When on earth will Jamie Moore get his shot? by James Slater Jul 22nd 2008

If ever there was a fighter who has paid his dues, is never in a bad fight, is willing to face the best and always enters the ring in in top shape - it is 29-year-old light-middleweight contender Jamie Moore of Salford, Lancashire. Southpaw Moore, 30-3(21) has given his fans some truly unforgettable battles during his nine year pro career. Those who saw his up and down war with Liverpool's Michael Jones (their third fight) will never forget it. Neither will those fans who were lucky enough to have been in attendance for Moore's unbelievable war with Birmingham's Matthew Macklin (this writer included) ever shake the memory of the intensity and sheer drama of that great fight. Yet, still, after having given his sport these kind of terrific, crowd-pleasing contests, Moore has not been rewarded with what he so dearly wants and has more than earned - a shot at a recognised world title. Jamie has fought for and won, the Commonwealth, British and, in his last fight, the Irish light-middleweight title (Jamie's mother is Irish). But so far a world title fight has eluded him. There is a chance - and at present, as team Duddy have made clear, it's only a chance - that should Ireland's John Duddy win in his possible title fight against IBF light -middleweight champ Verno Phillips, Moore could face Duddy down the road. I sincerely hope this is how things turn out. Let's face it, Moore, who has won his last ten fights straight, would be a more than worthy opponent. In fact, I would definitely pick the Salford man to beat the easy-to-hit and somewhat overrated Duddy. Beating good British and European level fighters such as Macklin, Jones (twice), Andrew Facey (twice) and Sebastian Andres Lujan, Moore has faced all manner of fighting styles. And in Jamie's three career setbacks, to Scott Dixon, Jones and Ossie Duran, all of which came inside schedule - one loss has been avenged, one came only via a fluke injury in a fight he was winning, and the other loss came very early in Moore's career. Make no mistake, the 29-year-old who, along with his ability to gut it out in the trenches, has some extremely savvy and quite cute moves. Jamie is certainly a world class operator. Having really come into his own as a fighter in the last two or three years, all that is left for Moore to achieve is winning a recognised world title belt. Indeed, after his fine wins over Macklin and then Lujan, this writer was convinced - as was Moore, I believe - that such an opportunity was very much on the cards. Well over a year later and the talented southpaw is still waiting.

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