CAN'T get away to box with you today ... my wife won't let me!
Tough Dronfield fighter Andrew Facey was offered a rare to chance to compete for a world title, but it was the battle with his fiancee that he couldn't win ...
The problem was that the bout was scheduled six days before he and Tina were due to get h
itched.
And his wife-to-be didn't find the thought appealing of a hubby with facially re-arranged features.
Facey's manager, John Ingle, had arranged a pop at the obscure NBA middleweight world title against Dirk Dzemski in Ilsenburg, Germany, last month.
But says ex-solder Facey, aged 33: "I knew it would be a problem because my wedding had been planned for ages for Santorini, in Greece, on September 23."
The groom thought he'd discreetly test the water anyway.
"I tried to be a subtle as possible and broached the subject casually by saying 'John asked me if I could box on September 17'.
"She looked at me and replied instantly: 'No chance'!
"I couldn't disagree with her. After all, wedding pictures of me after a fight could have looked ridiculous," said Facey, who has two children, Elliot, aged nine, and Grace, six.
"Elliot had been telling everybody I would be fighting for a world title, and the rumour got round the parents at his school.
"When they asked, I had to tell them my wife wouldn't let me!
"But the wedding was absolutely fantastic and no money or boxing title could have compared to the time we had out there.
"You couldn't put a value on my marriage or seeing our family there in Greece."
Dzemski eventually went on to beat American George Klinesmith to claim the NBA title.
bob.westerdale@sheffieldnewspapers.co.uk
