In boxing, few scenarios captivate the public like a trilogy, where fighters repeatedly go to war, engaging in epic matchups that are by their very nature – (the viewers desire for rematch after rematch!) destined for the history books. There are several memorable trilogies we could turn our attention to, so we’ve selected three from across the decades that in our view, definitely make the grade. In you’re too young to have seen some first time around, check them out on Youtube sometime. Sure you likely already know the outcomes, but these are unmissible encounters that deserve us returning to on occasion.
First in line for a mention, and one young and old boxing fans alike will keenly recall are the three heavyweight match-ups between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. From 2018 to 2021, this trilogy had it all: controversy, WWE Undertaker style comebacks, and the will be overcome adversity. The first fight of the trilogy ended in a controversial draw, notable for Fury’s dramatic recovery from what initially looked to be fight-ending knockdown. In the rematch, Fury showcased his boxing prowess, stopping a deflated looking Wilder in the seventh round. Wilder just couldn’t find the answers. The trilogy ended with a return to the epic nature of their initial bout, with Fury overcoming adversity (being knocked down twice) to secure a victory by way of knockout in the eleventh round. In the modern era where few fights fans actually want to see even happen – and Youtubers are treated as boxing Gods – it’s a miracle that we got to enjoy such an epic series of fights.
Rewinding the years back to the 1990s, the heavyweight battles between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe saw two warriors of what many now see as a golden era of boxing, go to war. Their initial 1992 fight was a closely fought contest that saw Bowe win out. The rematch the following year was another top-tier encoutner, with Holyfield edging out Bowe to reclaim his title. The trilogy wrapped up two years later in 1995 amidst the bizarre “Fan Man” incident that I’m sure we all remember, with Bowe securing a victory by TKO. Remember that these two legends of the rings were around in the era of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and the like. It was a who’s who of heavyweight greats.
Last but not least, no talk of boxing trilogies is complete without the Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fights being placed in the mix. Taking place in the early to mid-1970s, this trilogy was more than a sporting event; it was a cultural and political symbol of the times. Their first meeting in 1971, dubbed “The Fight of the Century,” saw, to the shock of fans, Frazier handing Ali his first career defeat. Ali, a dertermined individual by any standard, went back to the drawing board and won the rematch in 1974. With one win a piece, this set the stage for the iconic “Thrilla in Manila” bout the following year. It was a fight in which Ali emerged victorious after Frazier’s corner stopped the fight before the 15th round (remember the 15 round days?).
With boxing politics so often in the way now, trilogies like these may become thin on the ground going forward, but I do hope not. No sport does rivalries like boxing, and these are just a few examples from over the years that have enthralled fans both at and away from the arena.
As way of expanding on the previous post, I’m now almost three-quarters through the well-received book Enemy Number One by Patrick Veitch. There no doubt he has proven to be a very successful professional gambler and literally ‘Enemy Number One’ when is came to bookmakers laying bets. There weakness, mostly they didn’t realise it was him placing the bets via his many agents.
It comes as no surprise, that most professional punters make good money for one reason – they bet astonishing sums of cash. In fact, Veitch is probably one of the biggest bettors with only the likes of Harry Findlay wagering more. He had some massive bets in his time, some over £1M. One such bet on New Zealand to win the World Cup proved very costly indeed when they were knocked out in the semi finals by France.
Vietch has had individual bets ranging from the small thousands to almost £100,000. His winning sprees were prolific and he made a couple of million a year. It is reputed he won over £10M in an eight year period.
But what were his favourite bets:
Single Bets:
The vast amount of bets were placed on singles and each-way wagers. They were definitely the staple. He wasn’t against ante-post bets and made a killing over many years.
Flat & National Hunt:
He was predominantly a Flat racing professional although he bet on both codes of racing often using tips from others on the National Hunt. However, he liked to rely on his own judgment most of all.
Each Way Doubles & Trebles:
He enjoyed great success with some outlandish each way doubles and treble, often paying tens of thousands. I think a few went close to winning hundreds of thousands.
Trixies:
Another bet he enjoyed a combination of 3 horses in doubles and treble.
SCOOP 6:
A few big pay days with the Scoop 6 coming in one or two in the hundreds of thousands. Nice work if you can get it.
Reverse Forecast:
Once again, not scared to place a bet that few punters who consider. A decent reverse forecast on strong markets gave the possibility of really striking lucky if the win single came in.
Ante-post Bet:
As detailed above, he wasn’t against ante-post wagers including the Classics although he did bet on big handicaps too.
Professional gambler books.
Where do they start and end? In my case, there is no particular order, rhyme or reason. For example, Enemy Number One: The Secrets of The UK’s Most Feared Professional Punter by Patrick Veitch has been sitting on my bookshelf for years.
I’ve not read a word of this well-received tome.
It sits next to me as I write this article. The dust jacket depicting a photo of a man silhouetted walking past a sash window overlooking a garden of bushes, perhaps a pine tree and hedge in the distance. I’m sure the publishers said: ‘You can’t beat a black and white photo and that classic out-of-focus man-in-a-suit look tells a story punters want to read.’
It has taken a few years, but I’m just about the open the book and start reading. This is the equivalent of an unboxing on YouTube!
Enemy Number One: The Secrets of The UK’s Most Feared Professional Punter by Patrick Veitch was published in 2009 by Racing Post.
I’m not sure why I’ve been so slow to get stuck into this book. However, over the next couple of weeks I will read it from cover to cover. One or two of my horse racing friends have said it’s a good read. In truth, most professional gambler books detail the highs and lows of a gambling life via big bets wins and losses. That’s certainly been the case with Dave Nevison’s A Bloody Good Winner & Harry Findlay’s: Gambling For Life.
Have you noticed how all these books have pretty much the same tag lines. I guess being a professional gambler puts your musing within a box that is always square.
No doubt this publication came to fruition from the successes of former worthy reads.
Very few professional gambler books detail the ‘secret sauce’ to help punters find the method to making their betting pay. That’s been the case for Messrs Nevison & Findlay. Perhaps we need to look at my old friend Nick Mordin’s Betting For A Living, published in 1992. I’ve seen that sitting on my brother’s bookshelf.
Anyway, I will soon get stuck into Mr. Veitch.
The blurb on the inside cover gives hope of something more as he made £10M in a period of just eight years. Can the Cambridge mathematician and scholar prove he is the best of all modern-day professionals?
Let’s get reading and find out.
The 2022 Cheltenham Festival was the first since the government lifted all remaining Covid-19 regulations and, as anticipated, was attended by a record total of 280,627 racegoers over the four days. On the whole, the March showpiece was fairly kind to punters, with 12, or 43%, of the 28 races won by the starting price favourite, or joint-favourite.
The winning market leaders included Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle, Allaho in the Ryanair Chase and A Plus Tard in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Shishkin, who was sent off marginal odds-on favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, was never travelling well and was pulled up, leaving the race at the mercy of his main market rival, Energumene. Klassical Dream, favourite for the Stayers’ Hurdle, looked the likely winner at one stage, but was less than fluent over the final flight and failed as much as anticipated on the run-in, eventually finishing fifth behind Flooring Porter, who was winning the race for the second year running.
Thus, all the ‘feature’ races of the week went, more or less, as anticipated by the betting market, but the notoriously difficult Festival handicaps were, largely, as impenetrable as ever. In fact, the eight handicap races, hurdles and steeplechases, yielded just one winning favourite, subsequent multiple Grade 1 winner State Man, in the County Handicap Hurdle. The other winners included, in ascending order of starting price, Cool Cody at 22/1, Third Wind at 25/1, Global Citizen at 28/1 and Chambard at 40/1.
Top of the shop, in terms of odds of reward, though, was Commander Of Fleet, trained by Gordon Elliott, who belied odds of 50/1 when scraping home by a short head in the Coral Cup. The eight-year-old gelding had popped up at 40/1 when winning comfortably, off an 8lb lower mark, at Navan in December but, after three unsuccessful starts in Graded company, was largely unconsidered at Cheltenham.