Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff wins boxing debut in Manchester

Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff may not be much as a pro boxer, but he delighted fans at the Manchester Arena today, beating Oklahoma's Richard Dawson over four, two-minute rounds. Flintoff won on a referee's score of 39-38, despite suffering a flash knockdown in the second round.

If we're honest, it was a clear novice fight, sort of the white collar boxing standard, closer to a toughman contest than what we see from true professional boxers. But Flintoff's effort was sincere, and so was his post-fight interview with BoxNation, where he thanked Dawson for coming over to fight, and said he's got no big plans to make a serious run in the sport.

Flintoff remarked, "I think as a personal achievement, this is the best," and gave credit to Barry and Shane McGuigan for helping prepare him. Barry said that Flintoff hadn't been knocked down any in training, and handled the adversity well in the second round.

Flintoff did mention another British heavyweight, David Price, who had earlier in the day knocked out Matt Skelton in two rounds.

"We saw the real deal in Price a bit ago," he said. "I've got no aspirations, don't worry about that."