A British heavyweight resurgence? by Steve Wellings Feb 18th 2008

The heavyweight division has been a point of concern for some time now and what started out as a bad joke ceased being funny long ago. If a saviour of the weight class is on the way, then he certainly is taking his time. Despite being about as popular with boxing fans as the Versailles Treaty was with the Germans, the big boys still demand a modicum of our attention, if only as an easy target to poke fun at. The sight of two overweight, overhyped bears, huffing and puffing for twelve tedious rounds has become the norm and unless you're a resident of the old eastern bloc, it's hard to watch. Someway south of world class (although not such a huge gap at present) lies the domestic heavyweight scene with regular “round robin” tournaments involving the big four as part of the boxing fan's staple diet. Many Sports Network shows of recent times would not be complete without the sight of Sprott, Skelton, Williams or Harrison participating in revolving brawls. Some exciting, some monotonously dreary, they were often engaging; with each fighter moving their separate ways, a vacuum exists for some new talent to exploit. Podgy John McDermott was tipped by some to fill the gap. A good amateur background and some sound basics, John's training regime never matched his pedigree. McDermott has a chance to salvage something from his career when he meets Pele Reid for the English title in the epitome of a crossroads fight. Another hope emerged in the form of Welshman Scott Gammer who racked up some solid wins over the border before going steady for twelve rounds whilst beating Mickey Steeds for the British title. Gammer fell at the first hurdle in his maiden defence against Danny Williams before a subsequent defeat to the aforementioned McDermott plunged him prematurely into retirement. These nearly men aside, a new breed of young hopes seem to be surfacing from various corners of the United Kingdom. Charismatic Londoner Derek Chisora is one man hoping to take over the British title mantle in the near future as he progresses under the Sport Network promotional banner. Nicknamed “Del Boy”, the 24-year-old Finchley native has adopted a curious affinity to Only Fools and Horses but his ring performances have been no laughing matter. Four round wins over Tony Booth, Darren Morgan and Paul Butlin, combined with a debut KO have the former solid amateur attracting more than a few keen glances in his direction. Norwich novice Sam Sexton has amassed seven wins thus far since beginning his professional career in 2005 at Carrow Road football stadium. Extra paid work on high profile undercards has aided the youngster's progress as he showed good stamina and workrate to outlast Luke Simpkin following a difficult start to the bout when he was dropped. Paul King and Darren Morgan have also felt the wrath of the 6'4 Norfolk resident who is only 23 and destined to improve further. Another man with a fine amateur schooling is Sunderland's David Dolan who at 28 is one of the more finely tuned off the bunch. Also a participant in seven paid contests, Dolan looked impressive taking his time and breaking down the spirited challenge of raw Howard Daley in Peterlee last year. Not many men stop wily veteran Tony Booth but David removed him in three whilst a recent six round victory over Lee Swaby shores up the slate. That he stopped the tough Luke Simpkin also bodes well on the power question and is proof for me that Dolan is a man to be taken seriously when talking of British title potential. Across the Irish sea two heavyweights have amassed unbeaten records and are pushing towards a title shot of some description; hopefully the Irish title and against one another! Martin Rogan is nicknamed 'The Entertainer' and has so far clocked up seven wins without reply but plagues of inactivity have held 'Rogie' back and he is definitely no spring chicken. Good wins over Billy Bessey, Darren Morgan and a blitz of Tony Booth prompted Tim Witherspoon to claim Rogan had a bright future. More fights to keep sharp are certainly needed if the West Belfast man is to realise any of his potential. The other piece of jigsaw is Aghalee's Scott Belshaw, a giant of a man at 6'7" and just 22, Belshaw has knocked out six of his seven victims with debut opponent Lee Webb lasting just ten seconds. Belshaw is rumoured to be making his US debut soon with a slot on a big fight card an increasing possibility. If he looks good and continues recovering from a severe car crash then a British title shot could come beckoning. Another heavyweight prospect on that lucky number seven is Scotland's Ian Millarvie, another huge man at 6'5 and just 27 years old who has been attracting some attention both sides of the pond. A showing in New York's Bronx will have done no harm and after battling back from a blood related illness, Millarvie will hope to stay busy on the Scottish circuit. Scotland doesn't usually do heavyweights, but in the form of the Hamilton resident they may just have a good one on their hands. A promising if unorthodox bunch, the above prospects are remarkably close to one another in number of fights and the same names crop up on the parallel records. It could be a false dawn or possibly the beginning of a new breed of memorable Lonsdale belt clashes. Either way, a British heavyweight resurgence is welcome news for my money. No Alex Ibbs on the list? Why is Dave Ferguson missing? If I have left anybody out then feel free to comment below or e-mail stoibox@hotmail.co.uk

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Burton Missing Feb 19th 2008, 15:48:15 by steve_wellings Fair comment Tom. Others have pointed out this glaring ommission as well. Hopefully the other boys can do well and it won't look so bad :-D Burton i hear is progressing very nicely indeed and i wish him well. Will do some more solid research next time, or better still just stick to the Irish stuff! Regards, Steve   Heavyweight ? Feb 19th 2008, 13:31:37 by telboy66 The matchroom competion at York Hall should help sort the wheat from the chaff.we badly need some new blood in the ranks I'm looking forward to this   Where's Burton? Feb 18th 2008, 10:31:51 by tom-podmore Interesting piece, Steve. Chris Burton is, for me at least, the best heavyweight prospect on these shores. I was surprised to see him omitted from your list. He did a much better job on Paul Butlin that Derek Chisora (stopping him in four) and has also beaten Matthew Ellis (retirement after two) and Franklin Egobi (six-round points win) without much as breaking sweat. He is always in good shape, can punch and owns the fastest set of hands I’ve seen on a domestic heavyweight in a long while.