In The Shadows Of Khan by Jay Mosley Jan 5th 2006

To say that Amir Khan is Britain's most celebrated young boxer nowadays would be a flippant understatement. The former Olympic silver medallist is already, having recently turned 19, a national treasure and an ambassador for British sport. As demonstrated last month, as Khan destroyed his fourth professional opponent, thus overshadowing the lacklustre heavyweight headline contest, his destiny is undeniably promising. However, one result of this is that whilst Khan's future looks blindingly bright, there are other British prospects fighting in his shadow, a number of which have already been deemed worthy of regular television coverage and look to have the skills and steel to set their respective weight divisions alight as soon as they get the chance. Fighters such as George Hillyard, Anthony Small, John Murray and Lee Haskins have all taken to the professional game in impressive fashion. Of this group of hot young things, only Londoner George Hillyard has been defeated in the fledgling stages of his career, albeit a highly disputable points loss in a four-round bout with the then veteran of 105 bouts, Ernie Smith. Hillyard, a bullish brawler whose penchant for dishing out the ‘nasties' meant that he was carrying a reputation from the amateurs into his pro career, was effectively robbed of the contest by an exasperated referee, Lee Cook, who simply could not tolerate the youngster's continual rule-breaking. That defeat was no reflection on the Canning Town man's ability, however. The 20-year-old welterweight won his first two fights convincingly and bounced back from the blemish on his fight record with a six-round points victory over Richard Mazurek. His heavy hands and unrivalled aggression mean that this is a fighter best suited to the professional game, and should he add discipline to his armoury, he could well be on the brink of big things. There is one person who is without doubt that light-middleweight Anthony Small will make it big, and that is Anthony Small himself. The super-confident ‘London Lip' racked up his ninth straight win when he outclassed our old friend Ernie Smith last month with a display of considerable show-boating. With his speed and flamboyance, the 24-year-old Small is guaranteed to both entertain fight fans and to infuriate his opponents. His impressive hand speed and stylish use of the canvas space make him difficult to get close to, let alone defeat. Both he and Hillyard are five foot and nine inches, and at similar weights, there is always the possibility that they will meet in the future. With their contrasting methods, they could well prove the perfect foil for each other. Whilst Small, with his boastful post-fight comments, is building a reputation as a braggart, Mancunian super-featherweight John Murray is known to be a modest and professional fighter. At just 21, Murray has won all sixteen of his fights, including two forays abroad. He beat Johnny Walker on a six-round decision in Tampa, USA, before knocking out Tyrone Wiggins in Canada. As Carl Froch made a meal of beating Ruben Groenevald, John Murray put his 100% record on the line against a fit and game Nacho Mendoza. Murray's disciplined defence and dynamic front foot attack edged him ahead on points against his impressive opponent, before repeated accidental head clashes caused such a grotesque swelling on his forehead that the fight had to end in the eighth round. Murray proved his pedigree and resolve, and that he will not be avoiding good fighters, even during his professional apprenticeship, something that will earn him respect in the boxing world. 2006 should be a telling year for Murray, for if he continues to progress as he has this year, it may not be long before he fights for serious honours. Down in Bristol resides an unbeaten southpaw flyweight who won't have much time for festivities this Christmas. Lee Haskins, 22, will compete with South African, Vuyani Kheswa, for the vacant Commonwealth Flyweight championship in February. To win the fight, to be held in Plymouth where another of Chris Sanigar's fighters Scott Dann will be challenging for the Commonwealth middleweight belt, would be a major milestone in a career that has seen Haskins win all of his thirteen bouts thus far. He aims to emulate the success his hero ‘Prince' Naseem Hamed, the British boxing legend whom Haskins seems to ape in the ring. Two of Haskins' four wins this year were by way of knockout, including his first fight away from the south-west of England, a first-round demolition of Hugo Cardinale in Spain. As was the case with Hamed, Haskins' posturing and bravado may well see public opinion divided on him. What cannot be denied is that he is yet another young British fighter with huge potential. Whilst Amir Khan continues to dominate the boxing headlines, these less exposed prospects are at least earning the television coverage they deserve. British boxing fans will be closely following the progress of these four, as well as a number of others, all in hope that the current crop of young guns are to bring about an a new, triumphant era of British boxing.

Go back Comment on this article | Send to a friend | Print

There are no comments. Click here to be the first who comment on this article.