Sam Sexton may have been out of the latest Norwich boxing show – but it appears there may still have been business undertaken in the name of the Norwich heavyweight.
A back injury forced the 29-year-old to pull out of the Nelson's Warriors bill, but trainer Graham Everett and promoter Mervyn Turner may well have lined up some useful sparring work with the man who hopes to claim the British title next month, Tyson Fury.
Should Fury beat Dereck Chisora then he could face the winner of the eliminator – between Sexton and Gary Cornish.
Team Fury –- Tyson, cousin Hughie and his father Peter – were at ringside as Young Fury, a sibling of Tyson's, made his professional debut.
It was something of a coup for the promotion and the opportunity to do business was not lost.
'We were completely disappointed about Sam pulling out, but you can't take a risk,' said Everett. 'He is in a decent position now with the eliminator, it would have been great to have the run-out.
'We may be sparring with Tyson in a couple of weeks – the question was asked so it is a possibility.
'It is through Mervyn's connections with the Furys. He works closely with them and he is good friends with Peter Fury and it is how things happen. Mervyn is probably one of the hardest working people in British boxing at the moment. He is a great man and a pleasure to work with and we thank him for putting the show on.'
It's a curiosity of boxing that two men can work together in sparring – and soon afterwards find themselves fighting against each other.
'These things happen,' said Everett. 'Sam sparred with Price and then fought him. It is good for him – and in August he is off to work with the Klitschkos again so we hope that back holds up and he keeps fit.'
There may be another title shot on the horizon for Ryan Walsh, who got useful rounds under his belt with a points win over the durable Ibrar Ryaz in his first appearance since his unsuccessful British and Commonwealth featherweight title shot against Lee Selby last October.
'Ryan should now be number one for a British title fight – it should put him in a mandatory position after his great performance against Selby. Josh Warrington has really raised his game in the last three or four fights and what a great fight that would be, so hopefully, maybe October time, that fight is on.
'Ryan came out with a great variety of punches, every punch in the book, he was punching up, bringing his shots round, working the body hard – a great six rounds. Team Walsh are very pleased.'
There were also wins for Norwich's Nathan Dale, Sudbury's Billy Bird, Craig Poxton, from Lowestoft, and Essex newcomer Danny Gunn, although Beccles' Joe Payne was beaten.
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