Appleby rises above taunts from fans ahead of showdown

[Dunky McCafferty]

JIM BLACK ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Paul Appleby, the British featherweight champion displayed maturity far beyond his 21 years yesterday when the pre-fight press conference to publicise his title defence against Ulsterman Martin Lindsay threatened to turn nasty.

The youngster from South Queensferry refused to be intimidated by a group of Lindsay supporters who took advantage of lax security at Belfast's Europa Hotel to join in the question and answer session.

Appleby appeared unmoved when he was asked if he was unnerved by the prospect of facing Lindsay's army of fans at the Ulster Hall tomorrow evening in the second defence of his crown.

Stevie McGuire, Appleby's trainer, taunted the group by inviting them to make as much noise as they like, adding: "That will only spur Paul on to an even greater victory."

McGuire later revealed that he and Appleby had been on the point of walking out because of the incident, but the pair were persuaded to stay when local journalists apologised for the shameful scene.

The boxer's cool response did not surprise another east of Scotland fighter, Alex Arthur, the former WBO super-featherweight champion from Edinburgh, because, he says, Appleby reminds him of himself in many ways.

Arthur, 30, claimed: "Paul Appleby is the new Alex Arthur. He even wears white and gold shorts like me. I believe Paul models himself on me, which is an honour, because the kid has all the ability in the world.

"If he has trained properly and has had the right sort of sparring partners, I see no reason why Appleby won't win.

Lindsay is good, but Paul is a better all-round fighter, and it's tremendous that Scotland has another brilliant up-and- coming boxer. I have sparred hundreds of rounds with Paul and I believe I helped him develop as a young pro into the fighter he has become.

I helped mould Paul, if you like, and now I want to see him progress all the way to a world title."

However, Arthur warned: "This is not an easy fight. Lindsay is also undefeated and he has home advantage. But Paul is a very determined young man and if you hit him he wants to hit you back even harder and more often and that's a great weapon to have. Paul has also developed patience, which he never used to have. He doesn't rush in as much as he used to and, against Esham Pickering in his first title defence last November, showed greater maturity.

"Perhaps his one mistake was to chase Pickering round the ring instead of standing his ground and making his opponent come to him, but that is all part of the learning process. The other thing he has got is a good chin. Paul can take a shot and will eat them up to get off shots of his own. I think he will win this fight and go on to bigger and better things."

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[9Ball]

Terrible that the Irish 'fans' were allowed to get in and cause such a hoohar. I hope Appleby wins by stunning first round ko. It will go the distance though.

Only thing that troubles me about Appleby is that Amazing (?) Alex Arthur seems to have had a lot of contact and that can't be good ;)

[Dan684]

Arthur is a waster

[Gullet]

Arthur talks about himself more than about the fight, Will all be a great experience for Paul and i think he will grow in stature if he wins this fight.

[alba]

why did lindsay's fans feel the need to do this?ill tell you why,cause they know there man needs all the help he can get it.Pathetic

[saturday_kid]

Appleby UD

[dwilson]

Jeez the new Alex Arthur. Poor kid.

It really does not surprise me about the 'Irish' fans.

[kerrminator]

They've probably just shot themselves in the foot. Now the security at the fight will be tighter than a nun's arse

[pathmanc1986]

hang on, whats gone on here. some scum bags got into the press conference and started asking shit questions about how he was going to lose? who cares, the biggest problem there would be the press conference being held up


he says he is not affected by it but he says he was on the verge of walking out?


these arent Irish fans anyway, they are lindsays close mates and other scallys that are just going along for something to do

[rooq]

"Paul Appleby is the new Alex Arthur. He even wears white and gold shorts like me. I believe Paul models himself on me, which is an honour, because the kid has all the ability in the world."

poor kid. he's doomed. doomed i tell yer.

[saturday_kid]

To be honest they couldnt have been that bad if they were just asking daft questions.

[Grant1]

Arthur comes across as a bit up his own arse in that piece.

[pathmanc1986]

To be honest they couldnt have been that bad if they were just asking daft questions.


thats what i thought, it was probably fellas 15-25 yrs old acting the dicks and thinking this was absolutely hilarious


not a good sign if appleby is wobbled by this petty shit.....


cant wait for this fight, both guys have been proper respectful of each other which usually sets the tone for the fight. all lindsays mob will come in steamin but i dont see any trouble taking place. they will cheer any exchanges and come across rowdy on setanta but theres nothing wrong with that at all

[ardy]

To be honest they couldnt have been that bad if they were just asking daft questions.

Apparently they were not that bad, and contrary to the claims of that biased article, young Paul was totally unnerved by the whole situation.It reminds me of when Chris Okoh came to Belfast to defend his Commonwealth title against Darren Corbett. Chris completely lost the fight before getting into the ring, he was that intimidated by Darrens fans.Although the abuse[by Corbetts fans] that Chris suffered was uncalled for that night. I know Darren [boxed in the same amateur club], and I was ashamed of some of the racist taunts hurled at his opponent that night. I grew up in the republican Ardoyne area of Belfast, and have been on the recieving end of racist abuse in my youth [mainly from the British army], so I never dreamt it possible that people from my own community could engage in such similar antics. I hope this fight does not mirror that night, and that Lindsays fans behave themselves and let the boxers get on with it. And speaking as an Irish boxing fan who will be at The Ulster Hall tomorrow night, I will repectfully applaud young Paul Appleby in and out of the ring, and hope he is treated the same way by the rest of the Irish fans.

[robster]

Who's to say that Hayemaker didn't set this all up.

Given the recent mindgames by David Haye at the Klitchko press conference, I wouldn't put it past Adam Booth having a hand in this. The fight is apparently a sell out, the weigh in will be today, why go to the added expense of a press conference yesterday, boxers and their team coming in a day early, extra hotel rooms etc, if Hayemaker weren't going to gain something from it.

Just a thought!

[saturday_kid]

Apparently they were not that bad, and contrary to the claims of that biased article, young Paul was totally unnerved by the whole situation.It reminds me of when Chris Okoh came to Belfast to defend his Commonwealth title against Darren Corbett. Chris completely lost the fight before getting into the ring, he was that intimidated by Darrens fans.Although the abuse[by Corbetts fans] that Chris suffered was uncalled for that night. I know Darren [boxed in the same amateur club], and I was ashamed of some of the racist taunts hurled at his opponent that night. I grew up in the republican Ardoyne area of Belfast, and have been on the recieving end of racist abuse in my youth [mainly from the British army], so I never dreamt it possible that people from my own community could engage in such similar antics. I hope this fight does not mirror that night, and that Lindsays fans behave themselves and let the boxers get on with it. And speaking as an Irish boxing fan who will be at The Ulster Hall tomorrow night, I will repectfully applaud young Paul Appleby in and out of the ring, and hope he is treated the same way by the rest of the Irish fans.


Top man :good

I'm all for a bit of atmosphere and rowdiness as long as it stays under control, no crowd violence, racist taunts etc, theres no place for it.

Anyways have a good night tommorow, sure its gonna be a good en'. Been looking forward to this fight.

[TFFP]

I've always been impressed with Appleby as a young man. His post-fight interviews are always critical of himself, rather than boastful. More crucially, he is always on point with his analysis. This is a a guy with drive and ambition.

[moorser]

cant wait for this one , do's anyone know what time the fight itself is starting , i know the coverage is starting at 8:15

[Flea Man]

Arthur is done.

Appleby will definitely impress me if he beats Lindsay.


I ask again BUT WHERE THE FUCK IS CHOI???!!?!?!?! Is ****** mental or just sour that Matthews was exposed by Choi.

He was rated in the top 10 by The Ring magazine and yet ****** couldn't find him an opponent???? Unbelievable.

[Flea Man]

Also, looking forward to seeing Michael Maguire, a prospect to watch out for :good

[LHL]

Shame those "fans" got in they are going to cut any chance Belfast have of getting decent cards off with that stuff.

Belfast hasn't had a good fight in ages and this is the sort of publicity it doesn't need.

Looking forward to a cracking fight though

[alba]

seeing some of the posts on here,and the actions of the 'fans' yesterday it makes me think that the irish schools must be on holiday!

aslo that article ids a bit biased,but jim black writes freelance for the scottish based papers so iwould expect to slant in applebys favour .

[D Coldwell]

This is totally inaccurate.
There were 5 people that were Lindsay's fans, only three of that were asking questions to both fighters and there was no disrespect to either boxer.
It was a small conference and as normal we allow the public to ask questions also, its an open forum rather than strictly press.
There was a bit of banter but it was all questions and answers that Appleby and Lindsay responded to comfortably.

The weigh in today was a different matter, packed out with football style atmosphere, but again, all great banter between both sets of fans.

Both camps respect eachother, both sets of fans know their man is in for a hard night and from what has happened in the build up, its going to be a great night.

[irishhitman]

This is totally inaccurate.
There were 5 people that were Lindsay's fans, only three of that were asking questions to both fighters and there was no disrespect to either boxer.
It was a small conference and as normal we allow the public to ask questions also, its an open forum rather than strictly press.
There was a bit of banter but it was all questions and answers that Appleby and Lindsay responded to comfortably.

The weigh in today was a different matter, packed out with football style atmosphere, but again, all great banter between both sets of fans.

Both camps respect eachother, both sets of fans know their man is in for a hard night and from what has happened in the build up, its going to be a great night.

a question for hayemaker.. why is there not more irish boxers on the undercard...one 4rd novice in luke wilton does not cut it make mate..

[apps1]

the weigh inn atmosphere was electric but brilliant

[southpaw83]

Terrible that the Irish 'fans' were allowed to get in and cause such a hoohar. I hope Appleby wins by stunning first round ko. It will go the distance though.

Only thing that troubles me about Appleby is that Amazing (?) Alex Arthur seems to have had a lot of contact and that can't be good ;)

"ken when you get knocked doon real heavy? get up and wink at the camera like, so everyone kens your fucked"

[slapbangwhallop]

JIM BLACK ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Paul Appleby, the British featherweight champion displayed maturity far beyond his 21 years yesterday when the pre-fight press conference to publicise his title defence against Ulsterman Martin Lindsay threatened to turn nasty.

The youngster from South Queensferry refused to be intimidated by a group of Lindsay supporters who took advantage of lax security at Belfast's Europa Hotel to join in the question and answer session.

Appleby appeared unmoved when he was asked if he was unnerved by the prospect of facing Lindsay's army of fans at the Ulster Hall tomorrow evening in the second defence of his crown.

Stevie McGuire, Appleby's trainer, taunted the group by inviting them to make as much noise as they like, adding: "That will only spur Paul on to an even greater victory."

McGuire later revealed that he and Appleby had been on the point of walking out because of the incident, but the pair were persuaded to stay when local journalists apologised for the shameful scene.

The boxer's cool response did not surprise another east of Scotland fighter, Alex Arthur, the former WBO super-featherweight champion from Edinburgh, because, he says, Appleby reminds him of himself in many ways.

Arthur, 30, claimed: "Paul Appleby is the new Alex Arthur. He even wears white and gold shorts like me. I believe Paul models himself on me, which is an honour, because the kid has all the ability in the world.

"If he has trained properly and has had the right sort of sparring partners, I see no reason why Appleby won't win.

Lindsay is good, but Paul is a better all-round fighter, and it's tremendous that Scotland has another brilliant up-and- coming boxer. I have sparred hundreds of rounds with Paul and I believe I helped him develop as a young pro into the fighter he has become.

I helped mould Paul, if you like, and now I want to see him progress all the way to a world title."

However, Arthur warned: "This is not an easy fight. Lindsay is also undefeated and he has home advantage. But Paul is a very determined young man and if you hit him he wants to hit you back even harder and more often and that's a great weapon to have. Paul has also developed patience, which he never used to have. He doesn't rush in as much as he used to and, against Esham Pickering in his first title defence last November, showed greater maturity.

"Perhaps his one mistake was to chase Pickering round the ring instead of standing his ground and making his opponent come to him, but that is all part of the learning process. The other thing he has got is a good chin. Paul can take a shot and will eat them up to get off shots of his own. I think he will win this fight and go on to bigger and better things."

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

shit article - whinging like a biatch!!

get over it - couple of guys start takin the piss and havin a bit of craic - ignore them and get on with it.

talk about makin a mountain out of a molehill