Behind The Ropes: Maiseyrose Courtney

Behind The Ropes: Maiseyrose Courtney

“I’ve been offered a lot for my work, but never everything,” was an immortal line uttered by Yul Brynner in that classic western, The Magnificent Seven. This iconic line was shamelessly borrowed and used again in the inferior 2016 remake, which starred Denzel Washington in the lead role.

Away from a certain perspective that boxers earn plenty from their craft, the reality, at least for the majority, is very different. Many fight for a pittance. Some don’t even earn a single penny for their efforts. Don’t sell enough tickets to cover the costs of your opponent and the house; you don’t fight. If you do, the tax man isn’t too troubled by what you earn.

Maiseyrose Courtney trained for a planned fight last Saturday night at the York Hall. Training camps aren’t cheap. The costs mount up. Everything has a price. The reward is fight night. Courtney was looking forward to hers. With no fight since January. An injury hit year, straight off the back of losing her unbeaten record to Jasmina Zapotoczna last year. This should have been a period of rebuilding before an assault on the major titles.

Last weekend was the supposed first part of the Maiseyrose Courtney relaunch. Top of the bill at the iconic York Hall, before the big fights early next year. The work was done. An opponent secured. Or so they thought. Her scheduled opponent failed a pre-fight medical with only hours from the first bell. Suddenly, her scheduled fight was off. A late call that sparked every emotion imaginable. Anger. Frustration. And more.

“I’ve been offered a lot for my work, but never nothing,” Courtney could have said. But this is no fictional western on the big screen. Although boxing could easily be labelled the wild west. In truth, it almost certainly is. Courtney was left with no reward for all her efforts. Her year of frustration continues.

The defeat to Zapotoczna in 2024 cost her plenty. Especially, time. Momentum lost. Belief from the men in suits changed. Plans changed. Courtney wanted to prove herself. But how can she, when the fights didn’t come, and when they did, they hardly inspired. One defeat changed everything.

Courtney hopes 2026 will be different. It should be. It needs to be. A talented fighter with options all around her. Courtney still has a big future if opportunity knocks. There lies the problem. The phone needs to ring.

Chloe Watson makes sense. The Birkenhead-fighter is coming off two straight defeats. Zapotoczna ended her unbeaten record also, and took away her European flyweight title in the process in March at the Royal Albert Hall. Shannon Ryan inflicted a second reversal on Watson on the bounce earlier this month. The circumstances don’t matter. It’s still another defeat. Courtney and Watson probably need each other right now. The fight has been talked about before. That talk probably needs to stop and get it done. It makes all the sense in the world. It should have happened before. It almost certainly needs to happen now.

But whoever is next, Maiseyrose Courtney deserves a change of luck. A year to forget. Courtney will hope 2026 is a year to remember.