Manning anger over purse for Broughton - Melvin title clash

Anthony Manning…”The whole thing has been a waste of time”

NO sooner had the mouth-watering Midlands lightweight title fight between Scott Melvin and Mykey Lee Broughton been seemingly delivered than it was snatched away.

And it seems to have been lost in a cloud of growing acrimony.

Today, the Midlands arm of the British Boxing Board of Control publicly announced purse bids for the clash had been won by Birmingham promoter Tommy Owens who works closely with Melvin’s manager Jon Pegg. The fight is to take place before the end of October.

That announcement met with a quick, no-holds barred response from Anthony Manning, manager of Broughton, a hungry and ambitious new force on the local scene who isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

In a press statement, Manning, head of Manning’s Management, said he has pulled Broughton out and added: “The whole thing has been a complete waste of time.”

Manning’s anger stems from a story on this site and reproduced in the Birmingham Mail. In it, Tommy Owens stated he would offer a “five figure sum” to stage Melvin v Broughton.

I understand Owens won the bidding with an offer substantially below that. No figure has been made public and, therefore, I have to tread carefully, but I believe the sum is around £5,500.

In the statement, Manning said: “The whole things has been a complete waste of time.

 “They made comments about five figures, (yet) it’s less then what he (Broughton) is making now.

“It looks like them guys ain't got no money or can't get the ticket sales. We can't entertain this. He (Broughton) gets more than this for a move around.

“We're just going to move on with his career. (We) don't want to waste any more time on this.”

Jon Pegg…dubbed Manning’s statement “ludicrous”

I have put the statement to Jon Pegg. He declined to comment, but dubbed the remarks “ludicrous”.

“We’re not surprised because we’ve always felt Scott was the better fighter,” he added.

“We are surprised by the way Anthony Manning has gone about this. Perhaps he doesn’t understand the British Boxing Board of Control rules.”

One point needs to be noted. Manning did not make a cash bid to secure the fight, perhaps because he believed a £10,000 offer was coming.

And that led one member of staff at Eastside gym, where Melvin trains, to remark: “Anthony Manning may think Tommy Owens has undervalued the fight, but Tommy seems to value it more than he does. Manning didn’t offer anything.

“In boxing the usual reason for not putting in a purse bid is because you don’t think your fighter’s going to win. That’s what history tells us.”