HIS plan initially was to excuse himself from the fathers’ race due to injury. Leg, arm, head, whatever would be useful. Indeed, just one look at his face, still bruised from Friday’s fight, and it would be tough for even the most competitive parent not to feel sorry for Macaulay McGowan and let him sit this fight out.

But McGowan’s problem was that his daughter, Florence, who had already won the bean bag race herself, had nothing to do with it. “Come on, daddy,” she said to her hero. “You”.

“I felt pretty bad,” McGowan said moments after crossing the finish line during sports day. “I was tranquil Eddy; he finished fourth out of eight. I was just outside the top three.”

Florence, his seven-year-old daughter, fared much better. She brought home medals – or in this case stickers – and her father, standing by, was ecstatic to watch her and enjoy her transformation from warrior back to commoner.

Now that he can eat what he wants, go where he wants and fulfill a role much more critical than that of a fighter, McGowan currently finds himself in that perfect post-fight place – call it the honeymoon – where the adrenaline of the battle and its aftermath continues to fuel him ahead inevitable expulsion.

“I’m actually high,” he said. “I couldn’t sleep very long. But eventually it wears off, right? Everyone is now screaming and stuff, calling you a warrior and stuff like that, but eventually it all fades away and you’re left with only loss. It takes time for this to stabilize.

“At about this point or in the next few days, I will accept that I lost and it will hurt. But I can do it, man. I’m not too worried about it. I have a momentary lull and that’s it.”

On Friday, McGowan fought 12 rounds against highly touted German Abass Baraou in a fight for the European super welterweight title. That alone is perhaps noteworthy, especially considering Baraou’s reputation and McGowan’s career path so far, but the way he pushed Baraou and won the hearts of fans is what brought McGowan (20-5-2 (5)) home with a feeling of victory even after defeat. On the one hand, yes, he failed to prepare for the gigantic night, but on the other hand, performing live on Channel 5, he was met with a fanfare that some contestants cannot find with their hands raised.

“I try to be successful from within,” he said. “I try to keep it all inside. If I give 100 percent in training and 100 percent when performing at night, I will achieve what I wanted. That’s basically all I can do.

“It’s disappointing that my best results weren’t good enough. But at the same time, it’s not up to me. I can’t conjure victory out of skinny air. I can’t exploit magic to defeat this boy at night. I gave my all in the fight and he was better than me. I have to accept it and I accept it. This is how I will get over the loss.

“The losses hurt, yes they hurt and they always will because at the end of the day I’m a competitor and I really want to win. But sometimes I have to accept that you’re doing your best, but it’s not enough. I know it’s not sexy and it’s not what you read in sports books, but it works for me.

“It still doesn’t mean I accept the level I’m at or the boxer I am today. I’ll go out and work on the things I need to work on. But if I worked on everything I needed to work on before the fight and gave it my all, I couldn’t do anything more. If the fight doesn’t go my way, there’s not much I can do, right?”

To say McGowan’s approach to competition is refreshing would be an understatement. By thinking this way, the 29-year-old shows not only humility, maturity and understanding, but also intelligence and confidence that most would lack, given everything he has just said. after all, intelligence has as much to do with the ability to accept and cope with reality as it does with anything else. Even the self-confidence that so many boxers need and desire is only beneficial when it is a confidence rooted in some reality and an awareness of what is true and what is not. Otherwise, it is not self-confidence, but an illusion.

“I got a surprise shot at the European title and I think everyone thought Baraou was going to knock me out and it was going to be a quick and uncomplicated night for him,” McGowan said. “The scorecards (119-110, 118-110 and 117-111) may indicate that it was an “uncomplicated” night for him, but I know full well that every round was close. Okay, there were one or two rounds that he won clearly, but the rest were close. It was never for him.

– He’s not some nobody either. He was a legitimate, solid, world-class fighter with a European title. I gave my all, but it wasn’t enough.”

The Mancunian added: “I lost, but I’m not defeated. At one point in my career, I never thought I would be in fights like this. But there I was headlining a gigantic European title fight on Channel 5 and giving the fans what they wanted to see. For me it really doesn’t get much bigger than that. That was crazy. I know I said that if I won this fight it would make my career easier, but even just remembering this whole situation – fighting for the European title against the second WBA – is priceless. As a child, I would have done anything for this moment.”

No matter how humble he is, and certainly as he is, McGowan is not the type of man to eat dinner while performing – whether in victory or defeat. Instead, as Monday showed, he is more willing to break away from the ersatz world of attention and adulation and go straight back to what he does best and what he knows. In other words, he wants to get back to reality as quickly as possible; day job; real life.

“It wasn’t that bad,” he said of his first day back at work, where he measured and cut drywall. “I didn’t have to do much. I just took measurements of the drywall, then did some trimming and tidying up.

“Everyone (at work) was dead ecstatic. Everyone was just talking about the fight and praising me a lot. I liked. It’s nice to have that balance, meet other people and get some routine back in your life. Otherwise you’ll just dwell on it.

Before the drywall was cut, McGowan could be seen at Joe Gallagher’s boxing gym. It was there he stayed until 11.30 and there he paraded and bore the only signs of success he took home from Friday’s fight at Bolton.

“When I have a gigantic fight like that, especially a loss, I like to just go into the fight on Monday and get it out,” he said. “Honestly, I just wanted to put on the Grant gloves I had. I wore Grant’s gloves when I fought and I always wanted to wear them. I’ve always dreamed about them, but I would never pay for them. I took them home with me so I could wear them to the gym.”

See. Who needs seat belts?

From London to Las Vegas with Puerto Rico sandwiched in between this Saturday (June 15) was a busy night for boxing.

World titles were at stake, and reputations were at stake in the cruiserweight, lithe heavyweight, super lightweight and lightweight divisions. And although the main winners; Chris Billam-Smith, Jack Massey, David Benavidez, Gervonta Davis and Liam Paro are rightly praised for their victories. What does the future hold for those who fall on the wrong side of the results?

The events of Saturday evening did not end the careers of the beaten ones Richard Riakporhe, Isaac Chamberlain, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Frank Martin AND Subriel Matias but the quintet will still have the sour taste of defeat 48 hours after the fights.

analyzes the further fate of five men on the losing side and we start with “Night Train” Richard Riakporhe. Composed and confident on the eve of his WBO cruiserweight title fight against Chris Billam-Smith, the evening proved to be something of a disaster for Riakporhe.

The 34-year-old was on Crystal Palace’s home turf at Selhurst Park and entered the ring wearing Palace colors, with fans on his side and bookmakers seeing him as favorite to win the title. The champion had a different opinion and despite his nickname “The Gentleman”, he was dressed in wicked black and looked like a man who could not be defeated from start to finish.

Billam-Smith wanted revenge for the defeat to Riakporhe in 2019, which is the only defeat in his history. Bournemouth and manager Shane McGuigan had a game plan that was too clever for the one-dimensional Riakporhe to do anything. Sent off, strangled and overthought, Riakporhe’s knockout power couldn’t really be executed as Billam-Smith absorbed any painful shots that found the mark.

The defeat was sobering for Riakporhe, who had to go back to the drawing board with coach Angel Fernandez, who pleaded with his fighter between rounds to follow instructions. After signing a contract extension with Boxxer last spring and being one of their first signings, Riakporhe still has a future ahead of him, but who could he fight next? A loss as mandatory challenger will have an impact on his WBO world ranking, but he has ample opportunity ahead of him in a division where it’s not strenuous to find fights.

Billam-Smith’s former opponent Mateusz Masternak could be a valuable exercise for Riakporhe, whose firepower would probably be too much for the Polish veteran. Former world champion Mairis Briedis is an attractive option, but it is not affordable. Cuban artist Yuniel Dorticos it would be half of a fan-friendly fight if he accepted Callum Johnson who, after returning to sport, calmly goes about his business.

If Riakporhe has struggled at this weight and is no longer able to make the 200-pound limit, then a move to bridgeweight is likely before the logical move to heavyweight. Recently, a much-hated division has been welcomed Lawrence area to their ranks, who quickly became the WBC champion with his Polish demolition of Łukasz Różański. Riakporhe and Okolie are not just rivals, but two men who dislike each other and in February 2023, they almost came to blows at the London premiere of Creed III. A professional fight between the two may look good on paper, but could be a tough sell to Boxxer’s broadcast partner, Sky Sports.

Chamberlain (left) in action against Massey (photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

It was another of Selhurst Park’s beaten warriors Isaac Chamberlain who could be another cruiserweight alternative for Riakporhe after losing to Jack Massey in the European and Commonwealth cruiserweight competition.

Chamberlain has been trying to get under Massey’s skin all week, insisting he’s just being himself. Come fight night, Chamberlain tried to pass the Marple fighter, but got right into his hands and was consistently caught from distance and close range. Chamberlain tried to force the action and looked like he was hurting Massey at times in the second half of the fight, but Massey was overall the better and clearly deserved the win.

The defeat is Chamberlain’s third after earlier losses to Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith. There is no shame in losing to players of Massey’s caliber, but the Brixton man would be heading towards a world title shot if he won on Saturday night. The natural fight for him would be to fight this fight now Vidal Riley who has been making enough noise lately about fighting Chamberlain that he may now get his chance. Ellis Zorro – who has suffered back-to-back defeats to quality opposition in Jai Opetai and Cheavon Clarke – should also be taken into account.

Beyond the pond Frank Martin his first foray into the elite level ended in a painfully crushing eighth-round knockout defeat to Gervonta “Tank” Davis, who defended his WBA lightweight title.

The skillful and athletic Martin had a promising start in the first three rounds, but to the delight of Davis, he began to jump on the rope too often, who then unloaded his world-class punching power. At 29 years aged and with only one loss to his name, Martin can undoubtedly return to the ring, but the top 135-pound fighters are scattered across various promotional companies, which means Martin may have to continue to play second fiddle. However, there are opportunities closer to home in the Premier Boxing Champion stable, including Chris Colbert and Javier Fortuna or even polarization Roland Romero who lost to “Tank” two years ago.

Before Martin and Davis entered the ring for their main event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk were on hand to provide a decent-looking main support contest in the lithe heavyweight division.

For Benavidez at 175 pounds, it was his first fight after postponing his pursuit of undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. And although there were various injuries in the ring on Saturday, he coped with the risky threat from his Ukrainian opponent, winning by unanimous decision and taking the interim WBC belt with him.

What now with Gwozdyk (right) after the second defeat? (Photo: Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

Even though Gvozdyk was 37 years aged, he didn’t look like cannon fodder for Benavidez on Saturday night. The former WBC lithe heavyweight champion took a lot of power punches, but absorbed them and found his own success, and by the end he looked like the fresher of the two fighters, but ultimately never looked like the winner.

However, it seems that there is still a lot of fight ahead of “The Nail”, who currently has two defeats, albeit against Benavidez and number one in the lithe heavyweight division, Artur Beterbiev. After completing a three-year and four-month retirement, Gvozdyk won three more fights against Josue Obando, Ricards Bolotniks and Isaac Rodrigues, respectively, before facing Benavidez.

Great Britain Callum Smith – who himself lost to Beterbiev in January – a match with Gvozdyk is an intriguing prospect if both men continue their careers. Gwozdyk will want to continue fighting at the highest level possible, which may bring Smith, Anthony Yarde and Marcus Browne on the table. Gvozdyk’s ultimate goal was to challenge Beterbiev’s winner against Dmitry Bivol, but while he took a step back on Saturday, the former Olympic medalist is able to move forward again.

Matias lost the world title in front of home fans to Liam Paro (Photo: Melina Pizano/Matchroom.)

Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico, reputation Subriel Matias received a shock when undefeated Australian Liam Paro entered the lion’s den and emerged as the IBF super lightweight champion. After a successful first six rounds for Paro, Matias faced him and the home favorite could do little to move the steely Australian who was not to be denied.

Having signed with Matchroom, there is no shortage of options for Matias. It’s likely we’ll see him again on one of Eddie Hearn’s US shows later this year. Stable companion Regis Prograis could be an attractive proposition if the defeated champion wants to return to fight another top-class operator, or maybe we will see the 32-year-old face an opponent like Sergei Lipinets who could be made for him. Ireland Sean McComb – who was incredibly unlucky to lose to Arnold Barboza in April – may have the wrong style for Matias, but the Puerto Rican would certainly appreciate his chances of winning. Either way, his reputation as one of the most risky men in boxing is currently on fire and needs to be extinguished immediately.

Now, TWICE in 13 months, Chris Billam-Smith has looked like a boy on the playground, furious with a classmate who, instead of kicking the ball, enjoys picking it up with his hands every time. the time when he will approach him. Often reminded that they are playing soccer, not rugby, the boy with the ball in his hands turns around and says, “But that’s how they play soccer in America.”

More fun for a boy with a ball in his hands than for a boy who wants to kick the same ball, neither boy is necessarily wrong at this point. However, only one of them finds this situation irritating and in the context of the boxing ring, a land with far fewer gray areas, there is, it must be emphasized, a clear difference between a boxer who wants to fight and a boxer who wants to fight and one who would rather do something else.

That’s not to say that Richard Riakporhe, Billam-Smith’s opponent last night (June 15) in Croydon, was reluctant to do exactly what he was being paid to do, but the difference between the two cruiserweights’ attitudes was almost as stark as the difference between the boys on the playground who are not sure whether the ball should be kicked or carried.

Billam-Smith, for his part, is and always has been action; a kicker, not a carrier. Indeed, if there is one minor knock against him, it is because he is crystal clear – ​​read: predictable – in his willingness and willingness to get down to business and fight a proper, classic fight. In fact, it was this mentality that endeared him to many British boxing fans and left potential opponents licking their lips when considering fighting him. Because with Billam-Smith you know what you’re getting. What’s more, you get what you want.

Or at least that it was. As you can see, Billam-Smith recently learned that the vintage adage about two fighters making an ‘a’ is rooted in truth, and not just what a boxer says when he fails to impress in the biggest moment. He realized that against Lawrence Okolie, from whom he won the WBO cruiserweight belt last May, and he realized it all over again last night when Riakporhe, like Okolie, brought as much uncertainty to the ring as he did athleticism and as much negativity as strength.

In the latter case – that is, in the case of Riakporhe – it was more of a surprise, but that does not mean it was any less disappointing for Billam-Smith and his fans. In fact, because it was a surprise and Riakporhe was not expected to spoil his way through the fight, the reality of what happened at Selhurst Park made the spectacle even uglier than Billam-Smith vs. Around Bournemouth in May last year. At least it was toasty that night.

Unfortunately, this was one of those cruiserweight fights that people were once told to avoid. It was dominated largely by Billam-Smith, who conducted himself professionally and like a workman throughout, and only once, in the ninth round, did it threaten to explode and become more than what it was: an eyesore. In that ninth round, Riakporhe finally came to life. He landed a right hand early in the round that sent Billam-Smith’s mouthguard flying into the air, and then landed two more right hands, one with a minute left and one in the final 30 seconds that left Billam-Smith unsettled, if not it hurts.

Those shots brought the otherwise peaceful crowd back into the game just in time, and now they hoped Riakporhe would take advantage of this slight change in momentum and give them an exhilarating final three rounds. However, Riakporhe had another idea. Instead of building on his success in the ninth round, he treated the next three rounds the same as the expansive majority of the earlier rounds. That is, he looked for right hands, looked for right hands, and then, at the point where it seemed like a good idea to stop looking for them and let one go, Riakporhe would invariably initiate and seek cover in the rivet. Worse still, in this position he tended to stay put, unsure how to break out of the clinch he had initiated or, which would make sense, effectively work from the inside against a fighter and champion who had never shown any reluctance to attack. -close battle.

Unfortunately, this never came to pass, and what’s more, Riakporhe, now 17-1 (13), was not given a warning for holding – which, by the way, was merciless – until the 11th round, when referee Steve Gray, he finally had enough and issued his “final warning”. In truth, this last warning should have come much sooner, because at least then Riakporhe would have thought twice about crowding in for protection. Perhaps even Riakporhe was helped by the knowledge that he now had no choice but to keep his distance and punch.

Ultimately, the warning for both Riakporhe and the fans came much too tardy, and the point he lost in the following, twelfth round was the result of using his head rather than holding on, which only added to the strangeness of the situation. attack. Meanwhile, Billam-Smith, as is his wont, simply shrugged and continued. It clearly wasn’t his style of fighting, but it was still a fight he had to treat with respect, a fight he had to see to the end, and a fight he had to win.

Which, of course, he did, albeit with three scores that were a little too close to comfort: 116-111, 115-112, 115-112. It’s significant to remember that Riakporhe’s point deduction in the 12th round makes these results even more disturbing, but for Billam-Smith (20-1 (13)) the only thing that matters is the victory.

The 33-year-old, who continues to improve, defeated his two closest domestic rivals in the space of 13 months and, even more impressively, managed to not only avenge the only defeat of his career (to Riakporhe in 2019), but also set a your way past these awkward opponents in fights that go against everything Chris Billam-Smith stands for. In other words, to defeat them, he had to embrace ugliness. He had to endure the frustration and try not to let it become his greatest threat. He had to put it all together and look through it.

Entertainment had to be sacrificed in the process, and all efforts to please the audience that had built Billam-Smith’s reputation a few years ago were now in vain. In the 24 rounds he spent enjoying Okolie and Riakporhe, there would have been no opportunity to gain modern fans or raise his profile to a higher level, but that’s okay. That, for Billam-Smith, can wait. He knew this was something he had to transcend; something he had to tolerate and then rise above. The fun can begin again when they find an opponent who shares the same beliefs.