2007 - Who stepped up and who stepped down? by Oliver Fennell Jan 4th 2008

Twelve months ago on another website, I identified five boxers who I thought were overdue a step up in competition, and five who I reckoned were ready to hang up their gloves. Did they do as I suggested? If not, what happened instead? Time to step up 1- Enzo Maccarinelli, WBO cruiserweight champion Why did I want him to step up? Maccarinelli had recently been crowned WBO cruiserweight champion, although this came as an upgrading of his “interim” status following proper champion Johnny Nelson's retirement. It left a hollow ring to Maccarinelli's credentials and he needed to prove he was worthy of the belt. Did he? Yes and no. He had a very solid world class win over ex-champ Wayne Braithwaite in July, but this was sandwiched by the disastrous Bobby Gunn mismatch and the uninspiring Mohammed Azzaoui challenge. Even Braithwaite was not what he once was. It was an OK year for Maccarinelli, and it certainly could have been worse, but rival champs David Haye and Steve Cunningham both fought at a higher level. Will he step up this year? He's already got the much-anticipated Haye fight inked for March 8, so unless something scuppers that fight, Maccarinelli's first fight of 2008 is an immediate and massive step up. 2- Carl Froch, British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion Why did I want him to step up? He was trying to hype up a Joe Calzaghe fight when he hadn't yet stepped above the Commonwealth championship he had been defending for three years. I recognised he had huge talent, but I wanted to see him put it to use at a higher level. Did he? Only slightly. Sergey Tatevosyan and Robin Reid were both better than any of Froch's previous opponents, but both were past their best. Froch was hampered by injury through the middle of the year, so it wasn't all his fault, but he's not in much of a better position than he was 12 months ago. Will he step up this year? Almost certainly. He's 30 now and realises he can't afford to tread water any longer. Calzaghe might vacate his world championships, too, smoothing the path for Froch. Talk is of a WBC final eliminator against Dennis Inkin, which would be an excellent move. Let's hope it happens. 3- Scott Gammer, British heavyweight champion Why did I want him to step up? The then-British champion made a bit of a PR gaffe by calling for a fight with Audley Harrison and claiming he would have “no problem” beating him, only to backtrack when offered the match following Harrison's stunning revenge win over Danny Williams. When Gammer then signed to fight the beaten Williams instead, the logic was not clear. Therefore, I called for him to take on someone of equal or greater standing than Harrison to prove he wasn't ducking a man who suddenly looked dangerous. Did he? Double disaster struck for Gammer when first Harrison was knocked out by Michael Sprott on the date he was offered, and then he was knocked out himself by Williams. If ever a boxer is likely to look back with regrets, it's Gammer, who retired in September following another defeat, to John McDermott. Will he step up this year? With Gammer officially retired, and a business of his own to keep him occupied, he probably won't even fight this year. 4- Nadeem Siddique, light-welterweight Why did I want him to step up? Here was a British-Asian light-welterweight with the record of an Irish-American heavyweight – totally padded. This time last year, the 18-0 Siddique had NEVER fought a boxer with a winning record. In fact, his opponents had a combined 960 defeats! I wanted to find out why he was being so protected. Did he? Finally, in his 20th contest, Siddique met a man with more wins than losses – but even then, it was only 4-1-2 novice Tom Glover. But that's not much of a step up, and Siddique fought only twice this year, the other coming against – you guessed it – a boxer with a losing record. Will he step up this year? Maybe slightly. He did win the Central Area and British Masters belts against Tye Williams (5-9-2), so he could make a defence or two, and even Area and Masters challengers are better than the Peter Buckleys, Jason Nesbitts and Daniel Thorpes who Siddique regularly feasts on. But I'm not holding my breath over a boxer who has showed such little ambition as Siddique. 4- Anthony Small, light middleweight Why did I want him to step up? When somebody is as flamboyant and outspoken as Small, you naturally want to see them prove themselves. After stopping the mighty Kevin Phelan to go to 15-0, Small said he was “ready to fight and beat Oscar De La Hoya”. Obviously that was never going to happen, but I wanted him to at least move on to British title level. Did he? Yes. First he scraped past decent American Walter Wright in the UK v USA Contender show, then he challenged Commonwealth king Bradley Pryce. It proved a step too far, with Pryce stopping him in seven rounds after the unbeaten man had made a promising start. Will he step up this year? Credit to Small for not letting defeat dim his enthusiasm. His first fight back from the Pryce setback will be against Takaloo next week. This will show if he can come back from defeat a better boxer. Time to step down 1- Julius Francis, heavyweight Why did I want him to step down? It was sad to see a man who had once proudly defended the British and Commonwealth titles, and shared a ring with Mike Tyson, dropping four and six-rounders to boxers he would have dealt with easily in his prime. Sure, almost all boxers go on too long, but Francis by the end of 2007 had more losses than wins, including 14 consecutive defeats. Nothing wrong with journeymen, of course, but Francis was once a champion, making his downfall all the more depressing. Did he? He did fight again, but at least not in a boxing ring. Francis, at the age of 43 and weighing in at more than 20st, made a disastrous attempt at MMA, tapping out in two rounds to Gary Turner in Cage Rage. Will he step down this year? Surely we have seen the last of Francis in any kind of ring – or Octagon, for that matter. 2- Danny Williams, heavyweight Why did I want him to step down? At the time of writing last year, Williams had recently been beaten down in three rounds of a rematch with Audley Harrison. It seemed a natural end to a long, hard career which had always been focused on a world title – a dream which looked impossible in the wake of such a heavy defeat. Did he? He was thrown a career lifeline when made mandatory challenger to the British title, despite his loss to a compatriot, and took the opportunity with both hands to dethrone champion Scott Gammer in March. He then went quiet and toyed with retirement, before resurfacing at the end of the year with a credible effort against Ukrainian prospect Oleg Platov. Williams looked to be winning until a Platov cut forced a no-contest. In both appearances in 2007, Williams fought well and with ambition. It seems I was wrong about him. Will he step down this year? You never know what Williams is going to do. He will surely fight on, with the European title his target (or even another world title bid if old rival Matt Skelton springs an upset over WBA champ Ruslan Chagaev later this month), but I suspect his next defeat will be his last contest. 3- Wayne Alexander, light-middleweight Why did I want him to step down? Alexander was coming off a shocking 62-second defeat to unknown Frenchman Serge Vigne. Considering he had also once been knocked out in the final round by journeyman Delroy Mellis, Alexander had gone from being somebody who was just one punch away from victory against any fighter, to somebody who was just one punch away from defeat against any fighter. Did he? Alexander was inactive through 2007. He spent a few months considering his options before deciding to fight on, and then suffered a knee injury which kept him out for the rest of the year. He hopes to resume his career this year. Will he step down this year? He doesn't plan to, although as with Williams, he must be only one defeat away from retirement. 4- James Hare, welterweight Why did I want him to step down? Hare was only 30 and had a great-looking record at 33-3-1, but his three losses were against decreasing opposition, suggesting irreversible decline. His latest defeat was against the unremarkable Robert Lloyd Taylor, which brought Hare all the way down from the fringes of world class to unworthy of domestic contention. Did he? Yes – no formal announcement, but Hare didn't fight in 2007 and has announced no plans to do so in 2008. 5- Johnny Armour, bantamweight Why did I want him to step down? At 38, Armour was ancient for a little man, especially as he'd had a hard career. Recent one-sided defeats to Nathan Sting and Tuncay Kaya should have spelled the end, but Armour had discussed a comeback early in 2007. I thought it was a bad idea. Did he? Yes – no formal announcement, but he didn't fight in 2007 and has announced no plans to do so this year either. Did he? Thankfully Armour did not fight again, and as of next month it will be two years since he last did. It looks like he's admitted his time has passed. Next week: Who should step up – and who should step down – in 2008.

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