SJM Concerts are delighted to give fight fans a unique opportunity to meet with three of the boxing industry’s biggest hitters when Former World Lightweight Champion Anthony Crolla, world renown trainer Joe Gallagher and peerless pundit Steve Bunce, team up to deliver a ‘Ringside Stories’ tour of the nation.
The boxing trio begin their educational and highly entertaining tutorials at the London Indigo at the O2 on Thursday 8th August, followed by the Salford The Lowry on Friday 6th September. Tickets will go on sale on Friday 21st June at 10am.
Anthony ‘Million Dollar’ Crolla was not only one of the most gifted British boxers of this decade, he also owns the most heart-wrenching background story.
Hear him deliver his ‘heartache to hero’ testimony of how an angel-faced, meek-mannered adolescent stormed to a senior English ABA title whilst still in his teens, then embarked on a 13 year, 44 fight professional career that saw him reign on the British lightweight throne and, ultimately, conquer the boxing world.
Learn the inside details on Crolla’s dust-ups against fellow domestic champions like Brodie, Mathews, Rees, Murray and Burns. Discover how, with a first world title shot signed and sealed, both his career and life were jeopardised after he heroically confronted fleeing burglars one harrowing night in December 2014 that hit the national headlines and into the public consciousness.
That ordeal left Crolla nursing a fractured skull and broken ankle …in addition to broken dreams. Astonishingly, seven months later, he was back inside a world championship ring but, on this occasion, after dominating feared WBA World Champion Darleys Perez, got robbed by the judges who allowed the Columbian to retain courtesy of a highly contentious draw.
But this most driven of competitors refused to be deterred and, four months later, was finally coronated after puncturing Perez with a perfect body shot in round five. The ‘Bible of Boxing’ Ring Magazinehonoured the achievement by bestowing ‘Million Dollar’ Crolla with its Most Inspirational Fighter of the Year Award. Subsequently, Crolla shared the canvas with contemporary greats of his era like Jorge Linares and current pound-for-pound best Vasyl Lomachenko in memorable unification matches. Listen to Crolla’s assessment.
Anthony has contested six world title fights and duelled seven fellow world champions and throughout his illustrious career has served as the personification of class both inside and outside the ropes. He has been described as ‘the nicest guy in boxing’; the ultimate ambassador for the sport.
Crolla said, “I’m excited to join Joe and Buncey on the Ringside Stories tour and I’m looking forward to meeting and speaking to the fans who have followed and supported me through my career highs and lows. There’s a lot of interesting and revealing stories that have happened behind the scenes between Joe and I that fans’ will get to hear about first hand. If you’re a big boxing fan then you can’t miss this!”
Shoulder to shoulder with Crolla, as always, will be the highly-esteemed trainer Joe Gallagher, who has served as Svengali and coach to Crolla since his 16th paid fight and is credited with taken him to excel at new heights.
A fellow Mancunian, Joe is unquestionably the leading British fight tutor of this millennium. In 2015, he was honoured as both the inaugural British Trainer of the Year and the first English-born holder of the iconic Ring Magazine World Trainer of the Year Award. In 2016, he was selected to serve on the WBC’s Trainer’s Committee.
Once a decent amateur at the city’s celebrated Moss Side ABC under the tutelage of the late, great Phil Martin, Joe entered coaching in 1993 and has been dispensing his wisdom to fighters for more than a quarter of a century. He has been involved in over 100 title fights and at one period, boxers from his gym went undefeated in 62 consecutive contests!
While Crolla remains his most celebrated work, Joe has also steered Bury’s Scott Quigg and the Liverpool Smith brothers, Liam and Callum to World titles.
In addition to his status as Britain’s finest fight tutor, Joe is also one of its most articulate, opinionated and outspoken voices. Hear him recount the secrets behind the training camps, gyms, changing rooms plus his outstanding corner work.
Gallagher said, “I’ve been with Anthony for a decade now and our journey together has been a rollercoaster in the sport and through it all we certainly have a few tales to tell! We can give the fans a great view of our partnership from a trainer and boxer perspective that I’m sure will captivate the audience.”
To further enhance the evening, the event will be moderated by the one and only Steve ‘Big Daddy’ Bunce.
Few titles in boxing are as undisputed as ‘Buncey’s’ standing as ‘the Voice of British boxing.’
An ex-amateur at the famous Fitzroy Lodge club in south London, Steve evolved into the nation’s foremost fight pundit. Involved as a journalist for 35 years, his knowledgeable and forthright thoughts have featured in the London Evening Standard, the Daily Telegraphand, currently, The Independent. For several years he has penned columns for Boxing Monthly in the U.K and ESPN.com.
As a broadcaster, Bunce has presented Radio Five Live’s ‘Fighting Talk’, served as the face of Setanta boxing and, from 2011-2018, earned cult status on BoxNation’s ‘Bunce’s Boxing Hour’ where his insight, passion, contacts and zany humour established him as the industry leader.
Steve’s CV lists six Olympic Games, over 50 fight nights in Las Vegas and paid assignments in over 20 countries. He is the acclaimed author of a number of books, most notably his boxing-based novel ‘The Fixer’ (2010) and the best selling ‘Bunce’s Big Fat Short History of British Boxing (2017).
Trade paper Boxing News rightly dub him as ‘A British Boxing Institution.’
Tickets will go sale on Friday 21st June at 10am and are available from gigsandtours.com ticketmaster.co.uk andaxs.com with VIP options available.
For further information please go to gigsandtours.com
