A time to shine
Dale Elliott will be part of one of the most historic fights in a generation on Saturday night, as he keeps time in the Fury Usyk fight
DALE Elliott is set to become the first man from Northern Ireland to be timekeeper at an undisputed heavyweight world title fight.
Dale will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday (May 16) to officiate at the Tyson Fury Oleksandr Usyk ‘Ring of Fire’ heavyweight unification title clash, which was rescheduled from its original date on February 17.
Dale – who was Ballynahinch RFC president from 2019 to 2020 – has been timekeeping for 36 years, and has been involved in many great fights involving Irish boxers, including Dave ‘Boy’ McAuley, Carl Frampton and Steve Collins.
But the 66-year-old told the Mourne Observer that this job will be his biggest yet as it is a unification bout that will bring the four heavyweight titles together for the first time in 25 years.
That’s why he was delighted to be asked.
“This is the biggest fight in 30-odd years,” he said.
It is for the undisputed heavyweight title of the world, winner takes all. It doesn’t get any bigger than that. This is the pinnacle of my career as a timekeeper.
“It makes all those small events that I have went to worthwhile. This one is huge.
“I was ecstatic to be asked.”
Dale explained that he was not expecting the call. After 36 years officiating fights, he thought his biggest gig had been taking part in Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight title defence in Wales in 2018. But that would change when the British Boxing Board of Control general secretary Robert Smith called him in January of this year.
“It was out of the blue.
“He asked if I am free on the 17th of February (the original date of the fight).
“I asked him why he was ringing me and not one of the Northern Ireland conveners.
“He said that ‘it doesn’t take those men to deal with this sort of fight’. Then he told me the fight was Tyson Fury and asked would I do it.
“I said, ‘yes but weren’t there other fellas in line for it’.
“He said that I am the most experienced on the board.
“It is a huge honour to be picked out of all the timekeepers.”
Fury is a World Boxing Council (WBC) title holder while Usyk holds titles in the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Organisation (WBO) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
The fight was supposed to take place on February 17 but Tyson Fury suffered a cut during a sparring session in the lead up to the meeting with Usyk and the fight had to be rescheduled.
However, Dale’s part in the historic bout was never in doubt.
He said: “It threw me a wee bit, but the board got in touch with me and said that everything stayed the same: the same timekeepers, the same judges, the same referees, if they are available.
“We were put at ease very quickly by the board.”
And Dale sees the trip as a chance to experience a new culture.
“I am just going to go there, open my eyes and learn from it.”
He flies from Belfast City Airport on Thursday to Heathrow. He meets with the boxing board referees and timekeeper and judges and inspectors.
They fly to Riyadh on the afternoon of Thursday. They will have access-all-areas passes for the Friday weigh-in. Then on Saturday they will have the day to themselves. Then the fight is that night.
They leave Riyadh early on Sunday morning.
“I will be curious to see it. It is a chance to see how other people live.”
Dale was aware that the Fury fight was coming but he never imagined that he would be in the running to officiate at it, simply because there were so many other timekeepers and officials in the organisation.
Were the fight to be fought in England or Wales, officials from those countries would be prioritised. However, Fury is fighting Usyk in Saudi Arabia, who do not have a boxing board. That meant the British Boxing Board chose who they thought was best for the job.
Dale’s selection also has great significance for Northern Ireland.
“He told me that this is the first time that anyone from here has done timekeeper at an undisputed World Heavyweight Championship title fight.”
After over 30 years of timekeeping, Dale has seen some great fights.
“My first world title fight was Dave ‘Boy’ McAuley in the King’s Hall.
“I wasn’t worried about it. Until someone told me that I shouldn’t be worried about the thousands watching it at the venue, but it was more the millions who would be watching on TV. That was when my knees started knocking.”
When Barney Eastwood was the main promoter there was lots of work.
“In the boxing heyday Barney Eastwood had six world champions in his stable.
There were title fights all the time.
“We were going to title fights in The King’s Hall.
“Then the boys on the Irish Board got in touch and they asked if I could do timekeeping for them.
“I got to do the Steve Collins and Eubank fight. Those were massive fights in the UK.
“I did the Ray Close and Eubank fight.”
But he is fond of the local fighters.
“[Carl] Frampton fights were great.
“The fights in the SSE were huge. They had a great following. For our little country we have really produced some good ones. The boxing community here don’t care what religion you are. They come out and support you.
“I did the Tyson Fury match in the SSE Arena seven or eight years ago. He was fighting against an American who took the fight late. The guy came out and took the initiative.”
More recently Dale has kept time at Michael Conlan’s fight and the recent Lewis Crocker fight.
Dale’s introduction into timekeeping came through a friend’s father who was a doctor for the British Boxing Board. Dale would tag along to the fights.
“We were going to big fights and I was loving it.
“John (Dale’s friend) said that he was not interested any more.
“And he said that he didn’t fancy going. I thought that that was me done.
“But (his father) said to me that I would still be okay to go.”
Then one day on a return from a fight, Dale was asked if he fancied becoming a timekeeper.
He realised the opportunity immediately.
“To be honest it is the best seat in the house.
“I think after all these years Paddy would be proud that I am still doing it.”
During a long career, Dale has learnt a lot about timekeeping.
“You have got to be on the ball all the time.
“There can be skulduggery in fights.
“The corner men will look after their boxer.
“They can call over to you and tell you the round is over if they think their man is in trouble.
“They will say your watch has stopped.
“The referee is in charge of the fight, but the timekeeper is in charge of the time.”
He explained the many pressures of timekeeping, such as timing each round, counting when a fighter is knocked out, and alerting the referee and fighters of the ten-second warning before a round end.
All of that together puts pressure on the timekeeper.
That will be magnified on Saturday night.
“There is a lot more pressure on the world title fights. There is a lot of money involved.”
His approach to preparing for a big fight is something similar to the boxer.
“I try to get away on my own. Sometimes I get nervous, but I find that once the referee points to start the clock, all the noise goes away. It is what people call being in the zone.”
But he admitted that the nerves will be big in the lead up to the fight.
“I am nervous because of what it means to people from here, from talking to guys who are involved. It means a lot to represent here, and all the people who are involved in the boxing board of Northern Ireland.
“Robert Smith said that I am the best man for the job, that was what he said.
“But he also said just don’t mess it up.”