In a country where rooting for the plucky underdog is as much a part of the sporting culture as Wembley Stadium, the Lord’s Test and strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, the record of British boxer Peter Buckley takes some beating.
Or perhaps that should be losing.
Yesterday, Buckley was due to step into the ring in Birmingham, central England, for the 300th bout of a professional career that has witnessed 256 defeats.
Buckley, who hasn’t won for five years, a sequence encompassing 88 straight fights, has managed to earn a living as an opponent for rising stars.
In all, 42 future world, European, British and Commonwealth champions have defeated Buckley on the way to taking titles.
But after years of being the equivalent of a “human punchbag,” the 39-year-old Englishman has, not unreasonably, decided to hang up his gloves.
“I’ve had my eye on the 300 mark for a while, and it’s a little milestone I want to achieve, but I don’t want to fight on,” Buckley told the Times newspaper on Wednesday. “People keep saying to me that I’ll get a call in a few weeks’ time offering me a fight and I’ll say yes, but I mean it when I say this is it.”
Given his record, it is tempting to ask why the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC), the governing body for the professional sport in the UK, has not revoked his licence.
After all, were he to be seriously injured his whole career would provide those who want boxing banned, such as the British Medical Association, with easy publicity for their cause.
However, given that Buckley has repeatedly passed BBBC medical tests, the Board has been powerless to prevent him continuing his career. Had they tried to ban him in those circumstances they might well have faced legal action for restraint of trade.
Buckley was not always regarded as fodder for talented opponents. In the early 1990s the super-featherweight won the English Midlands area title.
However, he then found he could make more money as an opponent for those on their way to greater things. Buckley rarely won, but he rarely got badly beaten up either. But with the passing of time and the slowing of his reflexes, he has become easier to hit.
Unlike those tilting at world championships, who go to training camps for weeks or even months, Buckley has been known to agree to a contest just hours before the opening bell.
“I’m always in the gym, so if I get a call a couple of hours before a fight, I usually say yes,” he said. “If you phone up a bricklayer and ask him to build you a wall, he doesn’t ask for three weeks to prepare.”
And whatever else Buckley wants, it’s certainly not pity.
“Boxing has been good to me over the years. When I was a youngster I was in trouble with the police, a really wild kid. But the sport has given me a focus in life,” he said.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS