Nile Ranger has praised former Arsenal goalkeeper Graham Stack's selection of fighters for his 14-footballer charity boxing card. The former Newcastle striker will headline A Night to Remember III against fellow England youth international Jay Emmanuel-Thomas at Grosvenor House Hotel on October 22.
Former Premier League stars on the bill
The event, organised by Pro Project Promotions, features a North London Derby bout between Armand Traore and Sebastien Bassong, who played for Arsenal and Tottenham respectively. Former Fulham defender Matthew Briggs, once the youngest player in the Premier League, faces England international Anthony Gardner.
Stack aims to raise £500,000 for children's charities, having previously donated to The Willow Foundation and Playskill. Ranger, making his boxing debut, believes the line-up is impressive.
Ranger's path to the ring
Ranger was convinced to compete over lunch with Stack at Sheesh Restaurant in Chigwell. "He's got the right bunch, actually," Ranger told the Daily Star. "I've played with a few, Simon Cox at Southend, Gary Madine at Sheffield Wednesday, we got promotion together, he's a character as well. Seb Bassong obviously at Newcastle, because he looked out for me whilst he was there. Matthew Briggs, I played England with him in Ukraine, known him for a long time to England stuff and that."
The 35-year-old, who has trained at Martin Nugent Elite Performance with a trainer named Jack, said he has always thought about fighting. "A lot of footballers they get to a space where they just don't know what to do after they've been doing football for so long and it's like, what else could I do? And it was a thing I just thought, you know what, why not?"
Weight difference and predictions
Emmanuel-Thomas, a former QPR and Bristol City frontman, has a weight advantage and is training with British boxer Anthony Yarde. Ranger has been training at least three times a week despite other commitments. "He's a big lad so they said kind of it's a weight difference, but they said to me to try to bulk up. I've tried my best.. that's just a lie. I haven't really tried to bulk up but I think I'll be alright," Ranger said.
He expects Emmanuel-Thomas to underestimate him. "Yeah, just know that he's going to get crashed a few times. That's all I know." The fight is scheduled for three rounds of two minutes.
