SPORT

Back in 1994 , I think I may have had a hand in Kostya Tszyu and his then girlfriend , Natasha Ankina , marrying and producing two of the most exciting boxers on the Aussie scene since , well , Kostya was throwing leather .

Both Tim and younger brother , Nikita , have inherited their old man ’ s boxing skills , and the pugilistic world is now their oyster .

Let ’ s hark back to ‘ 94 and I ’ ll put you in the picture .

I had taken a break from performing on Vaudeville with my brothers , and spent a few gap years masquerading as a journalist , plying my skills up and down the east coast of Australia .

For the first three months of ’ 94 , I found a gig as relieving editor on the weekly Pioneer News in Mackay and while there I buddied up with a local publican , Bill Duguid , who was also president of the Mackay Rugby League .

Bill , a terrific bloke who has since passed , told me that Penrith Panthers were heading up to Mackay to for a pre-season match against a Mackay representative team .

I told Bill that I had formed a relationship with the club during other “ gap years ” of 1987-91 when I edited the Panthers ’ monthly magazine .

I asked him what sort of crowd he ’ d get to the match , and he explained that Stadium Mackay would be “ jam-packed ” with spectators .

“ Mate , they ’ ll flock into Mackay from everywhere including hundreds and hundreds of miners keen to spend their money ,” he said .

I then asked Bill if Mackay Rugby

Natasha and Kostya Tszyu with their two young sons , Nikita and Tim . Both boys are now emulating the boxing deeds of their famous father .

League would be producing a match program and he said “ no ”.

So , I asked him if I produced a $ 5 “ smick ” program with pen portraits of both teams would I be able to keep the earnings after giving a percentage of the profits to Mackay Rugby League . “ Do your best ,” he replied . I managed to quickly put together the pen portraits of all involved , had 2500 4-page programs printed and organised local girl guides to sell them at the stadium .

That was my “ get rich quick scheme ” number 27 and I immediately conjured up GRQ scheme number 28 .

Throughout the 80s , during a break from filming a sequel to our 1937 hit , A Day at the Races , I used to sneak away to Newtown Police Boys Club to do a bit of fitness training under the great Johnny Lewis .

Johnny also put the polish on boxing luminaries such as Jeff Fenech , Peter Metrevski , Jeff Harding , Shane Knox , Justin Rowsell , Gairy St Clair , Jeff Malcolm , Joe Bugner and most recently , Kostya Tszyu .

I tell Bill that I reckon I could get Johnny Lewis , Kostya and the great boxing commentator , Ray “ Lord of the Ring ” Connelly up to Mackay at the same time as the footy match to put on bit of a show .

“ Tell ya what , with my contacts I can arrange free flights and accommodation - you arrange the boxing demos and a couple of guest-speaking roles and we ’ ll split the profits ,” said my mate .

Anyway , cutting a long story short , I organised a couple of sparring sessions for Kostya and a speaking gig down in Sarina where Ray would interview Johnny and Kostya and host a Q & A .

When I arrived in Mackay , I wondered about the size of the huge gutters but two days before the Panthers and the boxing mob arrived , it started to rain .

And rain and rain and rain . No-one wanted to venture out in the torrent and that included the miners and their big wages .

Well , they did put on the footy match in absolutely atrocious conditions and around 150 fans braved the weather to turn up . Sold about 30 rain-sodden programs ! GRQ scheme No 27 down the gurgler and so too did GRQ scheme No 28 .

We had to cancel the boxing sparring sessions although we did brave the torrential rain to drive down to Sarina where the venue , which could have accommodated 300 , attracted a small handful of obviously boxing-mad locals .

The Panthers trudged back to Penrith but Johnny , Ray and Kostya and his girlfriend , Natasha , stayed on because Bill arranged a short flight on a seaplane out to St Bees Island for us to spend a couple of days soaking up the belated return of the sunshine .

Our simple but comfortable accommodation was on a beach which nestled under a large , steep hill .

Early on our second afternoon at St Bees , Kostya and Natasha said they were going to climb the hill and asked if we wanted to join them .

Bill , Ray and Johnny just laughed but I , for some unknown reason , agreed to accompany them .

Well , I kept up with them for 20 minutes or so before wilting and telling them to go on ahead and I would catch up .

Well , the only catching up I did was catching my breath – I thought at one stage I was going to cark it - but after 15 minutes rest , my heart rate returned to a semblance of normality , and I gleefully headed down to the beach .

An hour or so later , Kostya and Natasha returned , sporting beaming smiles and intimated that marriage was on the cards .

Not long after their return to Sydney , the happy couple tied the knot – and in November of that year , they had their first child , Tim .

I ’ ve always pondered about the pair leaving me behind on that bloody hill !

HIGH MARKS : My favourite sporting moment of 2023 ? The Matildas ’ amazing run in the Women ’ s Soccer World Cup . Their performances captured the imagination of their fellow Aussies , much like Australia ’ s II ’ s winning of the America ’ s Cup back in 1983 .

All our local tradies are all in one spot on our website so keep your business local and ring locally !!

Team

BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 34 // JANUARY 2024 21