The first in what we hope will become a regular series.
Having grown up loving this sport of ours, I thought I?d start a series whereby I reflect on a bygone era and a time where I was influenced by those I paid good money to watch.
For the first in this series I?ve chosen the Leicester fighter Tony Sibson
Born on 9th April 1958, Tony Sibson went on to have a career whereby he boxed 63 times.
Of those 63 fights Sibson won 55, (31 by knockout and 24 by decisions), he lost 7 times (being knocked out 5 times, 2 by decisions) and had 1 draw.
During his career he was to become the Commonwealth and European champion whilst also performing on the world stage 3 times. However, each of his three world title chances was to end in disappointment.
His first attempt, back in February 1983, saw Sibson matched against the legend that was Marvellous Marvin Hagler in a fight for the WBA and WBC middleweight titles whereby he was stopped in 6 rounds.
His second attempt, in 1986, saw Sibson move up to the light-heavyweight division where, in an all-British clash, he fought Dennis Andries for the WBC title and was stopped in round nine.
The third attempt saw Sibson matched up against Frank Tate for the IBF middleweight crown, only for the Leicester man to be beaten in the 10th round.
Those three fights showed that Sibson fell just short of being a world champion but his honest style whereby he coupled speed with power endeared him to many a British boxing fan.
The last we heard, Sibson was leading a quiet life in the building trade in Leicester.
Somewhere in Time (1) ? Tony Sibson
