Home-town title action for Telford's Lloyd and Davies by Tom Podmore Dec 1st 2007

Mark Lloyd makes the first defence of his International Masters middleweight title against hard-nosed Sunderland-born scrapper Martin Marshall at the classy surroundings of Telford's Oakengates Theatre tonight (Saturday, December 1). The unbeaten pair (pictured below) of Tristan Davies (left) and Lloyd (right) are part of a Shropshire boxing revival that will see Telford's biggest night of boxing since the days of Richie Woodhall. The unbeaten Telford stylist, 9-0 (1), is then pencilled in for a crack at the English eleven-stone strap, currently held by Wolverhampton-born, Sheffield-based Andrew Facey, at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on January 19. But Tommy Conroy, Marshall's veteran manager, believes his aggressive charge has the tools, the temperament and the talent to force an upset in the Shropshire town that was made famous by former WBC super-middleweight champion Woodhall. Conroy recently told the Sunderland Echo newspaper: "Lloyd's a boxer rather than a concusive banger. I think that Marshall has a really good chance, but it will undoubtedly be tough and he will definitely start as the underdog. "I'm really pleased he's got this opportunity," Tommy continued. "He's going to be campaigning at middleweight now and we feel that's his best weight. "It's now just a case of getting him geared up to do ten rounds for the first time in his career. "I can't see Marshall letting this chance go begging." Errol Johnson-trained Lloyd, 32, was forced to drag himself off the floor for the first time in his fledgling paid career during his last contest at Birmingham's International Convention Centre (ICC) on September 15. Originally pencilled in to fight Nottingham's Adnan Amar for the vacant English light-middle title, Lloyd had to make do with a shot at the vacant International Masters middleweight title against worldly-wise Ukrainian Vladimir Borovski, who lost on points to former British welterweight champ Young Mutley on Wednesday evening. Solid Borovski had crossed swords with the likes of Jamie Moore, Anthony Small, Kevin Anderson and Ali Nuumbembe, and shocked the Midlander when he whipped in a left hook to the body and an uppercut onto his chin – dropping him by the ropes in round six. The Shropshire ticket-seller made it to the bell without further worry and fought back well in the seventh, eighth and ninth – bodyshots unsettling the experienced former Ukrainian title challenger – before using the ring in the last after coming under attack early on. Mark, who got a 96-94 vote from Terry O'Connor and finished with a swollen nose and bruised face, was the first to admit he was taught a few lessons by the 49-fight Eastern European. "I trained for someone (Ingle-coached Amar) who would be standing off, but Borovski was as strong as an ox and just kept ploughing forward non-stop," said Lloyd. "It was definitely a little bit of a lesson in boxing for me. However, I learned so much, including how to get up off the floor for the first time. I didn't expect to hit the canvas, but I now know I can come through when a little bit hurt. "But he was definitely the strongest and most heavy-handed fighter I have boxed during my two-year professional career. He was probably the strongest person I've ever faced in any amateur or pro contest, in fact. "He was also quite awkward and kept throwing stupid shots, but he could seriously crack – he hurt me pretty badly with one to the ribs that put me down in the sixth. "He didn't throw too many shots, but every one he did throw was hard and laced with power," continued the Shifnal-based plumber. "The fight was definitely as hard as the English title fight against slippery but non-puncher Amar (who has since won the Midland Area title at welterweight) would have been. Definitely." While he had to take an unscheduled visit to the canvas, Lloyd showed a champion's heart to beat the count and win the fight. He also scalped an international-level operator and can look forward to bigger title fights in the coming years. Well, if he beats hungry Marshall, who has never done more than six-threes (18 minutes) in his career. The 24-year-old Mackem may have lost eleven of his twenty-two fights (eight wins, three draws) but they have often come at late notice against naturally bigger men. He's had plenty of notice for this ten-rounder (eight weeks). Two close losses to bigger former British Masters boss Prince Arron, wins over unbeaten Paddy Pollock, Thomas Mazurkiewicz and former Midland Area and British Masters champion Matt Scriven in the last year will give him confidence going into his biggest night. The aggressive, front foot Wearsider has also given former Commonwealth title challenger Craig Dickson hell, breaking his nose, and drew with touted Bolton warmonger Alex Matvienko, though lost the return fairly convincingly in September. Although Martin has been knocked out a couple of times, he looks reasonably sturdy and Mark, who forced Brummie banger Terry Adams to quit for the vacant British Masters strap last year, isn't regarded as one-punch KO artist. In fact, neither have a great deal of concusive power – only one stoppage between them in 31 contests. But the facts, as ever when you just look at the bare statistics, are misleading. ‘Lloydy' has, however, shown he can fight on the inside, box on the outside and take an excellent shot – hard-hitting Adams' blows bounced off his jaw. But his superb footwork and defensive skills ensure those chin-checking occasions are rare. And whilst he will never be the type to knock men over with one-punch, he has a solid enough dig to stop opponents in the later stages of fights. His all-action, relentless style of boxing will also break the spirit of one-dimensional scrappers. That said, it's not all plusses and positives for the former ABA quarter-finalist. He can be roughed-up and is one of those fighters who picks up knocks easily: bumps, bruises and injuries to hands, which is why he hasn't been as active as he would have liked. But Lloyd, giving away around six inches in height to the scrapper from the North East, should come through with a late stoppage – exhausting the challenger with crunching hooks to the body – or widely on points. Then for octopus-like Facey in the New Year. The other unbeaten Shropshire prospect, Telford's skilful Tristan Davies, moves up a weight and goes for the vacant British Masters ten-stone title against slippery Ingle-trained Kosovan Tony Montana. Sheffield-based Montana, inactive since losing his Central Area light-welterweight title to unbeaten John Fewkes in early 2006, is a capable fighter who holds excellent wins over former British champ Wayne Rigby, Commonwealth title challenger Gary Hibbert and Derby's ‘Super' Scott Haywood. The 25-year-old's showboating doesn't win him many friends, however. This will be his third crack at the Masters belt, by the way, after ten-round defeats against Stoke's Gary Reid (97-93, Stoke, 2004) and future British champ Barry Morrison (99-92, Motherwell, 2005) in previous attempts. Tony has already competed in 43 professional outings (15 wins, three draws) since relocating to Yorkshire in 2000. Lee Meager, Barry Morrison, Young Mutley (three times), Bobby Vanzie, Lenny Daws and Ajose Olusegun are just some of the top-class fighters he's mixed with in that period. He looked extremely unlucky not got get the nod in an eight-rounder against Meager, who would go on to win the British lightweight title two fights later, in Nottingham back in 2005. Although a non-puncher, he's slippery, has good feet, leads off as a southpaw and throws punches from a variety of angles. His Ingle-tutored defensive skills also mean he can last the distance without getting hurt. A fighter not to be taken lightly, although his wide stance can make him prone to being caught off balance. He also gets pulled up for slapping – a trait of fleet-footed Ingle boxers. But Errol Johnson-trained Tristan, 11-0 (0), is a skilful fighter himself. Not a puncher, the former international amateur jabs well, hits the body with gusto (a tactic he should use to slow the Steel City fighter down) and has excellent footwork. The 29-year-old, taller by two inches at 5'10, wants a crack at the British title next year and holds wins over the current Midland Area ten-stone champ, Worcester's Billy Smith, and Celtic light-welterweight champion Stuart Phillips. Decent form from a fighter who's only lost four of 64 paid rounds. Though he could be caused one or two problems by the awkward southpaw switcher, the former Midland Area lightweight champion, who relinquished his belt without making a single defence, is the pick to come through on points. Durable Telford super-featherweight Shaun ‘Slasher' Walton, 4-25-3 (1), completes the card and boxes at a hometown venue where he's yet to taste defeat (1-0-2). He will see action over six-twos against an opponent to be announced on the night. First Team promote.

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