CONTINENTAL SHIFT
The Independent|June 12, 2024
Abass Baraou and Macaulay McGowan's European title bout will turn a Bolton ring into a time machine, says Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce
CONTINENTAL SHIFT

The European boxing championship is still a hard title to win in a world where glamorous belts, made from snakes and diamonds, seem to carry more weight than the traditional versions.

On Friday night in Bolton, an old-fashioned fight will take place on terrestrial television when Channel 5 screens the European super-welterweight title clash between Abass Baraou, the champion from Germany, and Macaulay McGowan, the challenger from just down the road in Manchester.

In the Eighties and Nineties, there were dozens of fights like this between good men trying to secure a fight for one of the rare world championship baubles; British boxers went on the road on lost causes to get closer to their dream. It seldom worked, trust me.

Baraou won the title in Telford, defends in Bolton, and might just be the rarest of modern boxers in this increasingly protected age, with his willingness to travel for fights. His win over the local boxer Sam Eggington, in Telford in March, was a genuine fight-of-the-year contender. His scrap with McGowan will be similar.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 12, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 12, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE INDEPENDENT مشاهدة الكل
Why rugby must learn to cherish outliers Argentina
The Independent

Why rugby must learn to cherish outliers Argentina

The story goes that the sobriquet by which the Argentine national rugby team has become commonly known came about as a case of mistaken identity. The tale told is of a South African journalist watching a touring side in the 1960s and seeking a snappy name to assist him at second mention.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Trump touts friendship with Putin in Zelensky meeting
The Independent

Trump touts friendship with Putin in Zelensky meeting

Donald Trump boasted of a \"very good relationship\" with both Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin yesterday as he hosted the Ukrainian leader for a meeting at his New York City skyscraper.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Police fail many victims of stalking, watchdog reports
The Independent

Police fail many victims of stalking, watchdog reports

Police are trivialising stalking and letting victims down, watchdogs have warned, as figures show one in five women are targeted.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Sycamore Gap tree saplings to branch out across Britain
The Independent

Sycamore Gap tree saplings to branch out across Britain

Its destruction triggered outcry and sadness across the nation but now, 12 months on from the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree, saplings of it are to be planted across the UK. Custodians of the much-photographed and visited sycamore say they hope the venture, which comes exactly a year after the tree was chopped down, will create a new chapter of hope in its legacy.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Cyclist killed man, 78, after row about pavement riding
The Independent

Cyclist killed man, 78, after row about pavement riding

A cyclist was bravely chased down by members of the public after he launched a fatal single-punch attack on an older man in a row about riding on the pavement.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Britain's youngest knife killers handed life terms
The Independent

Britain's youngest knife killers handed life terms

Two boys thought to be Britain's youngest knife killers who stabbed a stranger to death in a \"horrific and shocking\" machete murder have each been handed life sentences.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Road and rail hit by flooding as 60mph winds predicted
The Independent

Road and rail hit by flooding as 60mph winds predicted

The Met Office has issued a weather warning for winds of more than 60mph this weekend as parts of England slowly recover from the impact of torrential rain and flooding.

time-read
1 min  |
September 28, 2024
Van Gogh painting 'souped' hours after protesters jailed
The Independent

Van Gogh painting 'souped' hours after protesters jailed

Just Stop Oil activists have thrown soup over two Vincent van Gogh paintings just hours after their fellow protesters were sentenced to prison time for doing the same.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 28, 2024
A master of prose that is both rich and terribly cheap
The Independent

A master of prose that is both rich and terribly cheap

Boris Johnson has written a memoir - and there is no doubt, writes Robert McCrum, that the former PM's account of his political career will be 'self-centred to an astounding degree'

time-read
6 mins  |
September 28, 2024
Johnson mulled military raid on Dutch warehouse
The Independent

Johnson mulled military raid on Dutch warehouse

Former prime minister Boris Johnson considered launching \"aquatic raid\" on a warehouse in the Netherlands to retrieve

time-read
3 mins  |
September 28, 2024