When Honey Was Hotter than Curry (old 606)

This article is from last year....the fight is from the olden days. It was written partly to annoy Trussman, and it succeeded as it happened.
But now we're all grown up, we play nicely and there's no winding up going on, so that's great.
Fair do's to Curry though, he was a hell of a boxer during his tenure.I do actually remember the mad excitement from the likes of Carpenter.." Lloyd Honeyghan won!Against the pound for pound number one!" the riposte was usually,
" Lloyd who?"
The last line of the article...perhaps we will know the answer to that on July 2nd.


After Don Curry did a number on Colin Jones, he said "Sugar Ray Leonard could not have done what I did tonight.Jones wasn't as strong as I thought he would be.I had an easy victory.I am the best fighter in the world." It didn't seem an outrageous statement.After all ,he was nearly five foot eleven and with arms of elastic muscuality.He had matured into a controlled,consistently lethal professional.Only Hagler seemed to be in his league.
It seemed a cert that he would move up the divisions and become a legend.It wasn't to be.Within 18 months a young London-based Jamaican, in eighteen minutes of astonishing action left Curry's aura of invincibility shattered,replaced with bruises and lacerations.

He saw something in Curry that nobody else did-that he was vulnerable to a shot right down the middle.Not even British boxing journalists were very knowledgeable of Lloyd Honeyghan, but by winning in Atlantic City on the 7th of September, he joined an elite rank of British fighter,(joining Ted Kid Lewis in 1915 and Alan Minter in 1980) who had won a title in the United States.When he touched down in the USA, with odds of 6-1, he told reporters,who couldn't have believed him,"I can't wait to start punching Curry on the head.I want to smash his face in."

His plan was to force Curry up,and this he did immediately and accurately landed with regularity.He caught Don in the 2nd with a cross that drove him across the ring.By the 4th round he was in total command.Curry looked a beaten man by the time an accidental butt opened a gash in his eyebrow in the 7th.Doctors advice was for him to quit on his stool before the 8th.
Honeyghan did indeed smash his face in-with 20 stitches and a broken nose.He also attained the three belts for the welter division in the process.
Although Curry did retain a title again he was never the same fighter, never the same force.I beleive he never recovered from this fight.

Honeyghan went on to lose and win world titles and become an all time British great, albeit one who is sadly under-acknowledged today, not unlike the position Curry is in, having been neglected for the Hall of fame,as 606ers have recently remarked.

I wonder,however, if a British boxer will ever repeat such a feat abroad again.

I'm sure Truss will be here in no time.

That was one of the most incredible performances I have seen by a British boxer. Electrifying performance by 'The raggamuffin Man'.

I liked the story a few years back, where Lloyd went to shake Curry's hand which was rejected. Curry said to him "You ruined my f'in career" and stormed off.

Honeyghan made some good defences but I think he enjoyed the partying and women abit too much and thats why his career faded. If you pitted the Lloyd from Caesars against Starling and Breland then he would have faired alot better than he did.

He still would have lost to Starling.

I don't know Az, he fought like a maniac in their bout, believing ,erroneously as it happens, that he could just bomb him out. Against Curry he was a measured controlled fighter, but didn't add skills later on in career. That's why a lot of folks could see Hatton's career ending as it did.

Great article, andy, though I fear it will prompt a rebuttal from our Bostonian cousin.

andygf wrote:I don't know Az, he fought like a maniac in their bout, believing ,erroneously as it happens, that he could just bomb him out. Against Curry he was a measured controlled fighter, but didn't add skills later on in career. That's why a lot of folks could see Hatton's career ending as it did.

Starling was too cute defensively and just too good for Honey. Perhaps Honey began believing his own hype and tried bombing everyone out, but Starling's defence would negate whatever Honey threw at him.

Just my take.

no Honeyghan from any part of his career beats Starling, Marlon was coming off the back of being knocked spark out after the bell against Molinares, he absolutely boxed Honeyghan's head off and would of at any point imo

I feel Starling would also be too good for Honeyghan at any stage of his career, only seen the fight in the last year or so, Starling was on fire, great fighter, underrated IMO.

Starling, Breland, KO magazine all pointed out the fact that any featherweight could have knocked out the schindlers list Curry that night.

Watch Starling's interview after the Honey fight...Most people big up their vanquished opponents....Starling said basically "See I told you he was nothing"..

Starling also considers Curry to be the best technician he ever fought..

I'll believe Breland and Starling they knew their stuff and both slapped his butt easily..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Starling, Breland, KO magazine all pointed out the fact that any featherweight could have knocked out the schindlers list Curry that night.

Excuses, excuses, excuses!

Excuses, excuses, excuses!
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you cant get away from Honeyghan losing to Vaca though, and being absolutely iced by Breland, Starling

Steven_89 wrote:Excuses, excuses, excuses!
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you cant get away from Honeyghan losing to Vaca though, and being absolutely iced by Breland, Starling

The vaca result was absolutely stupid. TThere was a clash of heads (accidental) and Honey loses a point because he didn't get cut??????

The vaca result was absolutely stupid. TThere was a clash of heads (accidental) and Honey loses a point because he didn't get cut??????
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Why i do agree with you about the stoppage, Honeyghan had a big shiner, and he said himself i didnt deserve to win in the interview afterwards with Harry (RIP). I have the dvd here, i love Honeyghan, just imo despite being a big win, the Curry fight was a fluke, that wasnt the same Curry who destroyed everyone in his wake, he was drained to bits, Honeyghan was exposed by the Magic Man in 89.

Steven_89 wrote:The vaca result was absolutely stupid. TThere was a clash of heads (accidental) and Honey loses a point because he didn't get cut??????
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Why i do agree with you about the stoppage, Honeyghan had a big shiner, and he said himself i didnt deserve to win in the interview afterwards with Harry (RIP). I have the dvd here, i love Honeyghan, just imo despite being a big win, the Curry fight was a fluke, that wasnt the same Curry who destroyed everyone in his wake, he was drained to bits, Honeyghan was exposed by the Magic Man in 89.

It wasn't a fluke. You dont give a thorough beatdown like than by luck.

Starling was always better than Honey no matter what honey did. No shame in that. Starling was a quality operator.

"You don't get beatdown like that by luck...Starling was a quality operator"

Didn't Curry beat Starling twice???

How Curry is not in the Hall of Fame is a mystery, I mean McGuigan's career can't compare to curry's really.