Berry gets tough test after title bout blow

Nyall Berry…pitted against unknown African tomorrow

IN the countdown to a major fight, boxers are expected to jump through publicity hoops and answer a barrage of questions flung by the media.

The grilling can be tough for even the most seasoned champion. The questions can be no-nonsense, the tracks taken by certain interviewers unexpected.

Chelmsely Wood bomber Nyall Berry, who was scheduled to face unbeaten IBO continental super-bantam Razor Ali tomorrow (Saturday) in Sheffield, looked suitably bemused – even uncomfortable - when recently asked by Boxing King Media: what’s your biggest phobia?

The quiet Birmingham boxer – a young man who prefers to let his fists do the talking – dutifully obliged his interviewer.

“I don’t like slugs,” the 25-year-old offered. “It’s the first thing that came into my head.”

Ali, by the challenger’s side, tackled the testing question with more gusto. “I’m scared of pregnant women,” he confessed. “I feel they are so fragile, I don’t want to be close to them. Someone is living in them and they are so fragile.”

Surreal, but strangely watchable. In future meetings with fighters, I may, too, throw-in a curve-ball question: “So, Sam Eggington, do you feel Greece has a legitimate claim to the Elgin Marbles?”

It must’ve been irksome for Berry to discover only days ago he had revealed his Achilles heel for nothing.

Iranian-born Ali (10-0) pulled out with an eye injury, the big fight was scrapped and Nyall now faces Irish based Tanzanian Tampela Maharusi over six rounds.

The replacement is no slouch. He’s a natural junior-lightweight, has mixed in good company and has a winning – 11-8-4 – record. Maharusi also hits hard, with six of those 11 wins coming inside distance.

He has been stopped twice and the last man to turn that trick was Tajikistan’s Akmal Ubaidov, a former elite Asian amateur, in 2022. As a pro, Ubaidov is unbeaten in five, four by stoppage. He bangs.

Dublin’s John Cooney outpointed Maharusi in October, but the Irishman is 11-0. He has also been decisioned by bright up-and-comers Leon Woodstock, Jordan Flynn and Colm Murphy.

They won by outboxing the African. Berry, a tight ball of fury, is a power merchant, not a point picker.

Make no mistake, promoters GBM haven’t handed Nyall a mere consolation prize after the big fight fell apart. He has to be focused and focus can wander after the disappointment of seeing the bout you’ve trained for going to the wall. That makes it a gamble.

Berry has lost only one of 12. The Eastside fighter was on course for very big things, then talented Italian Francesco De Rosa burst his bubble for the IBF European crown with an eighth-round stoppage. Berry put that largely down to his own training errors – working hard, but not necessarily smart – and has bounced back with a chilling first round KO.

I have a lot of time for Nyall and his family. He is polite and always prepared to answer press questions.

I met him at a show last Sunday. “I’ve done everything right this time,” he said. “I’m just hungry.”

He needs to keep that hunger.

Manager Jon Pegg told me today: “We’ve been working on the positives. The news (of the cancellation) tested the positivity, but everything’s good.”

Berry steps into the unknown tomorrow – and can’t afford any hangover from the title fight cancellation.