Boxing picks up after a quiet spell

By Joe Hughes – BN Columnist

IT’S been a relatively quiet time in the world of boxing recently but we have some interesting matches to look forward to as we come into the autumn. 

Pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue vs TJ Doheny kicks off September on Tuesday the 3rd, it’ll likely end up another showcase of ‘The Monster’ as he defends the undisputed bantamweight title. 

Canelo Alverez defends three of the super-middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga on September 14th, while on the undercard, Cuban Erislandy Lara defends against former multiple-weight world champion Danny Garcia. 

Canelo and Lara faced each other 10 years ago and I felt Lara just nicked it but it went to Canelo on a split decision, who knows maybe if they both win next month we’ll see the rematch no one expected.

September 21st brings Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title after it proved too much for boxing to hold on to an undisputed heavyweight title for even a single defence. 

Joshua will be a level or two above Dubois in the ring, I think, but Daniel does have a chance if he can avoid taking too many straight right hands early. If he can get through the early part of it, I expect it to be an entertaining fight. 

October 12th sees a return to Saudi Arabia and the fight many boxing fans, myself included, will have been most looking forward to this year: Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol.

This clash for the undisputed light-heavyweight title is a classic matchup of styles: Wrecking machine vs. Master boxer, and it will undoubtedly be a very interesting fight to watch.

I made my debut earlier this week in motivational speaking. I gave a talk for a nationwide sports coaching company at their yearly professional development week. I spoke to them about my life, career, disability, and the challenges I’ve overcome to hopefully inspire them to aim to achieve in their own fields. 

I’ve given quite a few talks of a similar nature to children in schools before, but this one was by far the longest one I’ve had to give. It was pretty nerve-wracking, but it seemed to go down pretty well, and it is something I’d be interested in doing more often.