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A Sporting Chance - Part two |
| Written by Philip Neale | |
| Tuesday, 15 July 2008 | |
 With success at the amateur boxing level now firmly under his belt, it was time for Colin Sharp to make a life-changing decision. Would he turn professional or defend his titles at the next Olympics..................?
At an age approaching twenty Eddie now gave him the option of remaining in the amateur game in order to defend his Olympic title at the next games, or of turning professional with potentially ten or more year's earnings before him. Colin chose the professional route, and Eddie smiled and slapped him on the back - that was exactly what he had done. With his own corner staff and Eddie as his manager pulling strings to get the best fights, Colin progressed quickly through the early contests and no-one seemed to be able to lay a blow on him. Eddie had always cautioned against ‘showboating' and the young man's concentration was one of his strengths. A year down the line he was ten fights older and unbeaten with none of the contests going the distance.
Half way through his second year the reigning British and Commonwealth champion retired, leaving the BBBC to set up an elimination contest to fill the vacancy. Colin's name was first on the list along with seven other hopefuls. The fights took place over four weeks and he emerged with the title at the ripe old age of twenty-one. Now he was being touted for a contest against the European champion, with the inevitable barrage of publicity which had followed him since the ABA championships. This time it was not to be and the champion himself seemed to go to some pains to influence the selection of a suitable opponent - it was to be a further six months before Colin got his own chance. During this time he kept busy and two more opponents went the way of the rest while speed and skills were honed to something approaching perfection.
By the time of his biggest contest yet, for the European crown, Colin was 22 years old and at the peak of his physical fitness. The champion, a German by the name of Schnell, had reigned for four years and with very little credible opposition. He made it his policy to demean Sharp's performances, predicting a very swift end to the match. Eddie had prepared Colin for all the pre-match hype and the lad dealt with the press conferences and the customary eyeball-to-eyeball meeting at the weigh-in with the calm of a seasoned professional. The German's predictions came unceremoniously unstuck in the second round after Colin had taken a good look at him in the opener. All of McGiven's training on the reading of an opponent's eyes and body shape came to the fore in a second round of unremitting punishment for the champion and he returned to his stool after a three minute battering with a cut above one eye and the other rapidly closing. The referee gave both a close inspection during the break, but allowed him to continue into the third round. Eddie had schooled Colin well in going in for the kill, and the lad was on to it in a flash at the bell. The fight was over inside thirty seconds as the German was completely unable to defend himself. Champion of Europe at 22 and the world at his feet, Colin was given a three month break and told to relax - if only that had been possible.
Colin had asked Eddie why he chose to retire at thirty when other fighters had carried on well past that age. McGiven had smiled at the youngster's probing into his private life, but answered honestly. A partially detached retina had forced him to either quit or risk losing his sight in one eye, so the decision was a ‘no brainer' and with earnings placed wisely in a portfolio of investments he and Carol, his wife, had more than enough to live on for the rest of their lives. When the accident happened, it tore the life out of young Sharp. Eddie and Carol had gone up to Scotland to see friends for a week, and were travelling south west on the A9 from Aviemore to Kingussie when a Transit van coming in the opposite direction swerved in front of them, sending their car off the road and into a tree. The vehicle exploded on impact and both of them were killed instantly.
Sharp was devastated at the loss of what had become his only family. Eddie had joked just recently that the time was coming soon when Colin wouldn't need his help and advice any longer. Looked like that time had come earlier than anyone expected. Sharp stayed at the McGiven house - he had nowhere else to go, and a week after the funeral came the phone call from Martins McBride, the solicitors handling Eddie's estate. Colin had to sit down - as Eddie and Carol had no children, they had made an alteration to their wills three months ago naming him as sole beneficiary. The official reading was to take place in one week's time and more details would be given at their offices.
Despite the loss of his mentor, Colin carried on his boxing career asking Brian Carroll, the chief corner man, to take over as his manager. Eddie and Brian had been together for many years and he had Sharp's complete trust as they scaled further heights in the boxing world. Six successful defences of his British title gained him two Lonsdale belts outright, and there was no-one to touch him on the European stage. When the chance came for a crack at the vacant WBA world title, Colin's name was at the top of the list and the contest at the Wembley Arena lasted all of three rounds. With his foot now firmly on the world ladder, it would be easy to get access to the other three associations in order to unite the crown under one champion. Over the course of the next two years he had added the WBC, the WBO and the IBF title belts to his growing trophy cabinet. He was 24.
Eddie's philosophy always seemed to be to quit while you were ahead before some lucky bruiser caught you with a sucker punch. He did it 1981 and Colin started to consider how long to give himself in the game before calling it a day. His inheritance from the McGivens meant that he was now independently wealthy, leaving him to box for the fun of it and quit when the work became too hard. There was no shortage of challengers, but he had vacated the British, European and Commonwealth titles at the end of his successful campaign to unify the world championship. His defences of these belts were mandatory and came along at intervals of between three and four months. None of the bouts lasted above half way and he made the decision to carry on until someone put him on the floor - this would be the sign that he was losing some of his edge. That time was to be another three years coming - April 2004 in Las Vegas. Colin won the fight on a technical KO, but not before he had been caught by a left hook which he never saw coming. After a standing count of eight he ended the round and the fight with a ferocious barrage of punches which saw the referee step in to save his opponent from further punishment.
Back home he sat with Brian over dinner and discussed retirement. At the age of 27 he had nothing more to prove and everything to lose, and although his former corner man tried to persuade him into one more year, Colin shook his head and told him that now was the time to go. There was the expected news frenzy and speculation of a career in Hollywood, but he laughed it all off and slowly but surely the media drifted off on to other more interesting stories. He had had very little time for female company over the last ten years, Carol being the only regular contact, but now that his boxing life was drawing to a close it was time to give that matter more attention. There had been the normal round of photo shoots which every successful boxer gets involved in, but these would only have proved to be distractions from a career which demanded focus. Out for dinner with friends one evening, he met Liz and they clicked almost immediately. In six months they had married and were living a life out of the public eye.
One evening about a year later, they were approaching Colin's BMW in a multi storey car park after a night out. A figure with a knife stepped out of the shadows and demanded Colin's wallet. Stepping in front of Liz, he set himself in the familiar boxer's stance and told the guy to come and get it. One forward pace was all that he was allowed to take. A straight left jab full on the nose sent the youth careering backwards whilst the knife went spinning out of reach. Sharp was on him in a flash and pinned him to a stone pillar with a right cocked to finish the job. He dropped his hands at what he saw before him. This was a mere lad, scruffily dressed with holes in his shoes. His hair was unkempt and he looked like he hadn't washed for a week. Something very familiar resurfaced from Colin's memory and he brushed the lad down and over the next half hour learned his whole life story. At the end he made him a startling offer.
"You have a choice, I can either make call to the police which will involve a prosecution and likely jail sentence, or offer you a job that will get you off the streets. Let's call it a sporting chance, shall we?"
Read More Short Stories at www.lulu.com/content/2712200 Copyright 2008 Philip Neale |
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