Cannock to host night of boxing action on Thursday
Heard about the Scotsman who invited an Englishman, an Irishman and an Afghan to celebrate St Andrew’s Night in Cannock?
That happens Thursday night (November 27) when Scott Murray holds his latest Excelsior Sporting Club dinner show at Bar Sport’s Premier Suite, writes Matt Bozeat.
The fork-and-fight evening includes whisky tasting, Scottish food and music – and a colourful professional boxing show.
English super-bantamweight champion Nyall Berry is in action, along with Huey Malone, an unbeaten welterweight from Coventry who has Irish parents, and Shabir Haidary.
Haidary lives in Gloucester – but spent the first 12 years of his life in Afghanistan.
“Life in Afghanistan was very different,” said the unbeaten featherweight. “Professional boxing is very hard, but it isn’t as hard as it was in Afghanistan.”
Haidary has found it hard to get fights.
Tonight’s fight will be his first for 364 days.
Haidary has won his first 10 – four inside the distance – and hopes Murray will get behind his career and push him on to titles.
Murray has built Ollie Cooper, Jess Barry and Berry into champions on his shows.
Berry is managed and trained by Jon Pegg, who ranks him alongside Sam Eggington as one of the best talents he’s had in his Eastside gym.
Eggington has won British, Commonwealth, European and IBO world honours and the ‘Savage’ from Stourbridge will be at Bar Sport.
He will be there to collect a Lifetime Achievement Award from the WBC in recognition of his 45-fight professional career.
A professional since 2012, Eggington hasn’t boxed since beating Lee Cutler in April, but at 32 years old, he insists he wants to carry on boxing.
