COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Boxing sees controversy – and the birth of a monster

Posted: Friday 15th October 2010 | 6:27

From Daniel Schofield, , in Delhi

TAKE one dose of controversy, two doses of last-second drama and throw a little more controversy into the mix and you get an idea of what the boxing has been like at the Commonwealth Games.

MONSTER: England Simon Vallily – described by British coach Rob McCracken as ‘frighteningly good’ – was one of the two English boxing gold medallists at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi (Reuters)

The Talkatora Stadium witnessed many strange incidents, none more so than when a Welsh boxer, being supported by the entire England team, was fighting an English-born Pakistani boxer who in turn was being cheered for by a largely Indian crowd.

Haroon Khan – or WBA champion Amir Khan’s younger brother – claimed he had been deliberately overlooked by the British set-up, which forced to him to fight for the country of his parents’ birth.

So when he fought British Amateur Boxing Association podium squad member Andrew Selby, Khan had the perfect case to state his case.

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After a close-fought 3-3 draw against the Welsh flyweight, Khan was given the judges’ decision on countback.

The victory guaranteed Khan a bronze medal but that was almost an afterthought for the 19-year-old .

He said: “Proving them (the selectors) wrong feels better than winning a medal.

“My job was to come here and prove them wrong.

 “I’d love to see him right now and say: ‘Look, it’s in your face. I’ve got a medal and I should have got that for England. I’ve proved you guys wrong’.”

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The ‘him’ in question was British boxing chief Rob McCracken and for all Khan’s claims there is a very simple reason he wasn’t selected: Khalid Yafai.

While Khan was perhaps lucky to get the decision against Selby, there’s no doubt Yafai, who competed at the 2008 Olympics, would have wiped the floor with him had a shoulder injury not ruled him out of the Games.

McCracken’s troubles didn’t end there, with Scotland light heavyweight Callum Johnson also demanding a place on the podium squad.

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Yet his gold medal was a far more convincing argument than Khan’s, particularly having beaten three British fighters on the way to the top of the podium.

In between the boxing politics, some fighting broke out.

English boxers Obed Mbwakongo and Anthony Ogogo were involved in two of the most dramatic conclusions – both against Indian fighters.

Light heavyweight Mbwakongo was taking on Dinesh Kumar just moments after he saw teammate Iain Weaver ‘stitched up’ by some outrageous ringside scoring when fighting against another Indian.

Trailing for the majority of his match, Mbwakongo levelled things up with under a minute remaining before delivering a right that landed on Kumar’s headguard with just a second remaining to win 9-8.

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That though was nothing compared to the upset Ogogo would cause when he defeated Vijender Singh – India’s answer to David Beckham according to the Lowestoft middleweight.

At 3-0 down heading into the second half of the third round, Ogogo was handed a lifeline when referee Michael Summers deducted Singh two points for holding.

Incredibly Summers showed stones of steel to do the same thing with 30 seconds remaining to the outrage of most inside the Talkatora Stadium – an anger not soothed by Ogogo blowing kisses to the crowd after his 4-3 win.

Yet such exertions took their toll with Mbwakongo losing to Johnson in the quarter-final while Ogogo had to settle for silver after being comprehensively outboxed by Northern Ireland’s Eamonn O’Kane in the final.

O’Kane was one of three Northern Irish boxing golds – their first since 1994 – while England could only come away with two from their five finalists.

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Team captain Thomas Stalker looked a class act throughout and compared standing on top of the podium to fellow Scouser Steven Gerrard winning the World Cup for England before adding: “but they could never do that in the football, they always get beat!”

Yet it is England’s other boxing gold medallist who has really caused a stir.

Heavyweight Simon Vallily won all three of his fights by stoppage; in his other proposed fight it was not clear whether his opponent withdrew through injury or just plain fear.

In amateur boxing it can sometimes to be difficult to tell which punches score.

Not with Vallily. Each shot doesn’t just score, it damages and the accompanying thud can be heard above the din of the lively Indian crowd.

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Vallily’s gold and background, which includes a four-year prison sentence for an unprovoked street assault, were drowned out by the success of Tom Daley, a stone’s throw away in the diving.

The Middlesbrough mauler, described by McCracken as ‘frighteningly good’, is never likely to take Daley’s spot as London 2012’s poster boy but remember the date October 13, 2010: a monster was born.