Little-known Canadian Bobby Gunn gets title shot at WBO champ Maccarinelli
Published: Monday, March 26, 2007 | 7:56 PM ET
Canadian Press: BILL BEACON
(CP) - Bobby Gunn spent nine years as an underground brawler, risking all in blood-soaked boxing matches unsanctioned by any commissioner.
That's why only 18 fights - 16 wins and two defeats - appear on the official record of the Niagara Falls, Ont., cruiserweight who will take on champion Enzo Maccarinelli of Wales for the WBO title on April 7 in Cardiff.
It will be one of the co-feature bouts on a high-profile fight card at Millennium Stadium highlighted by long-reigning Welsh star Joe Calzaghe's 20th defence of his WBO super-middleweight title against American Peter Manfredo Jr. A crowd of more than 25,000 is expected.
It is a huge step up for 33-year-old Gunn, who was born in the United States, lives in Hackensack, N.J., and holds dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship but insists "my heart lies in Canada.
"This is my shot," he said. "I've got a couple more years to make the best of it, and I feel like a million dollars."
The fight has been panned in Britain as an easy bout for 26-year-old Maccarinelli (25-1), the Swansea, Wales native who won the WBO belt with a ninth-round TKO over Marcelo Fabian Dominguez on July 8.
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The HBO network in the U.S. plans only to air the Calzaghe fight and another between promising young boxers Amir Khan and Steffy Bull.
But Gunn says he could have a surprise in store for Maccarinelli; that he has much more ring experience than his record indicates, even if most of it came in shady slugfests, often with bets taken at ringside.
"I had about 35 unsanctioned fights," he said. "They were in a regular ring with a ref. We wore eight-ounce gloves, but they were a lot tougher than regular fights.
"If a guy got knocked down, they'd pick him up and you'd keep fighting. I knocked one fellow down 11 times and the ref kept picking him up. They were pretty gory fights.
"But then you get into regular fights and, while it's not a cakewalk, I don't get nervous like some fighters do. I've been doing this so long, it gives me an edge."
Gunn grew up near Niagara Falls in a boxing family. His first cousin, Alex Williamson, had a 7-3-2 pro record as a heavyweight in the 1980s.
The family moved to Arizona in the late 1980s, where he turned pro and built an 11-2 record.
He stopped boxing for two years in 1993, when his mother Jackie died of cancer.
He got married and had a son, also named Bobby, and returned to the ring to make a living, only this time in unsanctioned bouts.
"They paid a little better than regular fights," he explained.
Gunn returned to the mainstream on Dec. 11, 2004 with a first-round knockout of Leon Hinnant in Greensboro, N.C.
Since then he has four more wins and a no-contest (a controversial two-round bout in March 2006 with Shelby Gross).
In September, be beat Shannon Landberg to become champion of the IBA, a minor organization, but it nonetheless pushed him into the top-15 in both the WBO and the WBC and made him eligible for their title fights.
And when British promoter Frank Warren was looking for an opponent for a voluntary title defence for Maccarinelli, he found Gunn, who signed a six-fight agreement to have his bouts promoted by Warren.
The contract gives Gunn the right to defend the title in Canada if he wins.
Gunn, who is trained in Patterson, N.J. by Joe Grier, insists he can win, although he expects the judges to favour Maccarinelli on his home turf.
"You know you're not going to get a decision, that's just reality," he said. "He must be knocked out.
"I've seen three of his fights. He's very European, with his chin up in the air. We're very confident."
Then the cruiserweight (200 pound) division could get interesting in Canada. On March 19, Troy Ross of Brampton, Ont., won the Commonwealth title with a second-round KO of English veteran John (Buster) Keeton in Montreal.
Note - The title fight between WBA junior middleweight champ Travis Simms and mandatory challenger Joachim Alcine of Montreal will go to a purse bid on April 2, with the highest offer earning the right to stage the bout. If Alcine's promoter Yvon Michel wins, the fight will be in early June in Montreal.
Published: Monday, March 26, 2007 | 7:56 PM ET
Canadian Press: BILL BEACON
(CP) - Bobby Gunn spent nine years as an underground brawler, risking all in blood-soaked boxing matches unsanctioned by any commissioner.
That's why only 18 fights - 16 wins and two defeats - appear on the official record of the Niagara Falls, Ont., cruiserweight who will take on champion Enzo Maccarinelli of Wales for the WBO title on April 7 in Cardiff.
It will be one of the co-feature bouts on a high-profile fight card at Millennium Stadium highlighted by long-reigning Welsh star Joe Calzaghe's 20th defence of his WBO super-middleweight title against American Peter Manfredo Jr. A crowd of more than 25,000 is expected.
It is a huge step up for 33-year-old Gunn, who was born in the United States, lives in Hackensack, N.J., and holds dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship but insists "my heart lies in Canada.
"This is my shot," he said. "I've got a couple more years to make the best of it, and I feel like a million dollars."
The fight has been panned in Britain as an easy bout for 26-year-old Maccarinelli (25-1), the Swansea, Wales native who won the WBO belt with a ninth-round TKO over Marcelo Fabian Dominguez on July 8.
Continue Article
The HBO network in the U.S. plans only to air the Calzaghe fight and another between promising young boxers Amir Khan and Steffy Bull.
But Gunn says he could have a surprise in store for Maccarinelli; that he has much more ring experience than his record indicates, even if most of it came in shady slugfests, often with bets taken at ringside.
"I had about 35 unsanctioned fights," he said. "They were in a regular ring with a ref. We wore eight-ounce gloves, but they were a lot tougher than regular fights.
"If a guy got knocked down, they'd pick him up and you'd keep fighting. I knocked one fellow down 11 times and the ref kept picking him up. They were pretty gory fights.
"But then you get into regular fights and, while it's not a cakewalk, I don't get nervous like some fighters do. I've been doing this so long, it gives me an edge."
Gunn grew up near Niagara Falls in a boxing family. His first cousin, Alex Williamson, had a 7-3-2 pro record as a heavyweight in the 1980s.
The family moved to Arizona in the late 1980s, where he turned pro and built an 11-2 record.
He stopped boxing for two years in 1993, when his mother Jackie died of cancer.
He got married and had a son, also named Bobby, and returned to the ring to make a living, only this time in unsanctioned bouts.
"They paid a little better than regular fights," he explained.
Gunn returned to the mainstream on Dec. 11, 2004 with a first-round knockout of Leon Hinnant in Greensboro, N.C.
Since then he has four more wins and a no-contest (a controversial two-round bout in March 2006 with Shelby Gross).
In September, be beat Shannon Landberg to become champion of the IBA, a minor organization, but it nonetheless pushed him into the top-15 in both the WBO and the WBC and made him eligible for their title fights.
And when British promoter Frank Warren was looking for an opponent for a voluntary title defence for Maccarinelli, he found Gunn, who signed a six-fight agreement to have his bouts promoted by Warren.
The contract gives Gunn the right to defend the title in Canada if he wins.
Gunn, who is trained in Patterson, N.J. by Joe Grier, insists he can win, although he expects the judges to favour Maccarinelli on his home turf.
"You know you're not going to get a decision, that's just reality," he said. "He must be knocked out.
"I've seen three of his fights. He's very European, with his chin up in the air. We're very confident."
Then the cruiserweight (200 pound) division could get interesting in Canada. On March 19, Troy Ross of Brampton, Ont., won the Commonwealth title with a second-round KO of English veteran John (Buster) Keeton in Montreal.
Note - The title fight between WBA junior middleweight champ Travis Simms and mandatory challenger Joachim Alcine of Montreal will go to a purse bid on April 2, with the highest offer earning the right to stage the bout. If Alcine's promoter Yvon Michel wins, the fight will be in early June in Montreal.