Hello and welcome,
I am delighted to share news of a new release from author Ian Probert. If you remember the iconic boxing match between Michael Watson and Chris Eubank then you will enjoy this! if you ever wondered about how childhood events impact adult life then you will love this. "Something for everyone."
I hope you enjoy this introduction and excerpt, be sure to comment and share.
Sarah Jane
A quarter of a century ago journalist and author Ian Probert decided never to write about boxing again. His decision was prompted by the injuries sustained by boxer Michael Watson during his world title fight with Chris Eubank. Now, in common with so many fighters, Probert is making an inevitable comeback. Dangerous sees Probert return to the scene of an obsession that has gripped him from childhood. In the course of numerous meetings with a number of leading figures in the fight game, including Herol Graham, Steve Collins, Michael Watson, Nigel Benn, Ambrose Mendy, Rod Douglas, Frank Buglioni, Kellie Maloney, Glen McCrory and Jim McDonnell among others, Probert takes a look at how lives have changed, developed and even unravelled during the time he has been away from the sport. From an illuminating and honest encounter with transgender fight manager Kellie Maloney to an emotional reunion with Watson himself, Probert discovers just how much the sport has changed during his absence. The end result is one of the most fascinating and unusual books ever to have been written about boxing.
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| Michael Watson |
How does Ian describe his book:
"Dangerous is an autobiographical account of the events of last year. Basically, after suffering long-term depression due to the death of my father I sought therapy. The therapist advised me to write about boxing as a means of getting over my depression."
Check out this excerpt from Chapter One
Chapter 01 – Scars
It was 23 years ago when I last saw him. His eyes were
closed and an oxygen mask was strapped to his mouth. His magnificent muscular
torso was a tangle of tubes and sensors. He lay on the bed like a sleeping
baby. The slightest of frowns pinched his forehead as if he were dreaming the
longest dream: a dream that would last for a biblical 40 days and 40 nights
before he would awaken to discover that his life had been ripped apart. That he
could never again be the person that he used to be.
In a windswept hotel on the outskirts of Essex I sit at the
rear of a vast banqueting hall and wait to see his face once more. I’m wearing
the suit that I wore at my wedding and for the last three funerals that I
attended. You could say that I’m not a suit person. It hangs loose on my body
on account of the large amount of weight I’ve lost in the past couple of years.
‘You’ve put some pounds on,’ says a cor blimey voice, ‘You
used to be a skinny fella.’
The voice takes a seat across from me at the table and I
recognise its source. It’s also been more than two decades since I last saw him
and his hair has waved goodbye – although I’m not one to talk – and he’s
something like twice the size that he used to be.
‘You look like you’ve lost weight,’ I lie.
The other man caresses his beer gut and stares at the
floor. ‘Yeah... I’ve been working out,’ he says without a trace of irony.
The stranger from my past withdraws to the bar leaving me
alone at the dinner table to scrutinise other faces. In the far distance an
ex-boxer named Nigel Benn is charging £20 a shot to be photographed with time-ravaged
fans. The former world champion looks trim and wears a stylish striped jacket
that would probably look ridiculous on anybody else. He grins earnestly and
waves a weary fist at the camera. The middle- aged car salesman standing next
to him follows his lead for posterity.
On the table closest to me I spot Alan Minter in a dickie bow. A lifetime ago I’d been a 17-year-old
waiter serving wine at an event not unlike this one to a bashed-up Minter, who
had just lost his undisputed world middleweight title. Back then he was one of
the most famous people I’d ever met and I’d been in awe of him. Total awe. But
now it’s only sorrow. His position at the outskirts of the hall – almost as
remote and desolate as my own location – serves as a barometer for just how
many people have forgotten his achievements. He’s at the back of the queue now
and others have moved forward to take his place.
The speeches begin. On a long table at the front of the
hall a smiling Nigel Benn is surrounded by other refugees from days gone by. A
retired boxer named Rod Douglas sits
close to another ex-fighter named Herol Graham,
the man whose punches put an end to Douglas’ career. The two seem unaware of
one another’s presence and I wonder if this is no accident. To Graham’s right
is former world featherweight champion Colin McMillan and
an assortment of other former prizefighters’ whose blurred features remain
hidden in the shadows.
But I’m not here to see these people. Although they all in
one way or another belong to my past I’m here to see only one person. I know he’s
coming because the organiser of this tribute to Nigel Benn tipped me off before
generously inviting me along. Everybody else seems to know he’s coming, too. It
has to be the worst kept secret since someone let it slip that smoking is bad
for you.
A whisper from the table, ‘Michael’s here.’
And suddenly I can stand it no longer. I climb to my feet and quietly exit the
hall. Standing listlessly at the foot of a smartly decorated staircase are two
disinterested looking bouncers. I ask them if they’ve seen Michael and they
gesture towards a small corridor to the left of the staircase.
I find myself standing outside a disabled toilet. I try the
handle. It’s locked. But just as I’m leaving, the door swings open and a large
middle-aged black man with glasses and greying temples appears. We look at each
other for a long time and disjointed words tumble from my lips, ‘Michael... It’s
so nice to see you.’ It’s all I can think of saying. My voice is trembling and
already I’m weak with emotion.
The man in front of me is slightly taller than I and
wearing a freshly-pressed grey suit. He stretches out a huge hand in my
direction and gives me the thumbs-up.
‘It’s so nice to see you,’ I repeat. I take
hold of that giant hand and gently stroke it like a fragile flower.
‘It’s good to see you, too,’ says Michael. ‘Listen, I gotta
go now... We’ll talk later.’
He shuffles past me with obvious difficulty into the
darkness of the banqueting hall. Heads begin to turn as Michael rests his hand
on somebody’s shoulder and is slowly guided towards the top table. The man with
the microphone stops talking. It takes several seconds before people begin to
understand what is happening.
Back in my seat I watch as Nigel Benn leaves his chair and
wraps his arms around Michael. Vanquished and victor reunited. A quarter of a
century ago Michael had bludgeoned Benn’s exhausted body to the canvas on a
memorable evening in Finsbury Park with Benn’s Commonwealth middleweight title
at stake. But now the pair are locked in a lovers’ embrace. The sight is
surreal and invigorating and life affirming. I’m breathless and dizzy. Our
brief reunion was so simple. So straightforward. So nondescript. In the days
leading up to that moment I had been nervous, restless, full of questions.
Would Michael remember me? Would he want to see me again after all this time?
But it had all seemed so natural. It was more than I could ever have hoped for.
Still more speeches. Food is served: simple but edible and
I make decorative chit-chat with the strangers at my table. But I’m yearning to
tell somebody about the miracle that has just occurred. About how Michael and I
were once friends. About how he was a young boxer and I was a young writer and
somehow we formed a partnership that meant something. About how I went to visit
Michael on the night of the injury he sustained during a world title clash with
Chris Eubank and
was received less than warmly by his overprotective friends: even though they
should have known better they saw me as nothing more than just another journo,
come to get his pound of flesh from the stricken figure in intensive care.
About how I decided that the best thing I could do was keep away from him, let
the ones who loved him do what they could. About how I stopped writing about
boxing from that day and tried – really tried – never to return.
At last a break in the proceedings and I find myself
walking up to where Michael sits alone for a moment or two. We look into each
other’s eyes and once again he extends his fist and once more all I can say is,
‘Michael... It’s so nice to see you.’
Michael looks at me. His face is fatter than it used to be.
Ancient scars run like dried up riverbeds above his left eye and across his
chin. His hair is dusted at the edges with white, like fake snow.
And I’m choking up again, ‘Michael,’ I say. ‘I
just want to thank you. You’ve made such a difference to my life.’
And it’s true. When I first met Michael I was penniless and
struggling. Because he believed I was able to make a small mark in
sports journalism and later as a writer. I owe him a debt that I can never
repay.
Michael looks at me curiously. As if he feels a little
sorry for me. ‘You’re too emotional,’ he says, his speech slightly blurred. ‘You
shouldn’t worry about things so much.’
‘I know,’ I agree. ‘The older I get, the more emotional I
become.’
Then Michael moves his head a little closer to mine. He
says, ‘I can see that you have the spirit in you.’
Alarm bells ring. I remember that Michael and his family
were always very religious. I interrupt him. ‘I’m sorry,’ I awkwardly stutter, ‘but
I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in God.’
‘Neither do I,’ says Michael, either lying or de-converted
by his near death experience. ‘But I can see you have the spirit in you.’
‘I’m not so sure about that,’ I say.
‘I love you,’ says Michael.
Did he just say that? Did he just say
he loved me? My shoulders droop and I think about all the wasted years. I think
about the contribution I could have made to Michael’s rehabilitation. I think
about what I could have done to assist his slow, painful progress towards a
kind of recovery, to repay just a little of what he had given to me all those
years ago. The regret overpowers me. The sense of betrayal sickens me.
‘I love you, too,’ I say. And suddenly everything is all
right. We’ve taken two wildly different routes to arrive here at this hotel in
Chigwell on a sticky October night but here we are. I’ve watched him live out
his life in the media. Seen him on the news collecting his MBE. Listened to the
crowds cheer as he completed a marathon that took him six tortuous days of
walking. But we’re here now. I’m 53 and he’s 50. There’s still time to rekindle
our friendship. There’s still time.
Michael frowns at me as I gently hold that once violent
fist of his in my hand. ‘What’s your name?’ he asks.
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