Should Basi have boxed or not?
Almost 24 hours on from the fight that wasn’t it’s still a hard one to call.
Just minutes before Ellis Corrie v Basi Razaq was due to start the boxers were informed there was a problem surrounding the British Promoters Challenge Belt, namely that there may not be a prize to present at the end of the eight-round derby.
As it transpired, the belt did turn up but by that stage the Newcastle boxer had decided he would not be fighting.
His Darlington opponent was happy to go ahead with what looked a cracker of a welterweight contest, though Basi was not.
Who was right and who was wrong? Now the dust has settled, there is probably no right or wrong answer.
The boxers had sold their tickets, weighed in and there was a good, even fight made (and a big audience waiting for it), did it even need a belt?
Probably not.
The Challenge Belt is not recognised by the British Boxing Board of Control. Remember its predecessor, the Masters ‘title’. They are merely token trophies, something to hand over as a reward to the winner after a good eight-rounder.
South Shields fighter Paul Gidney had a belter against James Beech Jnr recently, a great fight in its own right getting a little added gravitas, whatever that means.
This is perhaps a slightly extreme argument, but imagine in Kiev on Saturday night if Liverpool and Real Madrid were in the dressing room and UEFA tell them ‘sorry fellas, but we won’t be presenting the European Cup tonight, still stay though and play each other anyway?’ There would be hell on, so you can see why Razaq was perhaps a little miffed.
It takes a brave fella to say ‘I’m not fighting’ so the Geordie’s decision can’t have been taken lightly.
There was some ‘fur flying’ afterwards on social media though today both promoter Steve Wraith, the manager of Ellis, and Mark Clauzel, the boss of Basi, told punch-lines that they had held clear the air talks and all is fine between them.
Wraith issued a statement, which read: “We would both like everyone to calm down and stop sniping on social media.
“There is no need for it. We are all submitting statements to the Area Council and they will deal with the situation.
“Mark and I remain friends and will continue to do our best moving forward for boxing in the North East.”
That is good news and it would appear there is an opportunity for it to happen further down the line, whether it’s for an Area or Challenge title or simply an eight-rounder.
While the disappointment over the non-fight is obvious, thankfully the rest of the show more than made up for it. O’Neil v O’Neill was a Titanic battle, Troy Williamson looked exceptional, Martin Ward returned with a win and there were superb debuts from Mark Downing (pictured) and Luke Cope.
In short, there wasn’t one bad fight and how many shows can you attend and say that?
For those fans of Ellis and Basi ,who are seeking a refund, you must approach the boxer you purchased your ticket from.
Words: Roy Kelly
