On October 15 2004, Glasgow fight promoter Tommy Gilmour will stage his first ever European title fight and he will be hoping that hometown boy Craig Docherty can make his first venture into European waters a successful one, but it's no easy task.
The 25-year-old Docherty will face a seasoned veteran of the ring in Russia's Boris Sinitsin for the European super-featherweight title, unlike some fights recently that have been passed off as supposed 'world title' bouts, this has all the makings of a cracking fight between two quality operators. Docherty has shown great improvement since the night in 2001 when he lost to Michael Gomez in two rounds for the British title, despite this setback he has returned with some excellent wins including the night he won the Commonwealth super-featherweight title from Coventry's Dean Pithie in eight rounds.
Docherty's big test came when making the first defence of his Commonwealth title against Abdul Malik Jabir of Ghana. The Scot, cut badly over the left eye in the opening seconds of the bout and under heavy fire, had to show previously unseen heart and poise. As his manager/promoter Tommy Gilmour himself admitted, a few fights before this, Docherty would have gone mad trying to stop Jabir before the cut stopped him but showed a very cool head under immense pressure, to not only outbox Jabir but also outfight the African, at one point pinning Jabir in a corner and keeping him there for practically the entire round without taking too many punches in return.
Docherty went on to win a points decision that left the paying customers wanting to see this young man in action again and the Scottish public will get their chance, but what of the man Docherty faces in this his biggest test to date? Boris Sinitsin, 33, a 12 year pro has seen it all at European level, splitting two fights with recent Ricky Hatton victim Dennis Holbaek Pedersen (a third round KO win and a points defeat) in 2000.
Sinitsin is on a six fight winning streak since losing to Pedro Miranda on points in 2002 that includes an excellent tenth round victory over the scourge of British super-featherweights in the late 90's, the ageless Affif Djelti, so clearly Sinitsin is a man not to be taken lightly. But with the home crowd cheering him on, I think Docherty can give Tommy Gilmour his first European champion by winning a very hard fought points decision.
