Haye questions Bellew’s motivations as rivals kickstart rematch promotion Read moreOn the eve of Joshua’s fight, 250 miles to the north, the first bell had just sounded for a rather different evening at Hull City Hall. Billed as the “City Hall Brawl” in promotional material decorated with blood-spattered wording, this is boxing without the primetime glamour, even if the passions of the audience are not in doubt. “Boxing is certainly now a national sport and its popularity is gaining, thanks to people like Anthony Joshua and the Olympic gold medallists. Inside Hull City Hall on Friday night, however, there was bemusement that anyone would want to upstage the combatants inside the ring. Women in Hull city council sweatshirts occasionally swooped to retrieve a glass from an errant spectator wandering in.

Source: The Guardian October 28, 2017 23:37 UTC