Andrew Flintoff chases off naysayers – Boxing News
Former English cricket captain Andrew Flintoff will be making his professional boxing debut soon. There are some who think it is just a publicity stunt by the former cricketer but Flintoff has clarified that it is more than just that. Flintoff, who is 34
now, retired from cricket two years before, and now he is ready to test himself in the ring against Richard Dawson, an American fighter.
Flintoff is scheduled to make his professional debut at the Manchester Arena. He is already being criticised by many of the giants in the game such Frank Warren, promoter. According to Warren, Flintoff’s try to become a boxer is more like ‘car crash TV’.
Similarly, Frank Maloney, another promoter, has called the entire scenario a scandal. Moreover, Colin Hart, a well known boxing correspondent to the Sun, called Flintoff ‘foolish Freddie’.
Flintoff is a bit irked with all the remarks. In his recent interview, he said, “You couldn't go through this for a TV stunt,” while talking about his training and losing 45lbs in such a short span of time.
“If I was looking for a publicity stunt I'd have picked something easier. There has been criticism of things I've done in the past. I'm just getting my head down and doing the best I can,” added the former English captain.
“I appreciate that people want to protect the sport they're involved in. I'd be the same with cricket. I'm hoping this is something where boxing is celebrated because it's not my intention to cheapen the sport or show it up.”
Flintoff’s opponent was a mystery. He was to announce his opponent for his debut match last Friday but Dawson wrecked the plans by introducing himself before Flintoff could.
According to Dawson’s spokesman, fighting against Flintoff will be a great experience, as they respect Flintoff as an athlete and they know he would give his best in the ring. However, he added, Flintoff has no fighting experience which makes him the one
prone to defeat.
For now, Flintoff is ready to give it hard to Dawson in the ring. Whether he will be fighting his way up or he will leave the sport with just one defeat is something we all will see.
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