5 Live Boxing with Steve Bunce - The Girls in the Garden

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

Will there ever be a bigger night of boxing than what’s coming to Madison Square Garden on July 11th? Buncey sits down with three of the fighters on the stacked card featuring over 20 world title belts. Savannah Marshall explains why this is a bucket-list moment as she aims to add the WBO belt to her IBF and Ring Magazine titles. Chantelle Cameron reveals she’s still chasing a trilogy bout with Katie Taylor. And we’re introduced to rising Canadian star Tam Thibeault, who also features on the bill.

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Go to pockethose.com slash podcast. That's pockethose.com slash podcast for your two free gifts with purchase. Pockethose.com slash POD C-A-S-T. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. This is Five Live Boxing. What a weekend it was? Jake Paul beat Julio Cezer Chavez, Jr. and now wants to fight Anthony Joshua.

24 hours earlier in somewhere no one's ever heard of, the Auntie Wilder knocked out a man who no one's ever heard of, and he also wants to now fight Anthony Joshua. Oh, Jake Paul, he's not that bothered. Then late on Sunday, it was officially announced that Connor Ben and Chris Eubank Jr. will do it all again. September the 20th, stick that in your diary. Okay, the family rivalry will continue.

Will it be as good well with discussion? that later on. Meanwhile, we continue our buildup, countdown, whatever you want to call it, to an amazing night in New York, Madison Square Garden on July the 11th, the Garden, as we know. There will be 22 versions of the World Championship on the line in six world title fights. That's a record in any error and any gender. Trust me, I had a good look. The Garden on July is all about the women, the very best in the world. And I say, I see. And I saw, speak to a few of them on this show. I'm Steve Bunce and this is a very special five live boxing. So I'm near Macclesfield between McElsfield and Congleton. In a private

gym run by Peter Fury it's hard to get into. The guard dogs are gone but it's still difficult to get into. This is where he trains his son Huey, the heavyweight that no one wants to talk about and Savannah Marshall. Now I'm going to speak to Sav, Chantelle Cameron and a Canadian called Tam Thibu a bit later on. They're all part of this incredible night, this ridiculous MVP night. That's Jake Paul's promotional company that takes place on July the 11th at the Garden. 22 World Championship belts. The top of the bill is Katie Taylor against Amanda Serrano.

They meet for the third time. The other two were great fights, two of the greatest fights ever between women. Taylor won both, but both were close. All four of Taylor's belts at Light Welterweight and the ring belt will be on the line. That means it's undisputed. It's the same at Super Featherweight where Alicia Boomgardner defends her IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA versions against Jennifer Miranda. That's also undisputed. At Super Middleweight, Savannah Marshall and Saddam, she see a green fight for the IBF and WBO and the ring belt. Catford's Ellie Scotney defends her IBF, WBO and ring belt. Catford's

Zellie Scotney defends IBF, WBO and ring belts and challenges Mexico's Yama Lef Mercado for the WBC version. That's nearly an undisputed. Come on, that's a massive fight. Australia's Shanika Johnson puts her WBA bantamweight belt on the line against American Shereita Metcalfe, who's got the IBF version. Now, the vacant WBO and WBC titles are also thrown in, so that makes it on the same bill, three undisputed world title fights.

We've only had about 11 men's undisputed title fights in the four belt. They were going about 40 years. That gives you an idea of what type of show this is. Now, Chantelle Cameron against Jessica Kamara is for Chantel's interim WBC like World to Weight title. It's a massive bill. It's a massive night. It's the greatest venue in the world for boxing.

I let you know a secret. It's not really that good, but it's the garden. And if you like boxing, you like boxing. you love the garden. First, I spoke to Savannah Marshall on my trip to McEltsville or Congleton or whatever you want to call it, and I put it to her that she was part

of a very special night. It really is. And one off the bucket list. I've never done New York. Never mind Madison Square Garden. Never mind 21,000 feet from screaming. Exactly. Exactly. And it's a fight that I'm up for,

really up for. It's a fight that I've got to be switched on for. I can't... It's a proper fight, isn't it? It is. It's a tough fight. It's a tough fight. In all fairness, I don't know really at what point you're never going to get easy fights. I mean, after four or five fights, you're always going to fight people that had a belt or fighting for a belt.

But this is a particularly good one. Yeah, it really is. She's got, she's a puncher. You can say tell her record. And she likes the punch. She likes a punch. She's had one loss against Franchine. She knows why I beat, which makes the fight a little bit more tastier.

I've unboxed in two years. Yeah. So really, on paper, I'm inactive, and she's been very active, which makes it a bit more spicy. I want to talk about that break, because you obviously had the MMA bout last July, July 2024. And I read somewhere that you took you a while to get into the MMA, changing your stance and everything, and then it's taking you a while to come back. Which I never, I'd be on, I'd never, I thought you could switch like that. I did. Explain that process both ways, then.

I got off of the contract with PFL and I thought, oh, wow, easy, good money. different audience and wow what a shock everything that benefited me in boxing does not benefit me in MMA Stance out of the window Stance you're square on square on you can't step

You've got to be in and out with your feet Yeah Massive shock to the system And then coming I spent 80 months doing the MMA And then even coming back It took me good Because you have bad habits from the MMA

Yeah yeah exactly Really bad habits What about the strength wise? Because, I mean, you know, you look different. I know, I've been told that you did, and you do, you look different. I was talking to April 1 earlier. You look different. Do you feel stronger?

Is it a different kind of strength? Yeah. Even now, I'm still wrestling once a week. Wow. Just to top up? Yeah. I think it's the best form of strength and conditioning you can get. And I've worked with loads of different condition, strength and conditioning coaches,

even on GB for years. Honestly, it tops everything. And the team, look, Yusick's come out until he does, BGJ wrestling. Honestly, it's unbelievable. In the first couple of weeks, my back, my neck would hurt. And now, it benefited me in clinches.

Wow. And you could just sense it. So you're stronger, but also it's taught you a different skill. Yeah, it's a different type of fitness. It's crazy to explain. But anyone who rolls, does BGJ wrestling,

it'll know it's a different type of fitness. So you're doing that once a week, but you are trying to call it. concentrate on the boxing. And have you rediscovered your boxing? We're not going to see a novice sav martial where we don't need that. Oh no, I hope not. Back to when you were 12.

Back to when you were little girl. Fall in over your feet. I'm older now. I'm 34, so it's not, I had a conversation with Peter. It's not like when I was 30 and I was every session I was training eyeballs out. I've had some bad injuries over the air, especially on my hands, my elbows. So it's all about being smart now. and I feel better for it.

When you talk about being smart, have you, I mean, you're still coming to you're doing two hours, but you're doing a different two hours. So maybe less sparring, maybe less hard work. You know, no need to hit the bag for flipping 10, three-minute rounds anymore. Well, I'm not putting words in your mouth. I'm assuming you're changing that stuff. So it's well known that I've,

and this is where switching to the MMAs is really give me a different outlook because for their men 18 months, I didn't hit the bag once. And I used to struggle. I used to struggle really bad with my elbows all the years of hyper-extending and I never had one issue with my elbows in 18 months So basically let's whisper it

If you're a boxing, you're only fighting every seven months You know, have a few months, a proper few months out So you can still do other training, just not the boxing training Yeah, and not only that, you think I've done 22 years of it in the bags And it is my numbing It's my numbing Even to like

Honestly And I've come back to boxing and I said to look Peter then bags and knacking my elbows so even now I'm on the floor of ceiling I'm on the reaction ball don't hit a bag because it's

it doesn't hit back really and you say 22 years of it 22 years of it's mad it is mad that someone man or woman top of their game Olympics world championships as an amateur European championships all those pro fights and yet

they'll still hit a bag with jab jab left cross right it is mad that it's not moving Not changed. No one. Do you hit that bag now like you did when you were 10 or 12? How bizarre is that?

And this is why I think I took to the MMA so much because you've got your BGJ, you've got your kickboxing, you've got your wrestling, you've got your groundwork. Every session's different with boxing. It's either sparring bags, pads. Yeah. Then back tomorrow.

Yeah. And then back the next day. And we'd like to introduce that so-called strength and conditioning day where you do a couple of different things, which is basically, yeah. I'm still intrigued by the whole sort of MMA thing that the change, the shift. Once you got into that, you did it in an octagon,

didn't you, you didn't do it in it? Yeah. So it's the straightforward. Did it feel really different when you got in there that day? I mean, did you feel a bit more naked, so to speak? The only way I can describe it, and I thought it would be easy, like I said, is it is literally fight off light.

So this is how I felt, Bunsey. So I've got the point now where I don't really get nervous. for boxing. And I wasn't really that nervous going in there, but afterwards I come out, right, went to go and see the doctor. It cleared me and I was like, I'm going to have to give myself five minutes,

and I thought I was going to throw up. The adrenaline, I've never, ever, even my first stym at Amtia fight, I've never had adrenaline like that after. And even four o'clock in the morning, I'm laying in bed thinking, what on earth has just happened there? I couldn't get over.

But your drink's been spiked, literally, yeah. There was a point where she was on top of me. and like I said fight or flight I went to grab a hair and the rest shouted no hair grabbing and I thought oh my God what's going on it is literally like a scrap outside in a pub

that is that heartletful heartlepool joke you can take harlepool out of the Gilby content and you'll have heartleful yeah oh so might you go back there someday? Yes I'm still contracted to one fight of year with the PFL and we plan is to get one in before the end of the year

so did you need this the fight you've got did you need it to be a test and a big event. Would you have come back for no disrespect to our Ukrainian and Belarusian women, but you know you beat them up for fun? I really mean that. Could you have got up for that as a third on the bill in Manchester? I would have struggled.

Yeah. I would have struggled. Even, look, it's no secret. I want Clarissa. Yeah, of course. She's number one on my hit list. But to get, I feel like I was in a position where I'm not getting that. Is it because I'm irrelevant?

I've been out of the ring for two years. is because she doesn't really need me anymore, maybe, but I want that rematch. And I felt like the only way I was going to get that is to have this test with Shidaa. And like I said, it means something. It's a hard fight. I've got to be switched on.

If it was going to be, like you said, third on the bill, maybe a six-rounder, someone where I was guaranteed and winning, would he have trained as hard? Probably not. Yeah, because I know that would have been the situation when we're all out, but it would have been nice to have got out and thought, but that's not been a...

Let me ask you just, quickly and I really appreciate your time. Jake Paul gets a lot of stick. Does some good stuff, doesn't he? Really good stuff. You know, and he's got a bit of a vision. He's got a bit of a character. He knows what he is.

He knows. He's a salesman. And he's back in women's boxing. Is he ever? Wow. Yeah. 19 top women in that roster. Unbelievable. And you know what?

Women's boxing sells and I do believe it's because it's the two minute rounds because it's exciting because you can't take your eyes off it. With the men, yes. I'm with you on that. The threes, you can have a walkabout, waste a minute. Not get going for four or five rounds.

You can't do that in the women because it's over. You're halfway through a fight. There will be a big debate one day about the whole three and twos. I'm with you firmly. I'm a man that likes the 10-2s. I'm a massive fan of it. And most of the women that I deal with, the British women, and one or two of the Americans, they're the same.

There's a couple in the middle ground, then there's one or two over in the 10-3 gang. Well, it hasn't been proven that certainly the fights won't be any better at 10-3, in my opinion. It'll be harder. Yeah, I think it'll be harder. I don't think they'd be better. So what's it going to be like at Madison Square Garden, like 21,000 people screaming and hollering,

you've had all week, you've had people in your ear all week, you've been pulled, left, right and sent her. Katie's done the usual thing, not said a word all week. She started five words, and those are, yes, please, no thank you, by Steve. You know, we both know Katie, we can say it. She's done nothing all week. Amanda's doing this bit, Jake's doing his bit,

you've been upgraded, you're doing your bit. What would it be like in the dressing rooms on, like with 21,000 people out there. What do you think it'll be like? This is it. Thank God it to you know. I've waited. Even now, I'm three weeks out tomorrow and I'm thinking,

God, I cannot wait for this. And I've learned through experience. Don't wish it away. Because before you know it, it'll be such as a morning. I'm sat on the plane thinking, oh my God, it's over. What do I do now? It's just about bottling it up and saving every moment.

You know, I'll leave you with this footage. I'm sure you watched the fight. But when Kate, you thought Amanda first, the Madison Square Garden, If you can go, pull it up, get wherever source you used to watch the fight, and have a look at her ring walk. She takes about five minutes. She comes out to a spiritual song.

Yeah, yeah. And she does a thing. She told me she would do it in her longest ever interview, like two and a half minutes. She comes out, and she says, I'm walking. Imagine if you listen to this, I'm walking out, she stands just out the entrance. And she looks up at the crowd. And I swear to you, she sucks it in. Then she walks a little bit more.

She stops again. and it takes about four minutes get goosebumps finger back. Watch it. She knows. Bingo. She's bottling up. You can't buy it.

You can't buy experience. Especially with Katie, she's a little bit older, come at the end of her career. She knows she'll never get these moments again. Sav, it's a pleasure. Always top girl. Savannah Marshall there,

and I've got to say, she looked and sounded about as focused and determined as I've ever seen her. There was something peaceful about her. Something about her. her eyes. She just looked absolutely ready. And I put that

to Peter Fury and of course he agreed. Yeah, she's definitely committed Steve. She knows what's in front of her. She's a serious test in Shadisha Green. Tough. Punch her as well. Good movement. Good job. Gets the distance well.

So she's up against her good, worthy. I would say top of the division, world champion. So it's going to be a great fight. And, yeah, and Savannah's prepared well. Did she need this fight, Pete? So could she have come back in a 10-rounder against someone she was going to be comfortably and easier?

Did she need a bit of a challenge? Did she need a Shadda Green in the opposite corner? I think this is what Savannah was saying. She doesn't want a comeback fight, you know, she's been there, been at the top. She feels that her belts has been taken from her without losing. So she's got that in her mind as well. She's experienced now. She's a professional a long time.

and she's ready and she wants. She said to me, look, the best fighters bring out the best of me. So that's why she doesn't want to mess around when she's gone straight into this because she's well prepared for it. And I think she's absolutely right. The better the fighter is, the better she'll look and the better be against...

Of course, it happens with a lot of fighters because if there's no danger there, you end up going through the motions. Yeah. And you know when they're going through the motions. How was it when you were working in and around her as she stopped boxing to, trained for MMA. She said that she thought it might be easier. And then she found out it was really hard.

Hard to get ready for MMA. And even harder to get ready back for boxing after MMA. What's it been like? Tell me, tell me the flaws. Tell me what she's doing wrong. She's laughing her head off over there trying to tell me. She's, I was getting it all wrong. I was getting it all wrong. Oh, she was, yeah. You know, I've got to tell you, it was a bit of a disaster. When she came back, a stance was unbelievable. It's like she was stood. She was, she was stood, she was, her legs was on the side, she was on the back leg, not square at the top. So all the wrong shapes. Completely up balance if you hear, you know, what it's you?

Completely wrong, couldn't miss a shot. And when she was going back, she was going back and sticking her ass out. You know, so it's that way you don't grab her in the waist. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Moving a waist away. Yeah. Well, I think we had a brief chat, you could say. A heart, would we classify as a heart to heart?

Yeah, the heart to heart. It probably was a little bit similar, yeah. Not so much of a heart to heart. And I said, listen, forget all that. I said, because this ain't boxing. I said, and get back to it. But it took a while, but she's got back there. Yeah.

But no, it didn't take her long, to be fair. I think it took probably, well, a good couple of months to get everything back. She tells me she feels she's stronger and that she's benefited from some of the training, like the wrestling training. And her body shape does look different. From like a chest up, like her shoulders look different, her arms look different. Yeah, she's definitely benefited from the wrestling point of view of it because she's very bodily strong.

She's fitting as strong as she's ever been. Yeah. But being fit and strong don't win fights at this level. Yeah. It's a skill set. It's getting the distance properly, establishing the jab, coming behind your shots and being comfortable with your distance and throwing your shots from different positions.

So all of this is, that's what makes world champion. But she's doing everything right in the gym. She's always been a smart fighter. I know she's stopped a lot of people and she's hurt and dropped a lot of women, more so just about any other fighter out there statistically. But she's actually a smart fighter. If she didn't hit people on the chin, she'd still have the same record. Yeah, I think she knows that if she's looking for a K.O.,

that's the perfect recipe to lose on points. Yeah. You know, you've got to be able to, she's got the size, she's got the height, she can move, she's got good boxing ability. Yeah, definitely. So she uses that, but if it comes to a bit of a brawl, she can do that as well. It's a big event, it's a big fight, but I get the feeling that Sav, and I've been around it for big fights, that she's like an ice woman when it comes to the fight day itself. Yeah, she knows what she's got to do. No panic, no.

And it could be any size of arena. She's used to it now. She's had sellout arenas. so and whatever so it's not it's not a problem for Savannah she can perform under the lights non-issue and I've got to ask you about Jake Paul and Nikisa Badarian they've you know they've said listen we're going to put we're going to put some might and some money behind women's boxing and so far they've they're changing the shape of it they're changing the face of it they're they're great for women's boxing I'll say definitely

they pay well they even give Savannah training expenses is. Wow. You know, so they're looking after Spitesons. Unbelievable well. Yeah. And I was talking to Sav, obviously she's still looking at Clevesa Shield somewhere at some point down the road.

It's not quite an obsession, but she does want her, doesn't? Does she have to fight her in your mind? You know Sav better than most people. Does she need to fight Clevecia Shields one more time? I think so. If Clarissa's up for it as well, let them get it on. Yeah. It was a good fight the last time. Yeah. People

forget that. Yeah, so maybe, you know, why not? If they both want it, then that's it. I'm sure Savannah would want it. So if Clarissa wants it after this fight and Savannah's successful, for me, it can happen next? What business, eh? What a business? Always is. I believe the fight, I believe the best, you'll fight the best. I don't, I don't believe in, uh, yeah, skating around the issues. Because, there's two, the gaps between fights are just getting longer and longer and longer and you skate around on issue and, you know, the business moves on. You've got to, You've got to take the fights whilst that out. 100%, yeah.

And if the fights are available, we'll take them. Savannah, there's only really these type of fighters anyway. That's going to be, that's got a chance of beating Savannah, I'd say. Peter, it's been a pleasure and a delight talking to you. Always, Steve. Thanks, son. Peter Fury talking to me there. Now, Peter will not be in her corner in America.

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It's 2009 and we're in the German mountains. A man straps himself into a car on the world's most dangerous racetrack. He whispers to himself, it's time to put my balls on the dashboard. As he starts the engine. In 15 minutes, he's in an ambulance, unconscious. In 15 years, he's a billionaire. This is Total Wolf, Formula One's most powerful team boss and the breakout star of drive. to survive. This week on Good Bad Billionaire, how Toto Wolf made his billions. Listen wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Chantelle Cameron won and lost in epic fights against Katie Taylor in Dublin in 2023. We bought you both of those live on Five Live. They were special nights. That was then, This Is Now. And she's defending her interim WBC title. What she's really doing is standing contention for a dream trilogy against Katie.

If she wins, then I think the fight with me makes sense after that, and I'm mandatory anyway, so she will fight, whoever wins, I don't think, Amanda, I think if she wins, she'll go back down to her natural way, but if Katie wins, she fights me or they, Kate's. Didn't sit well with me, you're not getting that third fight. You don't sit well on me. I know, I like it, that's why I don't want to go wrong with that. I mean, I like to be positive, you know, my game is being positive. But, you know, I see why she's got a massive fight here and there, but I just, I just, I just,

feel like, it's a little cliche, but it's just feel like there's a bit of unfinished business. But at the time, she weren't having that big fight. She was going to have her mandatory. She wanted to fight an easy fight. On my side, the trilogy was happening. I had a date set, I accepted less money. So in my point of view, like, it was done deal. It was like, I was ready to sign the contract and then got a phone call that she wants an easier fight before she fights me. And she was good, she was going to fight her mandatory, but then, like, Amanda's B-matched did come out, which obviously in fairness she got paid a hell of a lot more money, which does make sense.

But before that, she was going to have an easy fight anyway, so I was out of the picture. But luckily, you could stay busy. So you're not going into this fight here against Kamara, having not fought since that November, 23. So luckily... Yeah, I've been very fortunate. Yeah, in that sense. I've had two fights, had we come back last July, and then obviously had the November fight, and now going into with Kamara having them two wins

after suffering first loss. And that, so it could be worse. You could have had that break. It's not an easy fight, Kamala, by the way. No, it's a tough fight. One that I'd get my teeth stuck into. Yeah, and it's one that also, I think what happens sometimes when a big name, and you're a big name,

is fighting a half-decent name, is that that half-decent name has to raise her game or his game because they take a great scalp. Yeah, she's got everything to games. Absolutely flipping, then she's on the roller coaster, Yeah, exactly, but I've just got up my game and I know what I've got to got on the line as well, so I know that I can't

let myself have any slip-ups, have any distractions, I know what's next if I get food come over, so she can't get food me. And I want to ask you a little bit about you're working now with Stephen Smith. In fact, I've seen him, you've been hitting him a lot, so you and I I'll be chatting about that off-mike.

How's that been? Because I'll be honest with you, I like when I see you around people, because you're smiling and you look like you found a good match then. Look really happy. Yeah, I feel like it's been perfect timing for me. Like, it's all come...

It's just might how the universe works because it's all come at the right time and I couldn't be any happier, to be honest. Like, it's the best move I made in my whole career. Like, my career has had ups and downs. I've made some good decisions, bad decisions. Been on the floor? Yeah, but...

You've been on the floor, mate, haven't you been... I don't mean, in the finger ring, you've been on the floor. Yeah, rock bottom. But I can hand on my hat to say, this is the best decision I've ever made in my guts in career, so I'm happy because,

I know that whatever happens like this is the first time I can actually say that open-heartedly the best decision I've ever made and you're going to be Madison Square Garden unbelievable I know you've had it before in Dublin but this is going to be double the size of that so you know about big... Bucketlist. Yeah, it's bucket list and let's get it right, we're boxing people

it's a bucket list and also working with Jake Paul. Yeah, unbelievable. I mean he's a case of proper character. Yeah, unbelievable. And he's great for women's boxing. Yeah, I'm like to say what he's doing to a women's boxing is like everyone else kind of giving up a woman's boxing I felt like It was going into the radar,

stroves won't happen, fights went happening. Pulling through. Jake Paul's come along and signed up all the top goals and now the fights are there to be made again. And paying pop of money. Yeah, exactly.

And there were... No, no, I didn't. I mean, there was all talk also about, you know, people being offered less than was in their contract and, you know, a lot of disgruntled women out there that deserve maybe a little bit more. We're not going to name names,

we're not going to appointees, but that's how it looked for what. It was voting for the UK for women's boxing. It was a bit of, it was concerned. I was even thinking, and had one fight left. Queensby were amazing with me. They really did look after me.

They kept you going. That was a really important year. Yeah, I agree with you. Yeah. They had me at my west and they still kept me busy, kept me active, paid me very well. They paid me very well. But after I had one fight left with them,

and it kind of was like, what is going to be next? And just again, how other things worked out. I couldn't have timed anything as well as I've timed to this one because Jake Paul and Nickyce have come on board and move to Stephen. everything took like the biggest U-turn and the time of it is crazy really. Happy fighters are, you know, happy fighters are. You know, happy fighters are.

Feel like a reset button inside. Pass is behind me. All we've got to look forward to is the future now and my whole mindset is different. Like, I feel like I've got a lot to prove, so not just me, but everyone. But it's also nice to know that as much as you feel like you've a lot to prove, you have proved you in the past. And you know, you've had some glorious nights in the past. let's get it right, and nights that we're never going to forget,

but you've still got a bit of hunger in you. I can sense it. Yeah, and I think it caused the disappointment, off the disappointment as well, I know I've got one big crush, and as well, I feel like I want to give it to Stephen. Obviously, he's a former fighter himself. He's very new in the coaching games,

and I want to, like, kind of impress him, yeah, and give him the nicer. He deserves to as a coach. I never had a coach so invested. He's running with me, he's in the gym, can't be with me. That was in Portugal. and he was doing red tones with me. And I was just like, what is this?

He was actually running behind me, pushing me. And I just think, like, you deserve everything coming more. Like, he really does. He deserves all the credit in the world, and that's what I've got to make sure I'll come through. It's a two-wing. Yeah, yeah, and, like, how invested he is. I've never had a coach so invested that's, like, proper on my back

and pushing me. Now it's New York. And how do you think that goes at your tailors and Saran? I know how you want it to go. How do you think you go? To be fair, no way now I wanted to go. actually I'm a massive fan of Amanda. Who couldn't be a fan of Amanda?

No, really? She's great. If people tell me they're not a fan of Amanda, I'm worried about it. No, seriously. But for my own personal reasons, I've got to finish business with Katie, so it's like a bit of a weird one for me because I want Amanda to win. I think she deserves to win as well. But Amanda's not 140 pounds, and I still believe that them belts are mine. So selfishly, like, if Katie wins, I know that there's a slight chance,

I will get my trilogy and I will get a shot of the belts. but if I wearing in the picture and the belts won the 140 cars are we rooting for Amanda all there and I think she deserves the winners that you know well that's honest that's one of the things that I'll be give me if I don't need steam anymore he's retired he's a night no he didn't it you for I've got the full story

it was close to an unprovoked attack if you don't mind me honestly something so you're better than you're bigger than that keeping him in check keeping him in check ah listen he said that was brilliant thank you now the bill's got some of the biggest names in women's boxing, professional boxing, and they were big names in amateur boxing. But there is a woman on the card, and I don't want to say undercar, because it doesn't feel like an undercard night,

it just feels like a night of superb boxing with someone at the top and someone a bit further down. It's a Canadian woman that you would have seen, you would have heard, and have a look at her record, go Google her record, there's everybody, she's fought in maybe a dozen countries, I actually think it's probably more. But she's on this bill, having a third professional fight, and that's, That's Tam Tibu, who was with me at the moment. She's here with me in Peters Gym. First of all, Tam, thanks for, thanks for joining me. I couldn't find, have you actually boxed in Britain?

Did you box at the XL or something like that? Yeah, I did. I actually, I won't. Commonwealth Games as well. Of course, yeah. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Come on games, yeah, in 2022. How was that?

Oh, it was quite the experience. To be honest, the crowd was amazing. I loved boxing in England. That's the reason why I moved here after. I just loved being here, and I just figured, oh, why not, like, make a move. I was talking to you before we did. before we started talking and you had whatever you've had, most of your bouts have been international bouts, haven't they?

They've been overseas in different countries or in this tournament and that tournament. It's hard being a woman because you have to go straight in to top bouts. You don't get that 40-fight apprenticeship that some of the boys have. Yeah, no, we don't. And to be honest, I'm okay with that. I've had a really long amateur career. I think I've risen up to the challenges that were ahead of me. And that's something that can bring with me into the professional ranks as well.

Like knowing that, you know, I went from a small 19-year-old who didn't really know what was ahead of her to being a world champion a couple years later. So, you know, I think that's experience and wisdom that I can bring with me now. And those, when you're at that top level, so you look at your record, I mean, Cloressa's the aberration because she only had the one defeat. But all of the other top women, even Katie Taylor had three or four defeats in her last year. Savannah Marshall you win some winner world championships losing the Olympics

Lauren Price who of course won the gold medal there are you don't have these pure records so you go to one tournament you have two wins

you lose three months later you go somewhere you lose two months later you have three wins you win it's a relentless

it's a relentless treadmill of competition yeah I would say so I would say that you know it's up and down I mean I went undefeated for three years

I don't think you have the last person do that moment class was Clarissa was probably Clarissa yeah so you know Olympics you have a bad day on the wrong day you know it happens you know three two split it was a three two split it could have gone either way and it was I tell what it was the Olympics of free two splits wasn't it it just seemed like every single fight was I mean three to three two three two three two yeah yeah yeah you could have gone either way I mean Cindy then had in Sydney then had in Sydney lost bylon I think yeah and that could have gone either way in the semi-final so it's you know swings and roundabouts

Yeah, exactly, and it's part of the sport, right? And it puts things in perspective. Like, you win some, you lose some, you get back up and you just keep going. Really, essentially, that's what's taught me. Getting on a plane back to Kazakhstan and the fight again somewhere? Exactly. Or Bulgaria, the Balkan Cup, or the What Cup, or this cup? It's a good time at the moment for women's boxing with this increased involvement from MVP,

from, you know, Jake Paul pushing it and pushing it in a very good way. It's a good time at a moment to be a young prospect. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, like, I'm very happy. Like, I got right on it after the Olympics, right? I didn't really dull on it too much. I knew what I wanted to do straight after. So I jumped on that, and I was very, very fortunate to, you know, have a team behind me, such as MVP who are pushing women's boxing,

who are, you know, giving us the platform that we need to perform, and then hopefully, you know, make the sport. move forward. So with regards to, like if you were, if you're a man, you've got a medal at the Olympics, or not got a medal Olympics, but you've won a world amateur, you've been in other tournaments, multi-tornments, won the Commonwealth Games gold, that type of stuff. You'd turn pro, you'd have a minimum of, I don't know, 12, 15 fights before you got to British level, and then another two or three before you got, I mean, you'd be really unlikely to fight for a world title before your 18th, 19th, 20th fight, whereas you're very unlikely

to get to eight fights about fighting for a world title. It is an odd business in that sense of women's boxing. Yeah, yeah, and also like... That's not a criticism, that's just a fact. No, and it's just a fact. And there's also a fact that, like, there's not as much depth as in men's boxing. Like, right, it took us four cycles, okay, to be even on just with men, right? So that's four cycles.

That's quite some time. It's a long time. And even in professional sport, though women have been around for quite a while, it's still going to take time to get that depth, right? Because it starts the grassroots. It doesn't... It starts with people. young girls looking up and say, oh, like, that's a possibility for me. I mean, before long, like, we'll have more girls in the sport.

We just need to make sure that we get the right exposure, that, you know, we get kids involved and that, like, we create more depth. That's what's going to change it. I mean, some of the weights have got 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Some weights have only got, you know, three or four at that top level, but they're a hard three or four, in all fairness. So it actually means, in a perverse way that you can only go from really good fighter to really good fighter.

You don't get the benefit of, like, you know, whisper it some men have a hard defense, then have an easy one, then have a hard one again. You know, if you were to win a world title in your six or seven or eight fight, you know, your next, your first defense would be probably against another woman champion. So there's no easy nights once you get to the top in your business. No, absolutely isn't right. So knowing that, you've got to be prepared. So, I mean, I'm someone that's in and out of the gym, always learning,

always trying to get better, always keep my mindset on, like, like what's right ahead of me. So I'm aware that that's going to come. But for now, I'm where I'm at. And let me ask you this final question. You're going to walk out in Madison Square Garden. It's going to be packed because people will come early. It won't be like sometimes when people come in 20 minutes for the main event.

It's going to be rammed from the moment you get there to the last bell in the last fight, 21,000 or whatever. What do you think that's going to be like, Tam? I don't know, to be honest. I try not to have too many expectations. You know, by third fight, I get to fight in Madison Square Garden. It was pretty surreal. You want to pinch you?

You want to pinch yourself? It's very surreal. But, you know, I try to keep my two feet on the ground. Like, it's just another night boxing, right? And that's what we have to remember. That's, I think that's... Yeah, it's just another day in the office. And I think that's, you know, what makes me the professional athlete that I am, right?

It's another day at the office, it's exciting. It's unreal. It's an incredible opportunity. But at the end of the day, I've got a job to do. It's a top bill, July 11th. Madison Square Garden, 22 World Title Belt up for grabs in six different fights involving about 10 of the world's very best female fighters. We're at that stage where these fights are just fight nights at the garden. You get nearly 20,000 people in there. What more do you want? Katie Taylor

comes out to some sort of spiritual song. She's crying her eyes out. There's 15,000 Irish in there. They're crying their eyes out. What more do you want? The 6,000 Puerto Ricans are booing, but their pantomime booze. It's that type of night. Now, the following night in New York, just across the river, one of the rivers, I've said the river with sort of great authority there, like I'm quoting a Bruce Springsteen song, I have no idea which river it is, but across the river, Hamza Chiris from East London, fights Edgar Belanger in a fight. That's a proper fight that, by the way. Shaka Stevenson's also on that bill, and that's one of the Ring magazine. I think it's their third show. That's a busy week, a great week. Now, this Thursday, this Thursday, we're in

Manchester because Jack Cattrell fights Harlem-Ubank on Saturday in Manchester. That's an intriguing fight. I don't need to remind you just how good this business is, do I really don't. Now, when Ham's a Shear has fights, he's fighting in the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Now, Louis Armstrong, if I'm not mistaken, he used to sing a song called It's a Wonderful World or something along those lines. It was a nice song. Boxing's a bit like that. It's a wonderful boxing world we're in. I'm Steve Bunce and this is a very special five live boxing. BBC Sounds. This is sports strangest crimes.

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