Chance encounter at LA gala brings Welsh boxing heritage into Hollywood spotlight

David Owens

A chance meeting with boxing legend Mike Tyson in Los Angeles created an unexpected connection to home for Welsh producer Liz Fuller and Phil Clarke, as a conversation thousands of miles from Wales turned to Merthyr Tydfil boxing legend Johnny Owen.

Fuller, a Welsh producer and former Miss Great Britain who heads talent management and production company ST8RM, attended the Mike Tyson Foundation Gala in Los Angeles with Clarke, where the pair met the former undisputed heavyweight world champion.

During the evening, Tyson and Clarke began talking about their respective journeys before discovering a shared connection through boxing and Wales.

The conversation turned to Johnny Owen — “The Merthyr Matchstick” — the hugely talented Merthyr Tydfil fighter whose life was tragically cut short following his WBC world bantamweight title fight against Lupe Pintor in Los Angeles in 1980. Owen died on 4 November 1980, aged just 24.

Tyson has previously demonstrated his admiration for the Welsh fighter. In November 2009, 29 years after Owen’s death, Tyson travelled to Merthyr Tydfil, where he visited the bronze statue erected in Owen’s honour and laid flowers in tribute.

For Fuller and Clarke, finding themselves in California discussing one of the most poignant stories in Welsh sporting history was a powerful reminder of the connection between their Welsh roots and their lives in Los Angeles.

Fuller said: “Here we were thousands of miles from home in Los Angeles, talking with Mike Tyson about Johnny Owen and Merthyr. Knowing Mike had actually travelled to Wales himself to pay tribute to Johnny made it incredibly poignant.

“Phil and I are incredibly proud of where we come from. Wales remains a huge part of who we are, wherever in the world we’re working. It was one of those extraordinary moments when two very different worlds suddenly came together.”

The encounter comes during an important period for Fuller and ST8RM, the talent management and production company operating across Los Angeles, New York and London.

Fuller has built an international career spanning presenting, talent management and production, with ST8RM working across the US and UK entertainment industries.

Clarke has now joined ST8RM as the company continues to develop its work across talent, production and original content.

This month also sees the launch of ST8RM’s Romeo & Juliet: Reimagined, a hybrid vertical feature film created for a rapidly evolving global entertainment market.

The project launches on Muvpix this month, connected to Muvpix’s collaboration with TikTok, and has been developed to work across both traditional widescreensviewing and the rapidly growing vertical entertainment space.

The project explores how established storytelling can be reimagined for audiences increasingly discovering and consuming entertainment through mobile-first platforms.

Fuller said: “The way audiences discover and consume entertainment is changing incredibly quickly. Vertical isn’t simply about making content shorter, it’s about understanding how people are watching, where they’re watching and how storytelling can evolve with them.

“With Romeo & Juliet: Reimagined, we’re bringing together traditional filmmaking and a new generation of mobile-first entertainment. It’s an exciting area for ST8RM and one where we see significant international potential.”

For Fuller, the timing made the encounter with Tyson particularly memorable bringing together her Welsh roots, her established life and career in Los Angeles, and an important new chapter for ST8RM.

She added: “There was something quite extraordinary about being in Los Angeles, at a point when so much is happening with ST8RM and finding ourselves talking about Johnny Owen and Merthyr with Mike Tyson.

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