Exclusive interview by Charles C. White – First off, congratulations on another successful promotion with Put up or Shut up. How did it feel giving another great show packed with entertainment to a full house of thrilled boxing fans?
CT: Hi Charlie, and thanks for your praise. As any promoter would tell you; it’s always a great feeling looking around your venue and seeing a packed house.
Let’s start with your heavyweight charge, Clarence Tillman. He won in great fashion with a 2nd round ko over professional 8 man tournament winner John Argall (4-2-0 with 3 kos). Tell us about how this fight played out and the improvements you have seen in Tillman since first promoting him….
CT: It was a great result for Tillman. Argall had never been hurt or knocked down in his pro career until this fight and Clarence dropped him twice, the first in brutal fashion and I was surprised Argall beat the count. He was on unsteady legs and it took Tillman a matter of a few seconds to put him down again, at that point Argall had had enough and signalled to the referee he wanted out…it was a wrap. Tillman looked a lot more composed and relaxed this time round. As Argall came out moving and throwing, Clarence stuck to his guns, bided his time, and got the result. Credit to Big John Argall however. He was brought in as a tough, hard-hitting opponent for Tillman and he came and gave it a go. Many, including myself, wouldn’t have been surprised if he gave it away after the 1st knockdown.
How would you describe his overall style as it has transformed over time?
CT: Well I think Clarence would agree he has some weight to lose and that’s a process that will take some time but is being worked on right now. He was helping with the oil spill in the Gulf and boxing was coming second so now (that) boxing is number one again we’ll start seeing the weight shift and he’ll increase his hand speed and numbers. I was impressed, however, with how he picked his shots; no punches were wasted.
I hear that this fight was for the newly formed North Shore heavyweight title. Can you tell us some more about this title? I believe you played a key role in its formation did you not?
CT: Yes indeed it was. I formed the title itself and it’s basically just a minor title based on an area of Auckland called the North Shore. It’s an opportunity for the fighters from this area to put their hand up and say “I’m the best in this area.” I’m a North Shore local and have been all my life and 90% of my fans that attend my shows are from this area and are very patriotic so it’s also another way of drawing a crowd. It will, in time, produce some great local rivalry bouts.
According to boxrec, Tillman is now set to face Joey Wilson (6-2-1 with 3 kos) on August 14th. What can you tell us about Wilson and how he will provide a good next step up for Clarence?
CT: Wilson is a BIG heavyweight, standing 6’7” and weighing in between 250-260lbs. He’s a genuine step up for Clarence and will provide a whole bunch of new challenges for him, firstly, dealing with being the shorter guy for a change. I’d have preferred a 6 rounder but being on another promoter’s card we could only get 4, but that’s all part of the challenge. Interestingly, Wilson sparred Argall for his fight against Tillman and they are good mates so we could potentially see some bad blood here with Wilson out to get some revenge.
Your main event fighter, Jameson Bostic (21-4-0 with 11 kos) took a controversial MD4 win after knocking down Vini Mahoni in the first round and then going on to win the next 2 of the 3 remaining rounds. Why do you suppose Bostic was not awarded a UD?
CT: Bostic won the fight hands down. Two of the three judges scored the bout 40-35, which tells me they had him winning every round and included the knockdown in the 1st. The 3rd judge scored it 38-38 which bemuses me. I’m not sure if he was asleep during the fight or simply not up to standard, I’d say both! It wasn’t even close, but we’ll take the win and move on. Bostic won’t be fighting these big cruiserweights/small heavy’s no more, we’ll be sticking to his natural weight of 175 in the future.
What’s next for Bostic? Any opponents in sight?
CT: Yes, we have a August 21st date for him, just trying to confirm an opponent right now. Another stay busy fight but against someone a little more seasoned.
Just as a side note, what did you think of the whole Paul Briggs vs Danny Green debacle?
CT: I think these fights hurt boxing. Briggs should never have been allowed to walk into that type of fight, surely he’d have needed to have had a tune up bout or two. Although that’s half the problem; they probably knew he’d be found out in a tune up bout so rushed him straight into Green. Money talks and unfortunately it’s the paying punters who get ripped off. The IBO has something to answer for also, sanctioning such a fight for their title. What had Briggs done to be deserved a title fight?
Would a fight between Bostic and Green be in the works for the future do you suppose?
CT: We’d jump at the chance to fight Green, sounds like there are a lot of guys lining up right now though. We’d be happy to do it at the catchweight of 84kgs, which I believe was the weight asked of both Green and Briggs.
What other memorable moments of this event should the fans know about in case they didn’t get the privilege of attending? A good scrap story to share perhaps?
CT: One of our fighters, Scott Murray, fought again on Put up or Shut Up. He’s been a regular on my shows, and never fails to be in an exciting fight. He turns 50 next year and won’t appreciate me making it public knowledge but this means he’s almost always up against guys 15 or 20 years younger than him and this was no different on this show. He went in against a 31 year old and most who haven’t seen Scott fight before would automatically assume the younger man would take it out but that’s because, as I say, they haven’t seen Scott fight before. Scott is forever sparring younger guys, myself included, in the gym and he’s like a human wall, big and strong and relentless in his efforts to come forward and land telling blows. This was the case again Thursday night as his younger game opponent found out. Scott, who possesses a hard ramrod-like jab when he chooses to use it, went about breaking down his opponent physically and mentally as everything his opponent threw at him he ate up and kept pressing forward, landing hard, thudding shots of his own. By the 2nd round, he’d given his opponent a standing 8 count and in the 3rd and final had him up against the ropes for almost another standing 8. For a guy who would admit himself he’s no longer in his prime physical condition and with old rugby and motorcycling injuries, he somehow always manages to grind out another top fight. Like a fine red wine (he) keeps getting better with age.
In our last interview, you mentioned that you had another show in the works for October possibly, but was this show your finale for the summer?
CT: For the Northern Hemisphere summer yes, it’s our winter down here! Looking at co-promoting with some of my MMA mates, you run awesome professionally done shows. Shuriken are a new up in coming force in NZ MMA but have been around for years in South Africa. Hopefully we can get some great MMA and Boxing fights on the same night.
Thank you for your time Craig. Any final message to the readers?
CT: Some people say boxing is dying but if you’d seen the turn out Thursday night you’d question it. There was a great mix of young and old male and female, all types of people. Keep supporting the sport it will pull through the tough times, boxing will always survive!
For questions and comments, or to schedule an interview, Charles White can be reached at cwhite1078@mysvc.skagit.edu or 360-333-5911.