Silver Dukes talks to Brian ‘The Lion’ Rose

Another Exclusive for our fans and this time we caught up with Light Middleweight English champion Brian ‘The Lion’ Rose in one of the must read Interviews in recent British boxing news. As you know, here’ at Silver Dukes it is not all about the glitz and glamour of the world stage or who said what about who? just to get a story, We write for the Boxer as well as the fans and the sort of thing you won’t get to read anywhere else you find right here. Here’s what The Lion had to say;

Dukes:What is next for The Lion?

Rose: I've had a defence of my English title, now I'm ready to fight for the British, so it all depends on prince Arron and who he wants to fight next.
Dukes: Will we see Erick 'The Eagle' Ochieng in the ring with you anytime soon ?

Rose: I want to fight for the British title next and It was said the winner out of me and martin welsh would fight the winner of Aaron + Webb, so its seems like a backwards step for me.

Dukes: How have you dealt with the defeat by Max Maxwell?

Rose: By winning the English title !! I looked past the Maxwell fight, a mistake I will never make again .. Also went to see a Psychologist called Emma James who helped me mentally get over the Jason Rushton incident ( he fell in to a coma after the fight, which was the fight before Maxwell)

Dukes: Which current boxer do you enjoy watching most? (Pro's Choice)

Rose: Recently watched Mikel Kessler’s return to the ring and think he came back with a bang, I like to think we have the same sort of styles (at different levels)

Dukes: Can Blackpool bounce back to the top flight ?

Rose: Yes, I think they can , they haven't got much money but with Ian Holloway still backing us we've got every chance as the boys showed so much heart and desire last season.

Dukes: Is a shot at Sam Webb your immediate goal and have you any doubts about facing him?

Rose: If I have to fight Sam Webb to get at the British title I will, Sam is a friend of mine but its just business, I'm sure he will say the same thing, I have no doubts as I can only get as fit as I can possibly get and do as much hard work in the gym as I can , then what ever happens, if I don't win, I just wasn't good enough, as long as I get the opportunities I deserve I will be happy.

Dukes: Do the Media read too much into a fighter losing their 0?

Rose: There's a lot of pressure on undefeated fighters keeping there 0 , but once it goes , if you can bounce back from that the pressures off , you know what its like to taste defeat , all you've got to worry about then is winning and not worrying about getting beat ( positive thinking, read a book ' the secret ' )

Dukes:What would you say was the most valuable lesson you have learned since your defeat ?

Rose: I learnt more in the Rushton + Maxwell fight than I will in my whole career , I went from seriously hurting some 1 myself , found it so hard to deal with the next fight I get knocked out myself ! I look back at the Maxwell fight now and people will think I'm lying when I say this but I'm glad it happened because now I'm a stronger and more mature fighter .

Dukes: Enough about losing what has been the crowning moment of your career thus far?
What was your favourite fight?
Rose: My most favourite fight has got to be winning the English title , it probably would of been the central area title as it was the professional title I won but with what happened it just can't be so the proudest moment of my career is winning the English title
Dukes: What was your favourite fight?

Rose: My favourite fight was probable beating Jonny Harrison for 1 reason only fellow Blackpool boxer and stable mate Jack Arnfield boxed him the fight before me and beat him on points and I knocked him out in the 2nd , so you could imagine the banter in the gym , I've never let him live it down , lol
Dukes: Just what can the Boxing Universe look forward to from Brian Rose and how far can you go?

Rose: I Wanna get my hands on that British title couple of defences , don't want to look past that so people will just have to wait and see , like I said if I'm given the opportunities, I’ll be happy.
Dukes: Who wins? Haye/Klitschko

Rose: My heart tells me haye and really hope he pulls it off but think that the fight is too hard to predict as its too top athletes in there primes who both have 1 punch knock out power , so would not like to be betting the winner There you have it folks, truer words have never been spoken. Real thoughts from a Real Boxer on the other side of the ropes, society try to dictate to us through fancy advertising who we should follow or what products to buy but sometimes you if you dig a little deeper and break the mould you will find your own path. We all love world champions but seem to forget the path they had to take to get to the top table. Brian Rose is a fine example of just what a boxer goes through to get to where they want to be yet the world’s media won’t cover it because money talks!, Well money doesn’t talk it swears!, Money ruins our fine sport much in the same way as most sports.

The Hot topic on Silver Dukes recently is the impact a loss has on a boxer, for instance if a boxer has a poor start to his career it is tough to turn it around but nothing gets said about the 50+ fights they had as amateurs to get there, unpaid no less.
We would like to thank Brian Rose for taking time out of his busy training schedule to talk to us and give World Boxing fans the view from outside the ropes and we wish him the best of luck for the future.
　

No Ordinay Life - With Eddie Hearn (Part 1) - iFILM LONDON MINI-SERIES.

Check out the Latest on Matchroom Sport chief Eddie Hearn Courtesy of iFilm London

Mitchell plans next move

Some would say this is a bit premature but you can make your own mind up, A matter of weeks away from the Domestic fight of the year in what is promising to be bigger than Groves v Degale. Check out Predictions and betting page for more on this one and Gav's Pick

Latest from Zab Judah’s Training Camp

Zab Judah plans to be Amir Khan’s worst nightmare “I’m pretty sure after this fight Freddie Roach would never put in Golden Boy Manny Pacquiao against me in the ring”
Adding it’s not just about age, it’s maturity. Judah also paid homage to the great Pernell Whitaker in his corner calling Whitaker a masterful trainer and having him in his corner exempts the whole Freddie Roach thing.

Zab Judah is not to be taken lightly and says due to who he has in his corner he has the edge going into the fight. I believe momentum going into the fight is huge, you can usually tell at a press conference or weigh in before a fight who is going to come out on top, unless your Ricky Hatton going into a fight with Floyd Mayweather where it seemed Hatton was the more confident before he got flattened.

A win against khan would mean? “for the most part it unifies the division, it’s a closer step to undisputed” Zab on Khan “ I think Khan is a good boxer. He has fast hands, decent power, but I think he will realize this once the bell rings”

“I don’t have a problem taking the long, hard road” I wasn’t the Golden Boy I wasn’t the guy always first picked, but somehow I made my way back to the top with many thanks of Main Event and Super Judah Promotions.

Zab added he takes great pride in being one of about two fighters from the ‘96 team that is still fighting at world level.

23^rd of July is about this; what can you bring as far as your skills; what can you bring as far as your brains;what can you bring as far as your knowledge of boxing and so on and basically comes down to how confident Khan is once he steps through the ropes.

You either fold or play your cards “I’m going to win” Zab Judah.

Doubters Are Out on Brook’s Title Claim

This weekend’s Boxing starts at Hillsborough Leisure Centre Where Sheffield’s Kell Brook tries to become the first man to stop the well seasoned 39 year old Lovemore N’dou. Matchroom Sports latest signing is one of the transfer’s of the year in world boxing, at only 25 years old and with a record of 23-0 16KO’s Brook certainly seems all but set to take on the world. Not according to the experts, (that does not include me) I must be an amateur as I never seem to agree with these so called experts but I’ve still only got one fight wrong this year and that was DeGale v Groves so hang me.

 The Brooks v N’dou fight excites me, it has been signed for months and yet the first sign of the fight in any shape of the media only came out this morning?. It seems my “Boxing’s coming home for Brook” is one of very few Previews to the fight out there and that was wrote a three weeks ago. I am not trying to big myself up but the point I am taking the long way around to get to is, The Media has been so quiet about this fight and the first news I see of it that is not my own work is once again rubbishing a Boxer’s ambitions.

When the Brook v N’dou fight was confirmed Kell Brook joined the crew on Sky Sports Ringside and spoke of his desire to become world champion and he would fight anyone to achieve his dreams yet this morning I read about how Brook has set his sights too high and would only ever be a “Paper Champion”. WELL, you know me by now and as the self proclaimed marmite of boxing I certainly have no intentions of letting this one slip the jab. Does a 23-0 record mean nothing no more when a 14-0 Derek Chosora was all but set a world title fight at Wladimir Klitschko? Twice no less.

The Welterweight division used to be THE division when Hatton was mixing it up with Pac-Man and Mayweather but I feel the buzz has died off for the Welterweights. It seems the Middleweights and Super Middleweights are taking over but I think Kell Brook will reignite the Welterweight Division. Lovemore of course is well past his sell by date but he is surely planning to leave a stink in Sheffield tomorrow night and won’t go away easy. We would love to see the top fighters in the top fights and WBO #2 Ranked Kell Brook take on the best but these sort of fights need to happen first. How many Boxer’s out there constantly fight the top fighters apart from Carl Froch? (Another Matchroom World Champion).

Kell Brook hopes a win tomorrow night will land him a world title shot. Manny Pacquiao Certainly will not be next in line for Brook and with May weather v Ortiz being signed for September who is left?. IBF champion Jan Zaveck and WBA champion Vyacheslav Senchenko both of whom the media have said will walk through Brook yet claiming both Zaveck and Senchenko are paper champions and Brook would join the list of paper champions should he fight either man.

As it turns out if Frank Warren does not like you than neither do the media, Frank Warren of course claiming he no longer wanted to promote Kell Brook AFTER Brook made the switch to Matchroom. This is not Frank Warren’s fault the media have their own mind and Frank is a business man and will continue to produce fine Champions and top fights. Much in the same way Amir Khan the media turn their back and unless they have something bad to say they don’t say nothing, yet I always though it was meant to be the other way around?. Maybe I am doing this all wrong? Maybe I should start bad mouthing Boxer’s to get ratings? NO thanks I’ll just do what I do and wish Kell Brook and everyone involved at Matchroom the best of luck for the weekend and long may the rise of Matchroom continue.

Saturday night also sees Matthew Maklin v Felix Sturm in Germany for the WBA Middleweight title, Check “Sturm test for Maklin” for full preview.

Silver Dukes EXCLUSIVE Q&A with JJ Bird

Another addition of Dukes’ Quick Fire Top 5. It has been a busy day at Silver Dukes Boxing News as we have been digging up the dirt on the UK’s Finest Punchers and Shakers to give YOU the next Silver Dukes Online EXCLUSIVE. In the proverbial Hot Seat from 200+ miles away (Still not sure why I got the Hoover out before this interview) We have Peterborough’s JJ Bird.

JJ is no stranger to the spot light and you may remember him as a big brother finalist or winning £10,000 on ITV’s The Cube, But more than likely your fondest memories of JJ Bird will be his famous win over British and Commonwealth Contender David Walker, as we are here to talk about Boxing and not who we think will go in the jungle this year, JJ has swapped Golden Balls for the Gym.

JJ has had a tough time of it in the ring since turning Pro in 2007 with a 5-5-2 Record, here’s JJ Quick Fire Top 5,


Dukes: What's happening in the life of JJ Bird?

JJ: My life at the moment is nothing but early morning runs and training in the gym with Spencer Oliver

Dukes: Will we be seeing you back in the rind any time soon?

JJ: Yes I'm back on the 9th July fighting on the under card to Kevin Mitchell v John Murray (Check out Gav’s Pick on Prediction Page)

Dukes: You have made many TV appearances but what sort of pressure do the TV cameras bring to a fight?

JJ: Well I’ve been on a couple of televised fights and they haven't fazed me. Its still only me an my opponent fighting


Dukes: How is your Fight Preparations going?

JJ: It’s going good, obviously I've had a 2year break from boxing so there's been a lot of ring rust to get rid of but I'm improving every day in the gym

Dukes: Which current Boxer do you enjoy watching most? (Pro's Choice)

JJ: I’m a massive Floyd Mayweather fan but he's been out of the ring a while although he has a fight scheduled later this year

JJ Bird makes in long awaited return to the ring after two years out, on the card of John Murray v Kevin Mitchell July 9^th at the Excel Arena. This is a huge opportunity to get his career back on track at possibly the biggest domestic fights of the year. So, I decided I wanted a little more.

Dukes: What threats do you feel Matt Scriven could bring to the fight?

JJ: Well he is a tough durable fighter that's not to be taken lightly. He doesn’t get stopped very often and if I'm not on point and sharp he has the ability to cause me problems


Dukes: Do you feel this is a do or die fight with your record and that a loss could make you slip into a Journeyman status?

JJ: No I don't see this as a do or die fight, I believe for me this is a new start to my boxing career, granted I have to make a lot of improvements if I want to as successful career as I aim to. But I believe I have what it takes at the very least to make it to British title level, I'm not saying its going to happen overnight and I'm fully prepared to put the hard work in I need to, to get there. My record doesn't look great on paper but u think a lot of pressure is put on fighters to keep an unblemished record. When you look at the opponents I've fought and lost to and even drawn and then look at their records they have been unbeaten or maybe lost 1 fight and I have taken fights last minute and haven't disgraced myself losing marginally. This is because I believe you have to fight fighters that are going to test you all the time and I've never been scared to put my record on the line to try to improve.

Dukes: Do you think Ring Rust will cause a problem and will you be fighting fit come July 9th?

JJ: There might be a bit of ring rust still, I mean any boxer will tell you that there's a big difference between sparring and gym fitness, so some ring rust is normal, and especially after 2 years without a competitive fight

Dukes: Does it add any more pressure being on the card of such a highly anticipated domestic battle?

JJ: I guess there is a little pressure but not because of the bill I'm on, more because of how I'm perceived because of big brother and my record to date! But I aim to go out and give a solid convincing performance, it could be in a field somewhere with 5 people watching and there would still be pressure. I just can't wait to get back out there and start a fresh

Dukes: Just how far do you believe you can go?

JJ: As said above I believe I can get to at least British title level and that's my main focus now. Obviously step by step and not looking past Matt Scrivern on the 9th but I believe if I put in 100% determination dedication and discipline I'll get there! People will doubt me but in a way that helps push me a little more

Dukes: Who's going to win, Haye/Klitschko?

JJ: I think its a close fight but Klitschko hasn't fought anyone like Haye. It could go either way, I mean Haye’s quick and does hit hard and if he catches Klitschko he will go, but if Haye let's his guard down Klitschko has the power to do the same as we've see Haye get caught before. But if I was to put money on it I'd go Haye by K.O rounds 8-10

Silver Dukes would like to say a big thank you to JJ for taking time out of his preparations to talk to us ahead of his big fight and we wish him the very best of luck for his big night and well into the future.
Personally I think JJ has every chance of becoming a future British champion, and going back to a previous post, Look at some of the world’s best and how many losses are on their records. JJ is a young hungry fighter and I still believe a boxer doesn’t know what they are capable of until they lose a fight, Some fighters choose the easier path of hand picked opponents then are shell shocked when they’re on the wrong end of a result and it’s those fighters that find it harder to bounce back.

Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports 9^th July I’m sure you will but see for yourself why I am backing JJ Bird. I look forward to writing the fight review and when he’s champ you can say “Silver Dukes was right”.
Thanks Again to JJ

Chisora Speaks out “No concerns” over Fury

With little over four weeks to go until Derek Chisora takes on Tyson Fury at Wembley Arena July 23^rd. Del Boy Chisora puts his British and Commonwealth titles on the line against 6ft 92 Fury but states “I don’t really see anything in Fury that concerns me”.

Derek Chisora is heading back to Spain to continue his training camp. Chisora told Hennessey sport that Training is going great, “I’ve trained twice for a Klitschko fight and I was already in great shape”. Tyson Fury on the other hand is promising to put Chisora in his place next month in London and plans to scratch Del Boys 14-0 perfect record.

Channel 5 host the show which is great for British Boxing having a high profile fight on terrestrial television. Personally I am looking more forward to this fight than the Khan v Judah fight that takes place the same night. I admit I have not seen a great deal from either Chisora or Fury but from what I have seen tells me this will be a classic.

With all the domestic battles we have witnessed recently and are anticipating in the near future nothing compares to a domestic Heavyweight clash. We all love it when the heavyweights come together and all the brain bashing that goes along with it, Can’t wait.

Question Time with Tony Jeffries

Tony ‘Mighty Makem’ Jeffries has been given a date for his next fight, So we decided now was the perfect time to disrupt Jaffa’s training and gatecrash the party.
　

Welcome to Silver Dukes first Exclusive interview as we put the North East’s Favourite son (Not Ant or Dec) in the hot seat in a quick fire round of Dukes’ Top 5 questions.

Being from the North East my self the first question I had to ask was…..
Dukes: What is your views on the current state of North East Boxing, with quality venues like Rainton Meadows & the Stadium of Light?

Jaffa: North east pro and amateur boxing are doing great with Stuart hall leading the way , fighting for a European title next, my dad (Phil Jeffries)with Neil Fannan are working hard to keep it on the up, also with Frank Maloney putting the odd TV show on its great for the region.

I agree with Tony on this one, although the North East won’t be the first place you think of if you were asked “where can I find some quality boxing?” especially with the talent coming out of Manchester and Liverpool at the moment.

Phil Jeffries and Neil Fannan Host Summer Rumble in 12 days at the Stadium of Light, Check out the previews ‘Seconds out’ or Take That, Have This Posts for more details and the last of the tickets are selling fast and a 1500 strong crowd are expected. David Dolan v Jon Lewis Dickinson for the Northern Area title headline’s the event. Alternatively check out our Top Links for Tony Jeffries/The Olympian Gym.

Anyway back to Dukes’ Top 5 with Tony Jeffries.
Dukes: What have you learned most from your time in LA and in which way has it improved your boxing?

Jaffa: Improving my boxing everyway possible, from my discipline to my defence

Dukes: What did you miss most from the UK while you were away?

Jaffa: My family and friends

Dukes: Which current boxer do you most enjoy watching? (Pro's Choice)

Jaffa: Pac-Man

Dukes: (I could not resist) What's your predication for the Sunderland v Newcastle 30^th August?

Jaffa: its to early to tell but obviously I'm going to go with Sunderland but u never know.

I would like to say a massive Thanks to Tony Jeffries for taking the time to take part in Silver Dukes’ Quick Fire Top 5. We wish Tony the very best for the future and in his upcoming fight in Doncaster September 3^rd. Also a huge Thanks to Sarah Briton (Tony Jeffries PA) for making this possible. If you’re from the North East don’t forget to check out Jaffa talks Boxing in the Sunday Sun each week.

Keep an eye out for the next addition of Dukes’ Quick Fire Top 5 where we put your Favourite Boxer’s in the hot seat. Also coming up Silver Dukes’ very own Super 6 where we dive into the archives to dig out the best 6 rounds of the year past and present.
　
　

Homeward Bound - Tony Jeffries

After six months across the pond it looks like Tony Jeffries is set to leave the Lavish styles of the likes of LA and Palm Springs and Las Vegas and so on and so on for the glorious sunny Doncaster. After a bit of will I won't I fight on Amir Khan's bill, Which evidently ended in disappointment for Jeffries promoter Frank Maloney Finally gave The Mighty Makem something to sing about. Although I'm sure it will mean more training than singing.

The date is to be set for September 3rd in Doncaster In the UK said Tony. No opponent has been confirmed as of yet with venue and ticket info on the way. This is great news for and i am sure it will be of no concern not having an opponent yet as Frank Maloney will make sure of signing a worthy adversary.

we may be looking at a Travis Dickinson or Tony Dodson fight in the near future for Jeffries but don't quote me on it that is just my opinion. Tony Jeffries of course would still like a crack at British and Commonwealth Super Middleweight champion George Groves and with Jeffries Heading back to the UK to fight will only boost his chances of signing a British title fight of his own in the not too distant future.

In a recent interview Tony Jeffries had said that he would not have any problems in making the weight if he was to fight Groves at Super Middleweight. Jeffries is said to be a different animal since he's been in the states alongside world class trainer Tommy Brooks. I have seen recent photo's of tony in The Rock Gym LA training with American Superstar and Super 6 finalist Andre Ward and Jeffries looks in top condition.

Another date to the diary books and September is looking like another exciting month for boxing.