Former World Lightweight Champion Graham Earl has linked up with his former longtime coach Johnny Eames to present a night of professional boxing at Tattersalls Sales Rooms in Newmarket, Suffolk on Saturday 30th April.
The special event, named ‘Return Of The Mac’, is headlined by Newmarket Light Middleweight prospect ‘Phat’ Pat McAleese, with support bouts featuring Cheshunt’s undefeated Welterweight Bobby Gladman, exciting Slough Super Bantamweight Ian Bailey and debuting Super Middleweight Henry Bacon from Ipswich. In addition further boxers from Graham Earl’s stable are also set to feature.
Following a coaching session, at his famous TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, Johnny Eames said, “It’s a show we’ve been doing for a couple of years now, mainly for Pat McAleese, and I’m really pleased that my good friend, and former fighter, Graham Earl is to promote the event this year.
It’s only a 900 seat venue and Pat tends to sell most of the tickets so it gives us a chance to give some of our own boys who don’t really sell tickets a chance to be the house fighter.
Although with this time it being a race weekend we’ve had to go with a couple of ticket sellers to ease Pat a little bit of stress.
We really enjoy doing the shows there, Newmarket’s a lovely town, the people are nice there and they support the show really well. We’re hoping to do a bigger show there in the future with Pat McAleese going for a title fight.
We’ve got young Ian Bailey on the show, Ian’s a kid that really deserves a house fight for a change. He’s fought virtually every top prospect in the country at his weight. He’s won a couple of them, got beat on a couple of them. He don’t sell a lot of tickets so not a lot of promoters will use him as a house fighter.
This event gives us the chance for him to be a house fighter. The kid should have a lot better record than he’s got. Given the circumstances five and seven isn’t a bad return really, when you think about some of the boys he’s boxed. Yeah, Ian deserves the chance of being the house fighter and hopefully we can get him a win.
Ian’s always exciting to watch, Pat’s an exciting fighter and so’s Bobby Gladman, who’s seven and O, who’s a new kid to us, he was recommended to us by Billy Joe Saunders.
He’s actually managed by Mickey Helliet and he’s with us for training and looking good in training and I’m excited to be seeing him fighting on the show.
Henry Bacon came to us via Stevie Smith, he’s managed by Tony Simms and trained by Steve ‘Spartacus’ Smith, I’m sure you all remember Spartacus. He had a great fight with one of my fighters, Tony Oakey, for the British title, he got stopped with about a minute to go of the last round but that was a great fight. It got Tony his British title, which he really wanted to get.
Henry Bacon I don’t know too much about him, he was an ABA quarter or semi finalist a couple of times and he’ll be debuting against one of my old fighters, Danny Goode.
Graham will have one or two of his fighters on the show, not sure who yet but knowing Graham they’ll be a couple of lads that are really up for it and who’ll put on a great show.
Apparently Pat’s doing really well with his tickets already. I’m sure that a lot of the boys who have taken tickets will do their quota, but as I said what we are up against is it’s a race weekend and of course the Royal Wedding, which not to many of us will be going to so it shouldn’t affect us too much on selling tickets. I aint had my invite yet anyway, but who knows maybe that’ll come in this afternoon’s post.
Pat’s a very popular fighter in Newmarket and we’ve got a great show planned so I’m sure it’ll be a great success.”
Tickets for the Graham Earl, in association with TKO Boxing Gym, Promoted ‘Return Of The Mac’ event at the Tattersalls Sales Rooms in Newmarket on Saturday 30th April 2011 are now on sale and priced £30 (Unreserved) or £50 (Ringside).
For tickets call: 07960 850645, book on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or call in person at The TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA.
