PAUL SMITH and Tony Dodson both deserve a sincere tribute from all local boxing fans for the cracking display they put on last Friday evening at the Echo Arena.
It was a proper set-to of an old fashioned kind, in which both men were tested in a tough scrap, in which hard blows were exchanged in a contest between warriors who proclaimed their mutual dislike in the pre-fight build up.
Too often in modern boxing the notion of a grudge is invented by the promoters to drum up a bit of interest.
But there was nothing invented about the obvious and genuine antipathy between these two local lads and the fight they had was irrefutable proof of that.
I thought Smith showed remarkable grit and technique to overcome the bad cut he sustained early in the fight and emerge as the victor: he is a worthy champion and a genuine local hero.
Tony Dodson, coming in as the underdog and former champion really distinguished himself and, though the loser on the night, he won the respect and admiration of all those who watched the fight.
Boxing in Liverpool – both professional and amateur – has a long and dramatic history, and I thought it was fitting that the hardest game of all got some well deserved coverage on the back of Friday’s big fight.
