Presents an interview with British promoter Spencer Fearon

Hi Spencer, on behalf of RingNews24.com and our readers, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. As well as our own, we have included questions provided by fans on the RingNews Forum.

We hope our readers enjoy the interview

Ringnews24.com: How did you get into boxing and what age did you start boxing at?

Six years old

Ringnews24.com: What was your amateur boxing record?

25-8

Ringnews24.com: How did you find the step up from amateur to professional boxing?

A lot of fun. I found professional boxing easy as I always had a pro style.

Ringnews24.com: How did you get into the promotional side of boxing?

I was a natural boxer, but even more of a natural promoter. I’ve been promoting since I was a kid, I was always wheeling and dealing.  I’m a people person, I can sell everything and anything. Ciaran Baynes – my close friend – just pushed me to sell my passion of boxing and a top businessman – Gregor Shaw of the Welbeck group – arranged, so top white collar guys could invest millions in me living my dream. In a year I was able to make major moves.

Ringnews24.com: You have worked for Frank Warren and Setanta, and interviewed Tyson, Calzaghe, Haye and Roy Jones Jr to name just a few. What has been the best memory to date so far?

All have been great. We hooked up with Mike McCallum in Vegas, which was most special to me. Mike was my hero as a kid due to him being Jamaican. We spoke for hours about the game and working for Setanta while getting paid for my love of boxing.

Vinny Paz was great too – he told me I really know my boxing (I am a proud historian). Being in Las Vegas for the Calzaghe vs Hopkins fight was brilliant as I knew both parties very well so I was getting the lowdown on everything. But the Haye-Maccarinelli stands out for me as both are my friends so it was just me talking to my friends with a camera. How great is that? I wasn’t the best interviewer but I quickly got the best answers as fighters knew me and were relaxed talking to me.

Ringnews24.com: What are your main daily roles as a promoter, and what is the most satisfying aspect of the job?

My office is inside The Real Fight Club gym in the heart of the City of London. It’s a wonderful place. Alan Lacey, the founder, is like family to me – he has witnessed me grow from a little loudmouth kid to a big man selling out venues by offering people fair matchups. There’s always planning for the next show and helping with my fighters in the gym like Southern Area champ Darren Hamiton, Larry Ekundayo, Joe Catchpole and Nathan Graham. I’m also on my Facebook each day asking the boxing fans how to improve our beloved game or just talking boxing.

The best part is putting on great shows that excite the fans. People know if they come to a Hard Knocks show they will be greatly entertained from start to finish. Every fight feels like a main event. I love that we’ve built that reputation.

Ringnews24.com: What’s been your biggest surprise/difference in terms of seeing things from the fighter’s side and now looking at it from the promotional/management side of things?

Certain fighters don’t want to fight anyone live and just want to build padded records. Its like they’ve been institutionalized into this way of thinking. I don’t play that shit – I see things from the fan’s eyes. It’s hard but as a fighter you’ve got to realize your job is to fight. So fight! Fighters are better to be in tough contests win or lose rather than get to 10-0 built on false confidence, get schooled and have nowhere to go.

After the success of the last show I’ve been inundated with requests from fighters who want to be on my shows though. There are many out there who are frustrated at only being able to fight so once or twice a year, aren’t big enough names to get lots of fights but are too dangerous to be an opponent.

Ringnews24.com: If you could arrange a fight between two past or present fighters, who would you choose and why?

Sugar Ray Leonard vs Money Mayweather, cos I really believe Leonard would have beat him up!

Ringnews24.com: Do you think there should be more boxing on terrestrial TV, and if so, what can we do to get boxing back on terrestrial TV screens?

Like everyone else I loved the days when Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank were on ITV and before that when you’d see the big fights from the Fabulous Four, Tyson and Lloyd Honeyghan and others, but there’s no point complaining about it.

We have to make boxing a better spectacle. How many sports do they show on TV where there is no one in the crowd or only one side in the contest is going to win? This still happens far too much on undercard fights – sometimes even in main events.

I can’t honestly blame TV for not wanting to show fights where all you see behind sometimes superbly talented fighters (or at least one) is a load of empty seats with some guy in the front row staring at his phone. I can promise you that has never happened on my shows. I pride myself on them being rammed from the first bell to the last. And we have an ejector button under all the seats in the front row so we can fling out anyone texting and fill that space with someone who loves boxing and wants to watch the fights. Hard Knocks baby!

Ringnews24.com: With many promoters finding it hard to get their fighters on TV, particularly Sky, do you think there is a market out there for boxing events to be streamed on the Internet? Hatton promotions are one of the few who have taken this road recently with smaller shows.

Its something we’ve looking into. The way people watch TV will change a lot in the coming years. Who knows where it will go? I think we’re a little way away from it being able to subsidise the product though.

Quick Fire Questions

Ringnews24.com: Favorite fighter?

Ezzard Charles if pushed, but I don’t really have one.

Ringnews24.com: Favorite fight?

Leonard Vs Benitez – I could watch 100,000 rounds of that
fight.

Ringnews24.com: Favorite boxing venue?

Anywhere there is a great fight.

Ringnews24.com: Favorite Movie?

Colour Purple.

Ringnews24.com: Favorite food ?

Oxtail and rice – Jamaican hard man food!

More information about Spencer Fearon can be found at the following addresses: http://www.hardknockpromotions.com/, http://twitter.com/Spencer_Fearon, http://www.facebook.com/spencer.fearon

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