Donald McRae
@donaldgmcrae
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Author of 14 books about fighters, surgeons, trial lawyers, South Africa & real life. Interviewer The Guardian https://t.co/3NXuM5Fznd…
Joined December 2010
I've been working on The Last Bell for a long time but, finally, it's done. You can read about it here & pre-order a copy Out in March, this is my last boxing book. Thanks @kelley_AK for the majestic painting on the cover and to all at @simonschusterUK
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Kirk Douglas is almost 100. He was 16 when Hitler rose to power. He and his wife are "chilled to the bone" by Trump
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He can no longer talk but the mighty @Rob7Burrow, and his wife Lindsey, spoke movingly to me about life and death. Rob, who has Motor Neurone Disease, uses an eye-tracking device to communicate. He and Lindsey find much light and laughter amid the sadness
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Thank you @AndreyRublev97 for all the honesty, intelligence and compassion in our powerful & always interesting interview. Andrey talks about overcoming depression, no longer hurting himself and how he is helping others and feeling better and even excited .
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It was a privilege and an honour to be at the Garden tonight. An unforgettable fight between Katie Taylor & Amanda Serrano will go down in history as the night that two women elevated the battered old soul of boxing. Mere words can't do justice to them.
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I went to Liverpool and heard about much more than just a bittersweet cliffhanger of a title race. Something deeper is stirring in a great old football club. Thanks to Phil Scraton, @trentaa98, @Knox_Harrington, @C_Hannan7 @TheAnfieldWrap @MetroMayorSteve
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I went to Yorkshire to see @Rob7Burrow and his wife Lindsey. Rob is now a silent prisoner in his body as MND paralyses him. But with a special voice app and email we still spoke about life and death, sadness and hope in a summerhouse full of light and love
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The mighty Rob Burrow was one of the most extraordinary men I have met. He was definitely the toughest. But above all else, the immense love and care of his remarkable wife, Lindsey, sustained him until the very end. Here are a few words about them both.
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James Roby is 37. He has has "probably injured every part of my body" and accepts he might suffer brain damage. But he plays rugby league with the intensity of a man rescuing his kids from "a kidnapping." He is also intelligent, ambitious and exceptional.
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I went to Milan to interview Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he was as interesting as always. He told me what it takes to play football at 40, inspiring a young Milan team, why he had to barge Azpilicueta, falling out with LeBron James and living in the moment.
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Thanks to @MoeenAli for talking so openly before and after his hat-trick - about growing up, Islam & the world today
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Tomorrow Graeme Souness will swim the Channel for Isla Grist, a 14-year-old girl with EB, a terrible skin disorder which is “like someone turning a blowtorch on you." I spoke to a very different Souness. humbled, moved to tears and with a new perspective.
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I interviewed Sir Alex Ferguson & his son, Jason, who has just made a moving film about him. We spoke about life, death and memory, pain & sectarianism at Rangers, a “magnificent” Steven Gerrard, and the early abuse & enduring glory of 27 years at Man Utd
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I loved being in Liverpool with Paddy Pimblett @theufcbaddy & @MeatballMolly McCann as they spoke about taking over the UFC, lousy "Tory biscuits", socialism, sexuality, fighting Instagram, not looking like fighters & why "Scousers never get knocked out".
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Earlier this year Frank Warren rightly said that Derek Chisora should retire. "He shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the ring, let alone in there with Tyson Fury.” Tomorrow their depressing third fight will happen and it's a symbol of boxing's sorry state
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Thanks to @SpecialKBrook for doing what fighters do best – opening up with raw honesty. He talks about hitting the worst low of his life, fighting Golovkin & Spence, suffering two broken eye sockets, not quitting & how he beat depression to fight again
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Billy Joe Saunders arrived in Texas full of his usual boasts. Last night he left a packed arena in an ambulance. A brutal uppercut from Canelo Álvarez took him to that lonely place boxing reserves for those who have had all the big talk beaten out of them.
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Thanks @Max33Verstappen as he took me back to that nerve-shredding last lap which won him the world title, while his leg was cramping and he was racing Lewis Hamilton.We spoke about the highs & lows of a brutal season and why he feels he deserved the title
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Thanks @leehendrie77 for talking to me. I have done many hundreds of interviews over the years and this one stands out.Lee spoke about his mental health. It was gripping, distressing, fearful, hopeful and, above all, so human. We also laughed about my hair
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I enjoyed talking to @Gezzyprice, the new world champion of darts, about his shyness, hiding away at the back of the room when he was a rugby player, how it feels to have risen to World No1 so fast, how he nearly the quit the game & texts from Phil Taylor
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Jaylen Brown, aka @FCHWPO of the Boston Celtics, is the most intelligent young athlete I've interviewed in years. He talks here about race in America, Trump, @Kaepernick7, education, the loss of his best friend, the Celtics, London, Arsenal & @ThierryHenry
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My dad, Ian McRae, died in the early hours of yesterday morning. Amid the sadness I think more of how lucky I was to have had him for so long. He did great work in South Africa and he taught me so much about life, people, politics and sport with such a light & compassionate touch.
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I always feel privileged to cover boxing from ringside. Tonight I'm the back row of a box in a different dimension to the ring. It's strange we ended up here but I am in good company with @seaningle @riathalsam @OllieHolt22 @TrisDixon @MattCBoxingNews Binoculars will be handy.
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I interviewed @DillianWhyte twice because this is a story like no other. Born in a hurricane, starving as a boy, becoming a father himself at the age of 13, being shot and stabbed and then, last August, knocked out by Povetkin. They fight again tonight.
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Thanks @anton_ferdinand for his first interview since making his BBC documentary on racism. The interview was moving. Sometimes it was harrowing. It was always powerful. We spoke about racism, silence, his mum, online abuse, John Terry and speaking out.
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I will keep reporting about boxing for the Guardian but, when it comes to writing books about the fight business, I think I am done. It's finally over for me. I hate the business of boxing, but I still love boxing. The Last Bell is about this and much more.
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So good to see Beterbiev and Bivol being so classy after a brilliant fight. Compare these elite level boxers to the way Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr try to whip up the hype with such little grace or skill.
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It was a treat to interview @lucyjward_ but sobering to hear about her ordeal at Leeds, after doing so much for the club, as well as the abuse she suffers as an excellent co-commentator. She's great & loves analysing football. We need more people like her
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Michael Dunlop is one of the hardest interviews I've ever done. He thinks the whole idea of an interview is "bullshit". But what a racer & what a life after the death of his father Robert & uncle Joey. Thanks to @sdbikephoto & @iom_tt. The TT begins today
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Thanks @BukayoSaka87 for our interview about breaking records, trying to match the resilience of Messi & Ronaldo, the intensity of Arteta, trying to get better, Declan Rice, Arsenal chasing the league title and his "glorious purpose" on and off the pitch
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I've been working on a book about boxing for the past five years. It's called The Last Bell: Life, Death & Boxing and will be published on 13 Feb 2025. Two weeks later another book I've been working on comes out. It's a different subject but it also means a lot. news to follow.
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No other feature I've written this year touched me like this one. Thank you @AlexDanson15 and her remarkable sister Claire for talking so openly to me. Claire is paralysed now but she and Alex talk with such hope and love that anything feels possible.
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The legacy of this tawdry week in British boxing is more than mere embarrassment and humiliation. It reeks of greed & stupidity, incompetence & danger. After such a debased charade, in which the ghosts of the past have been hard to shake, we need change.
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My wonderful dad, Ian McRae, died of Covid-19 in the end. His funeral is in Johannesburg this afternoon. The ongoing crisis means I can't fly back but I will join the funeral remotely as we say goodbye and celebrate ‘Mr Electricity’. I wrote this for him
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When I wrote Dark Trade, James Toney and his mother Sherry would send boxes of cakes and pies to "sustain" me. This morning, 26 years since that book was published, a familiar package arrived from Sherry. It was packed with her baked delicacies and four bags of James Toney coffee
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This was yet another terrible, embarrassing day for British boxing. After his positive drug test, and the promoters' shameless attempts to overcome the Board of Control's ruling that the fight is "prohibited" Conor Benn's bout against Eubank Jr is a sham.
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At the end of our second interview I felt briefly overwhelmed but then I remembered what sustains @Rob7Burrow and his wife Lindsey. They have been together since they were 15. “There’s something beautiful,” Rob says, “about being cared for by the only girl you’ve ever loved.”.
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Thanks @willcarling for one of the most interesting interviews I've done. This changed the stereotype as Will spoke about the loneliness of childhood and captaining England at 22. We also spoke about Jonah Lomu, rugby's current problems & lockdown videos
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I interviewed the great @Ons_Jabeur at 2am on a rainy morning. She brought the sunshine and spoke about happiness, fame, being World No2, starring on Netflix, overcoming prejudice, the sacrifices made by female players and representing Arab & African women.
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In a brute of a year imagine what life has been like for @Rob7Burrow, in the grip of motor neurone disease. The great Kevin Sinfield told me he imagined this cruel life and, for his friend and former team-mate, he ran 7 marathons in 7 days and raised £2.5m.
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It was great to interview Lena Oberdorf in Germany as she spoke about shrugging off discrimination, standing up to sportswashing, her love of tackling, sexuality, drinking vodka, the World Cup & being one of the very best women's footballers in the world .
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This is my favourite interview, so far, of 2019. Trainer Manny Robles on how Andy Ruiz shocked the world & Anthony Joshua, the struggles he & Ruiz endured, being a Mexican immigrant, tactics, tears, Trump, the rematch & the hope offered by a chubby fighter
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I've spent a big chunk of the past two months working on this feature. Ireland's calling: a journey to the heart of a rugby powerhouse. Thanks to the twelve key figures in Irish rugby who gave me so much interview time. Pix by the brilliant @TomJenkinspix
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In his moment of vindication @StGeorgeGroves remembers to think of Eduard Gutnecht. 'A cruel sport' says George, a special world champion.
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Thanks @MarkFosterSwim for talking to me and having the courage to come out in public in our interview.
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It was a treat to interview @NevilleSouthall - and hear the voices of @TheJessaJones @SexWorkHive @DrugslineUK @DiversityRM & @SJMcDonn. Thanks to everyone for their help. Sex workers, mental health, LGBT, drug awareness, suicide bereavement & football
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Thanks @JHenderson for talking about the impact 2020 had on all of us as he moves into a new year which completes a decade at Liverpool. We spoke about the dark days and doubts, Covid, his dad beating cancer, Liverpool and wanting to play for a long time
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Conor Benn talks of "redemption." Eddie Hearn says he's "back where he belongs."But a hastily arranged return in Orlando changes nothing. The situation is the same since I wrote this in April. Benn has not been cleared of his two positive drug test results.
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I interviewed Kenny Dalglish about Hillsborough, his family, Liverpool, Celtic, Heysel, Blackburn, the new film about his life and career. and why he could not pay attention to his own feelings of grief and loss
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It felt like the old days interviewing Steven Gerrard yesterday. We spoke about the seriousness of football, not laughing, Liverpool, his encouraging start as Rangers manager, not acting, what he learnt from Jürgen Klopp & being in charge of a team in blue
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Thanks to Andy Cole, @vancole9, for again talking to me with moving honesty. He spoke about his daily struggle following his kidney transplant which has become so much harder in isolation. Andy also spoke about not giving up & his new kidney research fund
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I am in Las Vegas and Gennady Golovkin does not look like a man heading to his retirement party this Saturday. Like all majestic fighters railing against the fading light, he carries the conviction he has one last unforgettable performance left inside him.
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This is one of the most emotional interviews I've done in a long time. Thank you @DaleEvans_912 for talking about retiring from boxing, his tragic fight with Mike Towell, his close bond with Mike's family and life as a fighter. I felt uplifted in the end.
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There are ordinary interviewees, and there is @TerminatorMagee. I went to Belfast to see Eamonn Magee. He unlocked the door in his dressing gown at 11am and cracked open a beer. We were away - despite him being attacked hours before. 'A beautiful wee life'
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Jürgen Klopp: " The EU is not perfect but it was the best idea we had. History has always shown that when we stay together we can sort out problems. When we split then we start fighting. There was not one time in history where division creates success. Brexit still makes no sense.
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I spent a day in Bucharest with @Simona_Halep the world No1 tennis player. She was fascinating to interview about the physical ordeal, the psychological pressures, overcoming shyness and learning to relax & open up after her first grand slam win https://
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A calm and measured Joey Barton opens up about the psychology of management, starting at Fleetwood Town, why he fell into betting, beating depression, American sport, Jürgen Klopp, Steven Gerrard, José Mourinho & the Epicurean position on Gareth Southgate.
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Thanks @KellyCates for talking openly about a week where Marcus Rashford & football were such clear winners over the politicians. We also spoke about racism, women in football, Conservative MPs on Twitter and why the lessons of Hillsborough never leave her
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I've just interviewed Tyson Fury. He was very open but when it came to Daniel Kinahan he said he wouldn't talk about someone else's business. He insisted he is "just a boxer". We know he is so much more and his real views would be helpful. Full story to follow.
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At four o'clock this morning, Oleksandr Usyk was extraordinary. He cried, with moving intensity, as he remembered his father, but he also got the room rocking with laughter. Eeyore was also with him as he showed that there is nothing like boxing, or Usyk.
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Thanks @FTiafoe for sharing his incredible story. From a family of West African immigrants, living in an office in a tennis centre, to teaching himself the game and becoming a Grand Slam quarter-finalist. It's like a movie for the man I now call 'King'.
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Boxing is a dirty old business but it still can produce fights as magnificent as last night's epic contest between Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde. I was at Wembley and it will live long in the memory – and belong forever to both extraordinary fighters.
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I went to Milwaukee to interview Malcolm Brogdon who plays for the NBA's most exciting team. He is also one of the brightest sportsmen I have ever met. We spoke about race in America, Trump, Africa, the great @Giannis_An34 and being called The President.
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I was so sorry to hear about the death of Gianluca Vialli. I interviewed him in the midst of Covid, in 2020, and he was intelligent, kind, compassionate and honest, too, when talking about cancer and death and how we should live our lives from that day on
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This week the biggest boxing story of the year broke when the US Treasury announced sanctions against Daniel Kinahan. Yet at the Fury-Whyte presser, in the muted & fawning world of Zoom, it was as if this story had never happened. Embarrassing is the word.
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Thanks @NevilleSouthall for talking about sex workers, mental health, skeletons, transgender issues, the agony of Loris Karius, the hounding of Raheem Sterling, why Piers Morgan is “a massive cock”, annoying Vladimir Putin & uniting disenfranchised people.
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I was impressed by Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora. A much better fight than expected. Chisora is beyond brave even if I worry about the punishment he takes. Parker was so much sharper tonight and much improved. But @AndyLeeBoxing is the real star. What a trainer he has become.
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I interviewed Stuart Lancaster, a very good coach and a very decent man, in Dublin. We spoke about his success, as an Englishman, with Leinster, the pain of being sacked, the death of his father and why he can't decide if he will watch England play Ireland
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I spent an amazing day in Cork with @lisafallonsport - the only female coach of a men's professional football team in Ireland. Lisa spoke about her challenges and the breakthroughs she has achieved both at @CorkCityFC and as an analyst for Northern Ireland
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Lindsey Burrow and I spent a lot of last year working on her book about her husband, Rob, the love of her life, and how they dealt with MND. Here's an edited extract in The Times. It was not always easy to write but, amid the pain, there is so much love, light and hope here.
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I interviewed Marco van Basten who won a third Ballon D’Or in 1992. Two years later his ankle was so damaged he would crawl to the toilet at night. We spoke about that "really dark time", acceptance, coaching & his complicated friendship with Johan Cruyff
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Boxing is full of some unsavoury and highly suspect people. But it also produces extraordinary men such as Oleksandr Usyk. This was Usyk in the early hours of this morning. What a fighter, what a man.
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After nearly six years of writing about life, death and boxing in a little office, it was surreal and kinda funny to see and then sign a small sea of my new book The Last Bell in a different office yesterday. It's a really strange way to live and work but I still wouldn't swap it
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I've spent the last three years working with Eddie Jones on his autobiography. It has been surprising and, beyond the rugby rollercoaster, there is one hell of a back story from WWII internment camps to World Cup finals, elation and a stroke, pain & glory .
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Today marks the last game in which Arsenal will be managed by Arsène Wenger. The end of an era is poignant but the uncertainty is thrilling. Thanks to @arseblog & @AAllenSport for sharing their memories and gut-feel over the choice of a new Arsenal manager
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I've enjoyed reading some fine tributes to Nicola Adams, who retired yesterday. I like and admire Nicola but it's wrong to call her 'the' pioneer of women's boxing in this country. @JaneCouchMBE suffered terribly because she had the courage to be the first
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This has been a seriously good fight. Lomachenko has won but so much credit must go to Luke Campbell. It has been striking that, on the back of his trunks, Luke has the name of Danika in honour of Shane McGuigan's sister & Barry's daughter. A night of real respect, grit and skill.
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A few years ago @Leon_edwardsmma did practise interviews because he couldn't express his emotions after poverty in Kingston, loneliness in Birmingham, the murder of his dad & gang life. He then changed his life with a stunning KO. Listen & look at him now.
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The old accusation that Dmitry Bivol is boring looks more absurd with each passing fight. He is clinical, precise, ice-cold and immensely skilled. Bivol is just so special. and a very decent man too.
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Thanks to @sjsidwell for talking so openly in our interview about the pain of retirement, his anticipation of a new life and how professional footballers can lose touch with reality. Steve has held onto the right values & will do well as a coach or on TV.
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Thinking of Sinéad O’Connor, who was like no-one else, and so I read again this amazing interview @shattenstone did with her a few years ago. What a read, what a life, as dark and troubled as it sometimes was for the mighty Sinéad
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He came out to 'Crazy' by Patsy Cline, while sitting on a gold throne. Tyson Fury then proceeded to box with stone-cold clarity. Amazing. from the depths of suicidal depression. Kudos to Deontay Wilder's courage. Huge credit to SugarHill Steward and, especially, @AndyLeeBoxing.
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It was special to interview @RassieRugby Erasmus as he spoke about his fear of embarrassment, controversy, his dad, why transformation mattered more than the World Cup, that video, beating the All Blacks, Ireland & his excellent book with @davidosullie
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It meant a lot to read this obituary about my great old dad, in The New York Times. Ian McRae, Who Brought Electricity to Black South Africa, Dies at 90
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Thanks @chris_kammy for talking so openly about apraxia, which affects his speech, getting better, 24 years of @SoccerSaturday with @JeffStelling and his courage in withstanding racism in his past. Some of his memories, while upsetting, are deeply moving.
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It was a treat to interview @StGeorgeGroves. We talked about his fight against Chris Eubank Jr & why Eubank Sr & Jr remind him of The Office. He also discussed the fact that all three of them have caused terrible damage to their opponents with raw honesty.
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Not many people will be happy with Gatlin beating Bolt. But this is Gatlin's version of his story just after his ban
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It was fascinating to interview @OTooleGary about all he did to help expose the sex abuse which blighted Irish swimming. Gary is a key witness in "Where Is George Gibney?" a brilliant podcast by @Younghorgan. Gary & Mark have done riveting, important work.
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There are few interviewees who can match @jimmywhite147 when it comes to rollicking stories and moving insights. It was a treat to interview the Whirlwind about snooker, life, drugs, Alex Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan, good news and his desire to keep playing
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Thanks @Claressashields for such a powerful interview before she fights Savannah Marshall. She talks about overcoming rape, poverty, deprivation and stuttering. Claressa now talks with fluidity and fire. She is just what boxing needs after the recent chaos.
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Thanks @NevilleSouthall for showing me again why he is the most original, compassionate and politicised former footballer. Apart from shredding Boris Johnson's handling of the pandemic, he defends trans people & sex workers. He'll soon become a counsellor.
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In our interview Arsène Wenger spoke about the "vile lies" when he first arrived in London, why “every defeat is still a scar on my heart”, the Invincibles, the pain of leaving Arsenal, Özil, Kroenke, Cagigao, Yorkshire pudding and being able to milk a cow.
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The joy as Jermall Charlo celebrates with Regis Prograis. what a privilege it is to be here
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Thank you @Sarah_Taylor30 A raw, moving, inspiring & honest interview about all she overcame to win the World Cup
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Thanks @PaulMerse for talking with such raw honesty about his gambling disorder. There were tears, haunting memories, courage & hope. We also spoke about his book, how testing it can be being dyslexic on Soccer Saturday & his vision on the football pitch .
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Listening to @AndyLeeBoxing last night as he assessed Crawford-Khan, and the rest of the card, was a reminder that he has one of the sharpest brains in boxing. It was a treat to hear his insights as well as the more raw revelations of what it takes to be a fighter. A star pundit.
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Deontay Wilder is a ghost of his past self. What a sad ending to a limited but explosive career. I hope he stays out of the ring now.
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I interviewed Harry Findlay, the gambler, about making & losing over £20m, horses, dogs, depression & Ray Winstone
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