Ex-world champ boxer is back in the ring for new sport of chessboxing

 
Tactical battle: Terry Marsh focuses during a chessboxing bout

Former world champion boxer Terry Marsh is returning to the ring 30 years after his last competitive bout — for a new version of the sport that mixes it with chess.

Marsh, 57, will take part in a London Chessboxing event at the Scala in King’s Cross, putting his undefeated record on the line when he faces a 28-year-old Italian, Filippo Gubbini, who has more than 50 bouts under his belt.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m expecting to get bashed up and will be relying on the chess to pull me through it,” Marsh told the Standard.

“That is the fascination of it, really. There are a hell of a lot of tactics involved. You can be strong on chess and weak on boxing, or vice versa. It’s feast or famine.”

Marsh, from Basildon, who was known as the fighting fireman, retired undefeated as IBF world light welterweight champion in 1987. He was lured back into the ring by chessboxing, which involves up to six rounds of chess, each followed by a round of boxing. Victory can be secured by check-mate on the board or by knocking out your opponent.

He won an exhibition bout last year but says his reputation is at stake when he fights on Saturday. The contest is a preliminary to an anticipated crack at the world title in June.

“I have always played chess and I have always boxed, I was really just training for the sake of training — there was no target,” Marsh said. “It occurred to me that chessboxing would be something I could aim for.”

His fiancée Debbie Dorling, whose husband Brian was killed cycling at Bow roundabout in 2011, said: “He doesn’t want to take advantage of the fact he is a world-class boxer. He would rather win on the chess board.”

Tim Woolgar, chief executive of London Chessboxing, said: “Terry was London chess champion at the age of 12. He has always retained a strong interest in playing chess. He was looking for a motivation, a reason to keep going. As a fighter it’s always that next line on the horizon that gives you the little bit of adrenaline. Gubbini is a very adept fighter. It’s going to be a hard match for Terry. He is obviously an ex-world champion but he is not as young as he used to be.

“Having said that, he is in amazing condition. It gives hope to all of us over the age of 40.

“It’s a proud boast he has never been beaten inside the ring. There is a lot on the line for him now.”

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