GARY NEWBON got the interview of his life with boxing icon Muhammad Ali – but little did he know it would almost end it.
MBE Newbon is a sports broadcaster of over seven decades and has spoken to some of the world’s biggest superstars.
But none came as huge as his interview with boxing’s “Greatest” outside a Ladbrokes store in the centre of Birmingham.
Although it almost ended in disaster.
Newbon recalled to the Daily Mail: “They stopped the traffic and I’m interviewing him when a woman lost control of her car, hit the wrong pedal and hit me.
“I was thrown right up in the air. My film crew were so frozen with horror they never filmed it.
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“They thought I was going to die and Peter Lorenzo, a famous journalist who was doing PR for Ladbrokes, didn’t want me to die under the sign and pulled me into the shop.”
Newbon named former British boxing champion Chris Eubank as one of the biggest influences in his career.
He said: “I owe my career on screen to four people.
“Clough, Ferguson, Greaves and Chris Eubank. They had the biggest impact. Eubank would drive me crazy at times but he was box office.”
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Newbon reflected on how Eubank made the broadcaster a boxing aficionado overnight.
He said: “I went into his suite and he’s reclining on a chaise longue, and we talked and at the end he asked how many of his fights I’d covered.
“It was 16, and he said, “What do you remember most?
“I said, “Well, I’m grateful to you Chris because after the last fight I paid you a compliment and you said it meant a lot coming from somebody as knowledgeable and steeped in boxing, so over the course of your 16 fights I’ve gone from knowing f*** all to being an absolute expert”.
“He laughed so much he fell off his chaise longue and nearly twisted an ankle, the fight was nearly off.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
