is greater manchester home of Brit boxing now?

[slip&counter]

i heard if khan vs kotelnik was at the 02 then it wouldn't even be half full, fighters from other parts of the country particularly london don't get as much support like those from greater manchester because london is so fractured, i was thinking maybe its because people from that area have more disposable income, but people who attend boxing are mostly working class so that couldn't be the reason

are there more boxing fans in greater manchester? is it the ricky hatton effect? theres seems to be more of a boxing culture there and probabily more gyms as well seeing the amount of fighters coming through from that area

the attitude to boxing in the north in general is different, for example local news programs from those areas give some publicity and coverage to fighters, i saw amir khan on the bbc north program and he wouldn't even get a mention on places like bbc london news if he was from london

btw khan's profile has really suffered since he's gone to ppv, i know people who never missed his fights on ITV and got into boxing because of it and they didn't even know he was fighting at the weekend.

[Cobbler]

i heard if khan vs kotelnik was at the 02 then it wouldn't even be half full

The flaw in your argument is that the MEN wasn't half full either....

[Rocky]

I would say so, ive been to see hatton a few times, calzaghe, harrison, and was at the khan barrera fight wich were all held at the m.e.n arena, its a cracking venue and always packed, but fans come from all over the place for these events. manchester is alot easier to get to for us scots as its only a 3 hour drive away.

[chrisfinch]

Just out of interest, did Kotelnik have a legit tooth injury, or is the unofficial "word" that ticket sales at the O2 were shite, so FW moved it to the MEN where it could potentially do better business?

Fat lot of good that did. And robbed me out of £45 for a non-refundable hotel room in London for June 18:patsch

[Dan684]

Cobbler it was definately more than half full. Not by much but the top tier was closed the rest was pretty much packed.

Yes it is. Manchester has better boxers and more coverage. On Sat you had thousands there to support the likes of Hall, Khan and a lot of love for Enzo and Gavin too. There's less of an atmosphere in London and the MEN is still probably the best arena in the UK

[slip&counter]

The flaw in your argument is that the MEN wasn't half full either....

it was definitely more then half full, not a bad attendence seeing as it wasn't the first choice vanue and it was a relatively late change, no way any vanue in london gets that audience given the circumctances

and when i say not even half full i'm talking well south of 10,000

[cityofgod]

Give over. It's Nottingham. Froch will pull in 10,000 for Dirrell.

Wheras Khan had less than 6000.

[Dan684]

Give over. It's Nottingham. Froch will pull in 10,000 for Dirrell.

Wheras Khan had less than 6000.

with a name like that you have no right commenting in this thread :patsch

[alba]

manchester is def homew of boxing un the uk ,good to see the proper city of England get recognisation ,also mancs are a lot friendlier than londoners .always like a trip to manchester

[Rocky]

Give over. It's Nottingham. Froch will pull in 10,000 for Dirrell.

Wheras Khan had less than 6000.

Im hoping to get to that fight, so il beable to judge for myself :D

[Matt1986]

manchester is def homew of boxing un the uk ,good to see the proper city of England get recognisation ,also mancs are a lot friendlier than londoners .always like a trip to manchester

well said the only problem with manc is there are no real top class boxing shops for training gear

[Aztec God]

Manchester producing good fighters is nothing new - Robin Reid, Ricky Hatton, Carl Thompson, just to name some World Champions there -

[Dan684]

Matt your bang on there. I went looking for some new boots last year and proper struggled. Ended up borrowing my mates old skool adidas ones for the fight which I prefered anyway coz they were top. White go up to near the knee. Think there's a few around surrounding towns like Cheetham Hill etc etc

[Headphone]

I wouldn't say there are more boxing fans in Manchester. If there was a top quality fighter from Newcastle or Sunderland you would see big attendances. It just happens that there are alot of talent from Manchester therefore people from that area are more likely to attend.

[Dan684]

I wouldn't say there are more boxing fans in Manchester. If there was a top quality fighter from Newcastle or Sunderland you would see big attendances. It just happens that there are alot of talent from Manchester therefore people from that area are more likely to attend.

But there aren't so it probably is :D

[Aztec God]

Manchester and London are the two places in the UK that I feel will consistently produce good batches of boxing talent............

[ollyc]

Manchester producing good fighters is nothing new - Robin Reid, Ricky Hatton, Carl Thompson, just to name some World Champions there -

Reid was born in Sefton, Merseyside. He regards himself as a scouser, and even referred to himself as such when in an interview he spoke of the possibility of coming out of retirement to fight for the British super-middleweight title.
As far as i'm aware Manchester has produced just the two world champions post WW2, Hatton and Thompson.

[superfly98]

I went to see Haye vs Barret at O2. The general consensus was transport problems. The O2 is a nightmare to get home from once 11.30 strikes. People dont have an isue getting there but most boxing shows i've been to generally finish later than 11. If O2 could sort out its transport issues i.e the London tube or provide a more adeaquate bus service then im sure people would flock to the arena.
The other issue with the O2 is if a boxing show starts early they charge an arm and a leg for parking. I think its over 20pounds dont quote me on that but I remember there was some ill feelings regarding parking on fight night.

In fact Haye actualy made a joke in one of his interviews about the Barret fight stating that he had to make sure he got Barret out of the ring quick enough so people didnt miss the final tube :good. Though the guy was a top bloke after that comment :D

[Dan684]

Yeah add this to the fact that Manchester is far easier to get to for EVERYONE around the country, the arena is smack bang in town, the town is better BEFROE AND AFTER for a bit of a drink and drinks are cheaper generally makes Manchester a better venue for anything really.

[superfly98]

Yeah add this to the fact that Manchester is far easier to get to for EVERYONE around the country, the arena is smack bang in town, the town is better BEFROE AND AFTER for a bit of a drink and drinks are cheaper generally makes Manchester a better venue for anything really.
:yep:yep Good point :good Drinks cost shit loads at the o2 and don't really have much of a choice like you do in Manchester

[trotter]

I think the Gomez/Farnell era paved the way for the North West to take over UK boxing

Lots of lads I know who had been ostracised/priced out of football started following the Manchester boxers

Then Hatton came along, and really capitalised on the groundwork they'd put in, and it really blew up from there

[Dan684]

Trotter spot on mate.

[stephen1632]

I came up from London for the fight, it only took 2 hours on the train so was well impressed. Now i know how easy it is to do the M.E.N. arena i have no problem coming up here all the time for the big fights. Must say though the price of a pint is no different to th 02.:happy

[Dan684]

I came up from London for the fight, it only took 2 hours on the train so was well impressed. Now i know how easy it is to do the M.E.N. arena i have no problem coming up here all the time for the big fights. Must say though the price of a pint is no different to th 02.:happy

Sorry mate I meant the price outside the arena. Arena's are generally as expensive as each other