The Scottish Scene by Ronnie McCluskey Mar 16th 2005

Scotland has produced some fine boxers in its time, although none as prominent and well known as Ken Buchanan and Jim Watt, back in the golden 70's. That aside, I see quite a few prospects coming through the ranks, who may go on to enjoy domestic success in the future, and fly the Scottish flag. Who am I talking about? Well, there are quite a few names I've been pondering over. After last week, Ricky Burns has became one of them! Here's the low down on some of the better Scots prizefighters coming up at the moment. Craig Dickson - A box-fighter, and an unbeaten young prospect coming through the ranks. Tommy Gilmour has already been shouting his name, and with Craig Docherty as a best pal, surely Dickson's in the best possible company. He particularly impressed when he stopped rugged Danny Moir, and showed a big heart to see through his battle with Taz Jones last year. Dickson is a very proud fighter, who relies on varying game plans to overcome his opponent. In his early career he was known to be slightly trigger-happy, but has matured into more of a boxer. Kevin McIntyre - Best known of course for his failed bid at the British title against David Barnes, but still has the tools to square off against any welter in Britain. Has compiled an impressive 22-3 record, and now training under MBE John McDermott, McIntyre is hoping for another shot at the British championship. Recently Bobbie Vanzie was lined-up for an elimination bout, but Vanzie read between the lines and subsequently retired. McIntyre has a good workmanlike style, and plenty of heart and guts. Kevin Anderson - The most explosive of the bunch, by far. In his last fight he picked up the vacant, newly-formed Celtic title, stopping the rugged Glenn McClarnon in four furious rounds. Anderson also sparked Danny Moir inside a round, and I've seen first hand some of the journeymen he's faced and some of them weren't too bad. Alban Mothie comes to mind. Deceiving record aside, that guy was a tough S.O.B. Kev combines fast hands, and work rate with impressive power in the right hand. He also throws strong punches in bunches - hoping that accumulative damage will see off his opponent. For my money, Anderson will be British champion one day. Jamie Coyle - The hard-punching light-middleweight has compiled a record of six wins with no losses, four of which came inside the distance. Coyle, another of John McDermott's stable, is still in the early stages but I see a promising future. He has tremendous resilience, and also an unbreakable will to win, not to mention a lethal right hand. With the correct nurturing, Jamie should be lined up for a title shot of some sort by the end of the year, or the start of next. Ricky Burns - Shocked us all by outboxing British lightweight champion Graham Earl in a non-title affair. That's the most I've seen of Burns, although from that performance alone, I'd say we have a potential champion on our hands. Burns has got good hand speed, and a professional workmanlike style. He also seems to have a cool head on his shoulders, and moves around the ring well. Currently 10-0, lets hope Ricky does not get brought along too quickly. If he's allowed to mature he could be the next big thing. Ian Millarvie - The super-sized Millarvie cuts an intimidating figure in the ring, standing 6' 5' and weighing around 240 lbs. Picked up numerous Scottish amateur titles, and represented his country in the Commonwealth games a few years back, losing out in the early stages. Millarvie is currently 2-0, but has already attracted plenty of media attention up here, and some are touting him as a future British champion. He certainly has the ability. Big Ian is a smart box/puncher who moves around the ring at times like a lightweight. Weighing in at over 200 lbs and still maintaining speed and ringcraft is something to applaud. George McIlroy - Twenty-year old McIlroy has kept a clean sheet as a pro so far (4-0-1) and is starting to turn some heads here in Scotland. George was the focus of a BBC1 documentary a month or so back, and has enjoyed a boost in profile since then. McIlroy has still kept a crude amateur style in the ring, but his grit and strength overshadows that somewhat. Not to mention his determination. George is another of Tommy Gilmour's young proteges Barry Morrison - Has been brought along roughly at the same pace as Kevin Anderson, whom he fought it out with a few times as an amateur. I actually had the privilege of watching their 2002 Scottish final, which Morrison won on points, in a close scrap. As a pro, Anderson has had more success and looked slightly more refined, but Morrison is nevertheless still unbeaten and has seen off some tough journeymen-level opponents along the way. He should start turning heads down South with one or two more good wins at 140 lbs That's the shortlist for now, folks. Keep your eyes open, the Scots are coming!

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