Lloyd Honeyghan’s late trainer put together perfect plan for biggest upset of the 80s on a magic night in Atlantic City
LLOYD HONEYGHAN, one of our most illustrious world champions, is now housebound — confined to a wheelchair after a car accident and looked after by carers.
But the man who caused the biggest upset of the 80s by going to Atlantic City and smashing unified welterweight king Don Curry to a six-round defeat has not lost his fighting spirit.
Honeyghan, who only leaves his Croydon home when an ambulance takes him to have treatment, is grimly determined to try to be at his trainer Bobby Neill’s funeral on March 10.
Lloyd, 61, didn’t know Bobby had died last week at 88 from leukaemia until I phoned to tell him on Monday.
I could tell the sad news hit him hard. There is no greater bond than the one between a fighter and his long-time trainer.
They spend weeks together in camp which means they end up getting into each other’s minds.
An upset Lloyd said: “You have shocked me. Bobby and I were a great team and I loved the man.
“We worked so well together and, unlike other trainers I had, he allowed me to be myself.
“My legs just don’t work any more but I’m confident I will find a way to show my respect by being at his funeral — wheelchair or no wheelchair. Even if I have to hire a private ambulance to take me there.”
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I was at Honeyghan’s historic fight with Curry 36 years ago.
The American was unbeaten, had just signed a multi-million dollar contract for a clash with Marvin Hagler and was considered pound-for-pound the best in the world.
Neill worked out the strategy on how Curry could be beaten, which Lloyd carried out brilliantly to the letter.
The majority of Britain’s top trainers have been great at getting their fighters into the ring in peak condition.
Neill, an Edinburgh-born Scot, was much more than a conditioner.
He was an accomplished teacher of the Noble Art and arguably the finest boxing coach we have had in this country.
He was admired enormously across the Atlantic, particularly by legends Angelo Dundee, Manny Steward and Eddie Futch.
NEVER SOUGHT THE LIMELIGHT
Bobby never sought the limelight, which is probably why his passing has gone unnoticed.
When I was night news editor of the Daily Herald, one night in 1960 a Press Association message said: “Bobby Neill, British featherweight champion, knocked out in the 14th round by Terry Spinks, had collapsed and was rushed to Wembley General Hospital suffering from a blood clot on the brain.”
I sent a reporter to the hospital who called in to tell me Neill was in a coma and not expected to live.
Little did I know Bobby was to defy medical science and years later was to become a personal friend.
With his boxing career over, Neill turned his skills to training others.
In a short time he had steered Alan Rudkin, Johnny Pritchett and Vernon Sollas to British titles and made Alan Minter and Honeyghan world champions.
Tomorrow night, Josh Taylor, the unified world lightweight champion, defends his four titles against Jack Catterall in Glasgow.
I hope the crowd will have the opportunity to honour Bobby’s memory and legacy with the traditional tolling of the ten bells.
He deserves nothing less.