Wembley, London

‘Remember, remember the fifth of November.’ As a boxing fan there is one particular fifth of November I won’t ever forget. The build up and anticipation of the final eliminator for the British Middleweight title between West Ham’s Mark Kaylor and Coventry’s Errol Christie ensured there would not only be a sell out crowd at Wembley Arena but huge media interest as well (although sadly for the wrong reasons).

There was no need for any more hype as the two boxers were at a crossroads in their respective careers and they were evenly matched. Unfortunately on 18 October at the Stakis Regency Casino in London the two boxers and their management teams met at a photo shoot to drum up more publicity and what followed showed an ugly side to the sport.

This was the era of racism on the terraces of football matches and just five years after the shameful scenes at the same Wembley Arena when American legend Marvelous Marvin Hagler took Alan Minter’s World crown from him only to be pelted with bottles and other missiles by the pro-Minter crowd. Only weeks before Kaylor versus Christie Tottenham’s Broadwater Farm Estate broke into riots and explosive violence, where, in the melee PC Keith Blakelock was hacked to death by rioters, some reports claimed that rioters attempted to behead him. It was in this charged and fraught atmosphere that Kaylor and Christie met for the photo shoot.

Words were exchanged between the two men and soon afterwards blows were struck and the two ended up wrestling on the pavement in an undignified and unpleasant scene which once again put the sport of boxing in the dock. For the press it was great publicity, for the British Boxing Board of Control it was shocking and tensions had to be diffused. There were now genuine fears that what should have been an eagerly anticipated event between two promising young athletes in the Corinthian spirit could now erupt into ugly scenes at the boxing arena with rival fans clashing. The scenarios being imagined were unpalatable and there were genuine fears that the contest would have to be cancelled.

Frantic meetings between promoter Mike Barrett, the British Boxing Board of Control and the police ensued as a solution was sought. Finally the boxers were brought together again for a second photo shoot where a cosmetic handshake between the two was staged for the media’s benefit. But the damage was already done.

At the time I was a schoolboy and a huge fan of the modest and well mannered Irish boxer Barry McGuigan and the whole Kaylor versus Christie affair seemed to be light years from what I was used to. By the evening of the contest I like millions of other fans was riveted by what would unfold. I was not a supporter of either boxer but knew that it should be an exciting and most likely short-lived contest. This was in the days of the television show ‘Sportsnight’ with Harry Carpenter providing the commentary. As the fight was going ahead on the Tuesday and ‘Sportsnight’ did not air on BBC1 until Wednesday night my father and I listened to the contest live on radio. Somehow this made things even more dramatic and nerve shredding.

Thankfully come fight time the security measures of promoter Barrett seemed to pay off. Sensibly alcohol was banned and there was a strong but not excessive police presence. Most importantly to defuse any ugly situation Managers Terry Lawless (from Kaylor’s camp) and Burt McCarthy (from Team Christie) met mid ring and shook hands, on top of that McCarthy embraced Kaylor’s trainer, Jimmy Tibbs. So at least the two camps and the promoter had done all they could to re-introduce some respect and sportsmanship back into proceedings. Hopefully the crowd would behave itself and all the violence would be reserved for the two protagonists battling in the ring.

It was not long before the action erupted, just seconds from the opening bell Christie found himself on the canvas from a well-timed right. The young prospect showed his inexperience by getting up too early and as a consequence staggered into the ropes. Kaylor really fired up by the vociferous support of his West Ham fans roared into Christie opening a cut over the Midlander’s left eye. An idiotic Kaylor fan set off a firecracker in anticipation of an early victory but the tide was about to change…

From nowhere Christie who had scored 19 early wins out of 20 wins (with one defeat) in his career so far caught the onrushing Kaylor with a short right that sent him to his knees. Kaylor turned to his corner and sensibly took an ‘eight count.’ Christie’s follow up attack was ragged and Kaylor managed to weather the storm and see out the round.

The first round had delivered everything and more than anyone could have expected. It was a real see-saw thriller and it was still totally unclear who would emerge as the eventual victor. Both men could hurt each other and both men had tasted the canvas. Surely it would not last for much longer? Not at this pace!

In the second round Christie showed a much cooler head as he looked for openings, landing a decent right that had Kaylor hanging on. In the third round another perfectly delivered Christie right dropped Kaylor again. Taking another eight count Kaylor surprised everyone, not least Christie by rallying so fiercely that it was Christie who was in trouble and holding on by the end of the round. To add to his woes the fighter now had to deal with another cut this time on his left eyelid.

As the rounds passed the snap and crispness left Christies punches and what had started as an explosive shoot out now became a desperate war of attrition. Christie’s frustration became evident in the fifth when he shouldered his foe in the face during a clinch and referee Harry Gibbs took time out to warn both men to keep it clean.

In the sixth Christie actually produced some decent boxing but it was to be his last purple patch of the night. In the seventh Kaylor ripped in some meaty hooks to the body, some looking a little low, before landing a big right that had the visibly tired Christie on the ropes. Somehow Christie survived the round but it looked like the writing was on the wall for him.

A final assault in the eighth had the crowd roaring and when a left - right - left combination thudded home Christie began to drift towards the canvas. He dazedly crawled to his corner and bravely attempted to haul himself up by the ropes but he was still in this prone position when the referee completed with the count.

The dramatic contest that had stirred so much antagonism and emotion was finally over. In the ensuing years Kaylor would get completely mastered by dazzling Sheffield fighter Herol Graham in a European middleweight title challenge before eventually retiring in 1991 and becoming a publican. Errol Christie who was perhaps one of the most promising and talented amateur boxers these Isles have produced never quite made it as a professional, despite scoring an impressive comeback win over world rated Sean Mannion the defeats began to overtake the victories and he retired for good in 1993. Christie now works as a trainer of ‘white collar boxing’ as well as making appearances in inner-city schools campaigning against knife and gun crime.