Safe Side Of The Ropes

By: Andrew Harrison

Oct 06 2010

Category: anthony crolla, darren barker, denton vassell, dereck chisora, frankie gavin, gary sykes, george groves, herbie hide, james degale, jamie mcdonnell, jason booth, john mcdonnell, john murray, john simpson, kevin mitchell, martin lindsay, matthew macklin, ola afolabi, paul mccloskey, prince arron, remdall munroe, sam webb, stephen smith, stuart hall, tony jeffries, travis dickinson, tyson fury

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Whilst chewing the fat with David M. Lee (of 411mania.com boxing fame) recently, I threw out the idea of a rather daring gamble for one of British boxing’s brightest prospects. That thought nudged a cog which subsequently turned a wheel and very soon I was considering other intriguing domestic clashes from heavyweight to bantamweight. After a spot of mulling over I now present my picks, division by division, of the best all-Brit bouts currently up for grabs.

Heavyweight: Dereck Chisora vs Tyson Fury.

This one would sell. Both have bags of personality, both can court a headline and most importantly of all, both can fight a bit.

Chisora is 14-0 (9) and has earned the mantle of “best British heavyweight besides David Haye” after thumping out Danny Williams and Sam Sexton. At 12-0 (9) Fury is half a step behind “Del Boy” and holds a brace of hard fought victories over the portly John McDermott.

Chisora has bitten one opponent, kissed another and weighed in with socks down his jockeys. Fury has punched himself in the face mid-fight, wondered out loud why he hasn’t lost yet due to the exorbitant amount of sex he’s been having whilst declaring himself to be the second coming at various junctures. Not exactly wallflowers we’re dealing with here.

With Chisora tied to Frank Warren and Fury aligned with Mick Hennessy this one’s unlikely to come off in the near future. As it goes right now Chisora would be favoured to outwork the gigantic Fury, however, young Tyson could still blossom if he ratchets up his training regime.

Cruiserweight: Ola Afolabi vs Herbie Hide.

Apart from light middleweight, this one gave me the most problems. I pondered over David Dolan vs Rob Norton III initially but pretty quickly decided that I’d seen enough from the pair already (despite the fact that it was pretty slim pickings thereafter). I then began to bounce around the idea of a ding dong between unbeaten novices Tony Conquest and Matty Askin before finally getting creative.

Despite Afolabi being British in the same way Matt Macklin, Frankie Gavin and Tyson Fury are Irish, I’ve thrown him in against the human riddle Herbie Hide. A poor man’s James Toney, Afolabi creamed Enzo Maccarinelli on his last visit to Blighty yet followed it up with a points reverse to the more energetic Marco Huck.

Hide, a former heavyweight banger, is very definitely the puncher of the two with Ola the better craftsman. More of an oddity than a potential thriller neither holds enough of a fan base to make this one worthwhile.

Light Heavyweight: Tony Jeffries vs Travis Dickinson.

This Tyne-Wear derby between unfinished articles would be a cracking test for both (although Dickinson hails from Birtley he’s a black and white). Both were outstanding amateurs with Jeffries nabbing an Olympic bronze medal and Dickinson hanging a pair of losses on super prospect George Groves. Both are unbeaten in seven with “Jaffa” at 25 the older man by three years.

From what I’ve seen they would appear to have similar traits. They both have a good dig on them yet they both need to make improvements in defence and on their stamina if they are to motor up the rankings. With Frank Maloney holding the papers on both, it’s a fight which can happen in a year or two; right now it’s a genuine toss up.

Super Middleweight: George Groves vs James DeGale.

I almost went for the less obvious Paul Smith vs Brian Magee in this category but I’d have been cutting off my hooter in all honesty. This potential battle between former Dale Youth team-mates already has a life of its own; a rivalry building by the day towards a monumental crunch match down the road.

Groves edged their amateur encounter in ’06 and has raced to 10-0 (8) as a pro. DeGale, meanwhile, has knocked up a 8-0 (6) record and after his recent first round victory over Carl Dilks, he threw out an offer to Groves for a professional rematch in December. After much huffing and puffing the dynamic duo have gone their separate ways for now, yet seem destined to cross swords down the line in a bout which could cross over to the mainstream in the UK.

The bout would pit DeGale’s speed and unorthodox skills against the strength and punching power of Groves with plenty of needle thrown in for good measure. It will be an absolute cracker.

Middleweight: Matthew Macklin vs Darren Barker.

This one just slipped through the net after a hip injury to Barker scuppered it from appearing on Frank Warren’s recent Magnificent Seven card. With another bumper Warren night booked in for December, rumours are abound that this bout for British supremacy at middleweight could yet resurface.

Birmingham’s Macklin has been honing his skills under the expert guidance of Freddie Roach and he recently won back the European title he was forced to relinquish due to injury. Smooth boxing Barnet man Barker is the British champ and he’d be hoping to take his career to the next level with a victory over Macklin.

There’s history between these two, a genuine dislike which would add salt to an already tasty encounter. Fingers crossed then they finally get to sort out their differences before the end of the year.

Light Middleweight: Prince Arron vs Sam Webb.

Britain’s best at 154lbs Ryan Rhodes would be an overwhelming favourite over the rest of the division so it’s two rising contenders I’ve chosen to focus on at light middleweight.

Droylesden’s Prince Arron made the most of his big break in February when he emerged victorious from one of Barry Hearn’s Prizefighter tourneys. Trained by the canny Bob Shannon, Arron is improving with each fight. A stand up boxer who uses his height well (Arron stands 6′ 3″) he’s fit, hungry and a difficult obstacle for anyone.

Chislehurst’s Webb took the British title from the eccentric Anthony Small in March, surviving a badly lacerated eye to take a majority decision. If Webb can successfully navigate his way past Martin Concepcion next weekend, a bout against Arron could feasibly take place next year.

This would be a good old fashioned boxing match between two unassuming chaps who tend to do their talking between the ropes.

Welterweight: Denton Vassell vs John O’Donnell.

Kell Brook is a league above everyone else at home so I’ve plumped for the unbeaten Manchester puncher Vassell against the flashy Hackney based Irishman O’Donnell.

O’Donnell suffered a huge setback in his 16^th fight, when a chance for exposure in the U.S resulted in a heartbreaking knockout loss to Mexican trial horse Christian Solano. After a year out licking his wounds, O’Donnell has returned to win nine straight and a Commonwealth title (since given up).

Vassell is an aggressive sort with a confidence which belies his experience.  After suffering a real scare against Lee Purdy, Denton showed good character to pull out a decision win. He’d probably wind up as pursuer here, hoping to capitalise on O’Donnell’s hands down style with an argument ender which would give his career lift off.

At present I’d give Mick Hennessy’s slick southpaw the edge but Vassell is only going to get better.

Light Welterweight: Paul McCloskey vs Frankie Gavin.

McCloskey fans might take this as a bit of a slight against their man, bearing in mind “Dudey” is an established European champion whilst Gavin has yet to negotiate more than six rounds in his opening eight bouts. Here’s the thing though; a former world amateur champion, Gavin has the talent to leap several levels in a single bound, the question is would McCloskey be a level too far?

The Dungiven lefty would start a wide favourite over his fellow port sider if the fight were signed tomorrow; however, Gavin would not be without his backers.

A man in a hurry, Gavin took an Irish title in his last outing which can’t hurt his chances of meeting McCloskey down the road. Right now predicting a Gavin victory would be a huge flight of fancy. In a couple of years, it will be looked upon as good sense.

Lightweight: John Murray vs Kevin Mitchell.

I‘ve championed this clash since before Mitchell had his arse handed to him by Michael Katsidis and in all honesty, it looks a closer fight on paper after that debacle than it was before. North against south, slugger against boxer, it has all of the ingredients to make for a domestic classic and it’s the best match-up on this list.

As Murray surveys his options and with Mitchell looking to dip his toe back into competitive action against Scotland’s Alex Arthur, their trajectories are unaligned for the moment. Should the pair establish themselves on the world stage then a future dust up would make sound economic sense and with Frank Warren suddenly taking risks with his fighters, that could be sooner than you think.

Super Featherweight: Gary Sykes vs Anthony Crolla.

These young bucks have butted heads before with Sykes taking home a hard fought decision win last summer. Both “Five Star” and “Million Dollar” have come on since then and a rematch would have trade insiders clapping their hands.

Crolla has hooked up with trainer of the moment Joe Gallagher and picked himself up an English title last week in Bolton against Andy Morris. Sykes too managed to outwork Morris, snaffling the Lonsdale belt in the process, a title he’s defended once since against Kevin O’Hara.

Sykes makes up for deficiencies in his technique with a superb engine and first class work ethic. Crolla is a flat out pressure fighter who’ll look to take away Gary’s legs with his improving body attack and excellent left hand. I could quite easily handle the pair engaging in a trilogy or beyond, so well do they match-up together.

Featherweight: Stephen Smith vs Martin Lindsay.

After outpointing the rugged John Simpson last time out, Liverpool’s former double ABA champion Smith threw his name into the domestic melting pot at featherweight. With the bout doubling as an eliminator for Lindsay’s British title this pairing could have been signed and already in the pipeline, however, the talented ”Swifty” busted his left hand against Simpson and now the chance may fall to the vanquished Greenock man.

Once Smith returns to fitness he’ll undoubtedly take aim at the winner and if that happens to be Belfast’s Lindsay then British fans will be in for a treat.

Against Simpson, Smith showed an inability to fight inside and the canny Lindsay will look to capitalise by hunting Smith’s body and looking to draw him into a scrap up close. If a bout between Smith’s big brother Paul and Lindsay’s neighbour Brian Magee could be coupled up on the same bill then it’d do good business in a rejuvenated Merseyside fight scene.

Super Bantamweight: Rendall Munroe vs Jason Booth.

One of three fixtures on this list between Frank Maloney promoted fighters, this would be a Nottingham derby between good friends.

Booth is coming off a hard fought points defeat to alphabet titlist Steve Molitor whilst Munroe faces his own date with destiny later this month against Toshiaki Nishioka in Tokyo. If the boxing bin man could pull it off then a home defence against Booth would make good business sense, especially for Maloney.

As to a punt at an eventual winner, then one would have to slightly favour Munroe. Big at the weight, he’d dwarf Booth, who has only negotiated a handful of fights at the super bantam.

Booth is a tough night for any fighter, though, a throwback who would seek to grasp his second and perhaps final chance at world glory.

Bantamweight: Stuart Hall vs Jamie McDonnell.

Darlington’s Hall returned from an extended sabbatical in the Balearics a couple of years back in an attempt to pick up on a promising amateur career in the pros. In only his ninth bout he dethroned Ian Napa for the British title and followed it up with a stoppage win over Martin Power in July.

McDonnell too has a had a monumental year, also nicking a win over Napa for the British title (later relinquished) before grabbing the European title against Frenchman Jerome Arnould over in France. McDonnell would play counter puncher to Hall’s aggressor in a high tempo affair which could well come off in 2011.