used to be an old favourite in our house...missus even loved him...he was a kill or be killed type... i remeber him beating ross hale in one round to win the british light welter title and then jon thaxton {when he was called johnathan thaxton} doing exactly the same to him in his next fight. anyone know where he is now ?....i'd heard he was a postman and a bass player in a band, but that was it..
Wasn't he a trouble maker in his youth/teens and started boxing when he was in his early 20's? I think he turned over with very little amateur experience as well. His loss to Thaxton was regarded as one of the upsets of the year, considering Thaxton came in with about 3 days notice (although he got a couple extra days due to the fight being pushed back because of a bomb scare on the arena I think). Big shame for Thaxton that the British title wasn't on the line in that fight - if it was then he would have one for keeps :-( He certainly had talent and his shaky beard made sure his fights were entertaining, but with his style it was only a matter of time before he was going to get stopped.
He had a very high KO percentage, but he could not handle even moderate punches from domestic opposition. One of the weakest chins in the sport.
He is doing very well for Himself, glad to say. Paul is to music, as Rock Hudson is to Blood Doners, not very usefull :hi:
Here's a Thaxton interview from that time: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174923 Apparently Ryan just didn't want to put any of his belts on the line for whatever reason :conf
Think He had split from His wife that month, and His Trainer. bad time for Him, seemed to be losing everything. At least I got the Dog
He was 23 when He started, from 16 He had only seen the outside of the Nick 6 months. Then decided He wanted to turn His life around, good of Him.
Doug, "scrap" is Paul Ryan. I used to love the shot of them showing him walking to the York Hall for his fights. Old Skool!
Remember hearing either a policeman or a prison officer broke his arm once? Not 100% on that, used to enjoy it when he was fighting though. Great character.