, £20 isn't a bad price neither is the £40 if you're a fan of his. But I can't imagine me ever paying money to meet anyone.

Atila wrote:On a serious note, £20 isn't  a bad price neither is the £40 if you're a fan of his. But I can't imagine me ever paying money to meet anyone.

Not even Cindy from Colchester who claims to be an aspiring model?

If I'm going to pay Cindy £20, I'd expect to do more than meet her. She's going to have to give me something for my £20.

I met a prostitute the other day who said she'd do anything for a fiver.


Guess who got his Frak car washed, waxed and vacuumed? Boom!

Can I take all this to mean if I ever decide to sell the signed photo montage I drunkenly purchased at the auction Atila and Dave should not be my first ports of call?

Too much of a drive for me Bradford, I'm afraid

I wouldn't cross the road to see Floyd Mayweather's cherrpicking ass but I'd love to see Ray Leonard in the flesh just as I would Hagler or Duran

DAVE667 wrote:Sugar Ray Leonard - November 28th Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Bradford.

Tickets £20 - VIP tickets £40 (including photo with Sugar Ray

Organized by MJK Sports events

Some of you may be interested although may not be prepared to travel to Bradford!!

There's one in York but they're asking to wire money through to "friends and family" on PayPal which just seems fishy (probably legit). £50 at Henry Wharton's Gym (desperately trying to find someone to purchase in person).

http://iboxingtickets.com/t/an-evening-with-sugar-ray-leonard-sunday-4th-december-southend

Rowley wrote:Can I take all this to mean if I ever decide to sell the signed photo montage I drunkenly purchased at the auction Atila and Dave should not be my first ports of call?

Milky will break your arm for it.

Milky has already made a reasonably substantial offer for the signed picture of me with Ray. Understandable, his two heroes together at last.

Rowley wrote:Milky has already made a reasonably substantial offer for the signed picture of me with Ray. Understandable, his two heroes together at last.

You might be Milky's hero Rowls, but Ray Leonard is his God.

As you both well know, my two boxing heroes of the era were Aaron Pryor and azumah Nelson. But I'm a man if integrity who will defend any fighter I feel is getting a raw deal. I'm made out to be a Leonard fan by all the bitter and twisted Marv groupies who can't get over his defeat.

So Rowley, how much for the Leonard montage and are their any cute ones of him in his underwear?

We do have one thing in common Milky, we're both fans of Pryor. Him, Hagler, Hearns and Holmes were my favourites from the 80's.

Sorry, make that two things we have in common, Integrity is my middle name.

Shame we never got to see Pryor share the ring with Leonard.

Much as Pryor talked it up... And Leonard bashers like to sometimes use it as a duck.... Laughable when you look at the timelines and who Leonard did actually fight. I'm sure the hawk would have liked the payday and I'm sure he'd have had a real go.

I guess we wrongly thought Duran was likely too small for Leonard so we have to be careful saying Pryor was... But whilst I'm sure it would have been a great clash of styles, have to think Ray has a bit too much class and size.

milkyboy wrote:Much as Pryor talked it up... And Leonard bashers like to sometimes use it as a duck.... Laughable when you look at the timelines and who Leonard did actually fight. I'm sure the hawk would have liked the payday and I'm sure he'd have had a real go.

I guess we wrongly thought Duran was likely too small for Leonard so we have to be careful saying Pryor was... But whilst I'm sure it would have been a great clash of styles, have to think Ray has a bit too much class and size.

Really not sure about that. Pryor would have been all over Ray, similar to the first Duran fight where he found it hard to get room to move/think/punch. It would have been a great fight (but Leonard gave us more than enough of those).

Which bit are you not sure about haz... That it wasn't a duck or that Leonard would likely win? Pryor only became a real name when he beat arguello in late 1982, Leonard had his detached retina before then and retired around the time if Pryor arguello 1. Yes Pryor used to call him out... Everyone wanted a slice of Leonard, but there was never really a missed 'Superfight'. It's only with hindsight you see 2 great fighters half a division apart and wish they'd fought.

As for the match up, I was implying it would be a great clash of styles that Leonard as a slightly better all round fighter, in my opinion, and a naturally bigger man would likely win. Pryor would be over Ray like a rash, but he wasn't as defensively astute or as smart inside as Duran. Be a cracking fight though, and not a glimme. That's how I see it anyway... You like Pryor in this?

The thing that really goes against Pryor in this match up is his size. From what I remember reading, he only moved up to light welter because he couldn't get a title shot at lightweight. I don't know if he could have bulked up enough to compete against someone like Leonard at welter. If he could sufficiently bulk up and keep his speed, then yes, I see him giving Leonard a very hard time due to his style.

I don't think Leonard avoided the Hawk, but I don't agree that this fight couldn't have happened even before Pryor stock rose by beating Arguello. Pryor was an unbeaten champ at 140lbs while Leonard found the time to fight Larry Bonds and later on Bruce Finch. Shame he couldn't have squeezed Pryor in instead of one of them.

It certainly could have happened Atila, I've heard rumours that Pryor was offered a fight in 1980, ANd that they had an agreement in place for a fight before Leonard retired with eye trouble. It wouldn't have been seen as a Superfight though, Pryor wasn't unified champ at 140 and hadn't fought anyone at 147.

Think bonds was picked as southpaw practice for the already signed for, kalule fight. Finch ticked off a Few mandatories but was certainly was a fight that added nothing to leonard's  cv.

hazharrison wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:Sugar Ray Leonard - November 28th Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Bradford.

Tickets £20 - VIP tickets £40 (including photo with Sugar Ray

Organized by MJK Sports events

Some of you may be interested although may not be prepared to travel to Bradford!!

There's one in York but they're asking to wire money through to "friends and family" on PayPal which just seems fishy (probably legit). £50 at Henry Wharton's Gym (desperately trying to find someone to purchase in person).

If it's friends or family they don't pay a fee for receiving the money. But if the event is cancelled you'll have no comeback as it's a friends and family payment.

Pedro147 wrote:

hazharrison wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:Sugar Ray Leonard - November 28th Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Bradford.

Tickets £20 - VIP tickets £40 (including photo with Sugar Ray

Organized by MJK Sports events

Some of you may be interested although may not be prepared to travel to Bradford!!

There's one in York but they're asking to wire money through to "friends and family" on PayPal which just seems fishy (probably legit). £50 at Henry Wharton's Gym (desperately trying to find someone to purchase in person).

If it's friends or family they don't pay a fee for receiving the money. But if the event is cancelled you'll have no comeback as it's a friends and family payment.

That's what I thought. Plus the email address they've given doesn't match the email address on the Henry's Gym website - which rang alarm bells.

milkyboy wrote:Which bit are you not sure about haz... That it wasn't a duck or that Leonard would likely win? Pryor only became a real name when he beat arguello in late 1982, Leonard had his detached retina before then and retired around the time if Pryor arguello 1. Yes Pryor used to call him out... Everyone wanted a slice of Leonard, but there was never really a missed 'Superfight'. It's only with hindsight you see 2 great fighters half a division apart and wish they'd fought.

As for the match up, I was implying it would be a great clash of styles that Leonard as a slightly better all round fighter, in my opinion, and a naturally bigger man would likely win. Pryor would be over Ray like a rash, but he wasn't as defensively astute or as smart inside as Duran. Be a cracking fight though, and not a glimme. That's how I see it anyway... You like Pryor in this?

I meant I wasn't convinced Leonard's size and class would win the day (no suggestion on my part that Leonard ducked him).

I think it's a coin flip - I can see ways for both to win. Good point on Pryor's defense - he was often open due to his windmill style. Real shame we didn't see it.

Fair enough, when two great fighters of similar sizes meet, the result is rarely certain, down to who can utilise their strengths better and impose their will.

Pryor carried a big chip after missing out on the '76 Olympic ticket... Think he could have gone for lightweight or light welter... Picked lightweight and lost out to Howard davis, when he could have gone for Leonard.

He saw Leonard sign the big dollar deal, so I think it's fair to say he would have gone in to a fight with Leonard pretty well motivated. Having said all that rumours are he was offered a Leonard fight not long after he won the light welter belt but wanted a bigger purse. No idea how true that is... Maybe someone who goes to the 'evening with' can ask him?!

Whichever, as you say, would have been a cracking fight.

I've never really been interested in these, but Sugar Ray Leonard is one of my all time heroes. Yeah, I'm going.

I was in Rugby today with work, so on the way back took a swerve into York.

Was still a bit uneasy about buying tickets from a gym but who turns up? Henry Wharton himself! 2 x £50 tickets in the bag (includes photo with Leonard) and a chat with Henry. Lovely fella.

Going to ask about this silent beating thing. Put it to bed once and for all...

Intriguing,  What are you going to ask exactly to put it to bed? 'Ray did marvin give you a quiet beating?'. Would a yes or no answer put it to bed?

When is the York one, I'm tempted. I need that photo to go with all the posters on my bedroom wall.