in Boxing

Ricky Gervais once had celebrity boxing fight on BBC and fought Anthea Turner’s HUSBAND in bout slammed by Frank Warren

179 Views


RICKY GERVAIS is used to delivering hilarious punch-lines – but he has also thrown a few punches in the past too.

The Golden Globe-winning actor had a boxing match in 2002 for charity, going up against Anthea Turner’s then-husband Grant Bovey.

Ricky Gervais, left, fought Grant Bovey in a celebrity boxing match for charity in 2002
Gervais ended up winning the bout and £5,000 for charity

It was a torrid affair with very few worthwhile Extras, despite both ‘fighters’ swapping the Office for extensive training ahead of the bout.

Gervais vs Bovey was broadcast on BBC, dubbed as The Fight.

The two clobbered each other for three 90-second rounds, with The Office star Gervais announced as the winner.

That meant the funnyman, now 60, won £5,000 for his chosen charity – but that was viewed by many as the only positive from the unlicensed bout.

It certainly did not lead to an after life in the fight game

Legendary boxing promoter Frank Warren fumed that he was ‘p****d off’ with the BBC for showing the clash.

The boxing bout between Gervais and Bovey was slammed by respected promoter Frank Warren
Multi-award winning actor and scriptwriter Gervais is 1-0 as a boxerCredit: PA

@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Regular.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Regular.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Regular.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Regular.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-display:swap;}@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Medium.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Medium.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Medium.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Medium.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:500;font-display:swap;}@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-stretch:semi-condensed;font-display:swap;}@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-Bold.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;font-stretch:normal;font-display:swap;}@font-face{font-family:’The Sun’;src:url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.woff’) format(‘woff’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.ttf’) format(‘truetype’),url(‘/assets/fonts/the-sun/TheSun-HeavyNarrow.svg#’) format(‘svg’);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;font-stretch:condensed;font-display:swap;}.css-qu9fel{border-top:1px solid #dcdddd;}.css-b9nmbi{margin-bottom:16px;border-top:1px solid #dcdddd;}

.css-1qsre5o{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;height:100%;-webkit-align-items:flex-start;-webkit-box-align:flex-start;-ms-flex-align:flex-start;align-items:flex-start;-webkit-align-content:flex-start;-ms-flex-line-pack:flex-start;align-content:flex-start;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;justify-content:space-between;}

.css-q8gelu{margin-bottom:24px;}.css-7ysxcx{padding:0;text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-7ysxcx:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-jkwlot{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;height:100%;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;justify-content:space-between;padding:0;text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-jkwlot:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}

.css-zkaekv{font-family:The Sun;font-size:24px;line-height:1.1666666666666667;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:semi-condensed;padding:1px 0px;}.css-zkaekv::before{content:”;display:block;height:0;width:0;margin-bottom:calc(-0.24520833333333342em + -1px);}.css-zkaekv::after{content:”;display:block;height:0;width:0;margin-top:-0.2333333333333334em;}

.css-1lobn43{display:inline;font:inherit;margin:0;color:rgba(0,0,0,1);}.css-1lobn43 svg{fill:rgba(0,0,0,1);}

Most read in Boxing

.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}

.css-zdjvqv{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;height:100%;-webkit-align-items:flex-start;-webkit-box-align:flex-start;-ms-flex-align:flex-start;align-items:flex-start;-webkit-align-content:flex-start;-ms-flex-line-pack:flex-start;align-content:flex-start;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-box-pack:space-around;-ms-flex-pack:space-around;-webkit-justify-content:space-around;justify-content:space-around;margin-top:calc(-12px/2);margin-bottom:calc(-12px/2);}.css-zdjvqv:before,.css-zdjvqv:after{content:”;display:block;}

.css-1meuhfk{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-top:calc(12px/2);margin-bottom:calc(12px/2);}

JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)

Speaking at the time, he said: “One thing I don’t want to be seen as is a killjoy – I know they’re doing this for charity.

“But there are certain ways of going about this. What I’m unhappy about is that it’s unlicensed boxing.

“It’s a very dangerous sport and it needs to be regulated properly. You can’t just go to the gym for six weeks and think you are a boxer.

“It takes a long time and a lot of dedication.

“The brain doesn’t distinguish whether it’s being hit by a professional or an amateur.

“If, heaven forbid, something should go wrong, people won’t be saying let’s ban The Office or whatever Grant Bovey does, they’ll be calling for a ban on boxing.”

Gervais never got back into the boxing ring after his charity bout
Gervais was trained by boxing legend David Haye for his boutCredit: Wenn

He added: “I’m surprised the BBC got into this at all. I’m also p****d off with the BBC – I wish they’d spend their money on proper boxing.”

It was more bar-room brawl than noble art – but still watched by 5.5million viewers on terrestrial TV.

The first ‘celebrity fight’ that year was in the summer, for Sport Relief.

Bob Mortimer secured a points win against Les Dennis.

But following the widespread criticism after Gervais’ victory, BBC scrapped the show ‘The Fight’ despite another seven bouts planned.

There continued to show boxing bouts for Sport Relief however.

Frank Warren was FUMING that Gervais fought BoveyCredit: Getty
Grant Bovey put in the hard yards – but wasn’t the victor

Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk

Tagcloud: BoxingSport

How Barcelona could line up with Aubameyang, Traore and Torres after signing trio for just £47m combined

Jake Paul rules out fighting ‘delusional’ Tommy Fury and tells Love Islander to ‘get some clout’ by facing Tyron Woodley