The Gospel According to "TKO"

In the first of a series, British correspondent Andy "TKO" Houghton takes a look at the movers and shakers on the domestic scene

By Andy "TKO" Houghton

Well, the fuss is over. The "Disunited Kingdom" has been temporarily reunited. We saw a two-round annihilation in the main event, proceeded by a thrilling domestic title scrap between two guys who, unfortunately, it's hard to see ending up at the same level. The British fight fan's quantum leap in blood pressure has subsided, for this month at least.

So what's the lowdown here? The Gospel is a new and (hopefully - provided I'm good to Bret!) continuing column where the aim is to provide a breakdown on who's up to what and who's going where in the British arena. Hey, gimme some credit! With 9 of the 68 big four crowns held by British fighters (triple champs Haye and Calzaghe joined by Gavin Rees, Junior Witter and Clinton Woods) I could be forgiven for thinking the audience might actually be interested! Only the States are currently doing better in any case!

As per usual, the domestic heavyweight scene is ranks between depressing and suicidal. Matt Skelton at least put up a stronger than expected effort in his decision loss to Ruslan Chagaev last month! That apart, the same old merry go round trundles on and on. Hey (or should that be Haye?) at least we're soon to have an open-scale contender who, win or lose, will provide a bit of excitement.

"The Hayemaker", better known as David Haye showed us plenty last weekend in taking just five minutes to bludgeon Enzo Maccarinelli in what was supposed to be a competitive bout. They reckoned without Haye's right hand! Hard luck to Enzo, who was found out at Haye's level, but can still be a force to be reckoned with.

Light heavy titlist Clinton Woods faces maybe his toughest since RJJ as he takes on Antonio Tarver next month. Though Tarver was manhandled by Hopkins and has looked a bit labored since, at his best he is slick and cagey with that big left hand. If Clinton's chin can stand up he may be able to outworked the sometimes lethargic Magic Man. Coming up next month, "TKO" provides an exclusive preview on pound4pound. As an interesting aside, if Woods comes through and old foe Glen Johnson somehow spring the upset over undefeated Chad Dawson, a fourth installment becomes a distinct possibility. Meantime's, Joe Calzaghe makes his 175lb debut taking on the old daddy of the division Bernard Hopkins. A fight where it's easier to get excited about the quality of the matchup than the likely nature of the fight itself, I would suggest

Disappointment for Carl Froch as his long-awaited168lb final eliminator with Dennis Inkin was nixed as the Russian suffered a virus. The match is due to be rescheduled for May, though the Froch camp claim to have offered the bout to every top ten super middleweight out there in a bid to save the date. Truth is, the rather tasty if flawed "Cobra" is probably a bit too dangerous to be taking on 3 weeks notice.

The domestic middle and junior middle scene is looking pretty grim at present. As expected, IBF titlist Arthur Abraham was too much for the gritty Wayne Elcock. Gary Lockett, meanwhile, has been announced as the next challenger for generally recognized champ Kelly Pavlik. Good luck to Gary, a good, honest pro, but just to make the halfway mark in this one would be a moral victory for him.

At welterweight, WBU champ Michael Jennings recently turned back the challenge of Ross Minter (son of former middleweight champ Alan) and at 30 may now be primed for a shot at bigger things. Meanwhile, domestic champ Kevin McIntyre defended successfully by unanimous decision against Kevin Anderson from whom he took the belt three months previously.

Generally recognized 140lb champ Ricky Hatton comes back on May 24th against top ten ranked Juan Lazcano of Mexico. Amazingly, Hatton sold out the 50,000 seater City of Manchester stadium in just two days. Stories are that IBF holder Paulie Malignaggi may rematch Lovemore Ndou on the undercard with a view to matching the two later in the year.

Junior Witter's career remains in limbo after Demetrius Hopkins pulled out of their scheduled WBC title match due to a contractual dispute. By the time this goes to press, we will also know the result of Gavin Rees' scheduled first WBA defense against the well-schooled Andreas Kotelnik, who extended Witter in 2005. This could be a tough night for the 5'3" Rees but if he displays the desire he did when winning the belt he's in with a shout. Another British-based fringe contender, Nigeria's Ajose Olusegun, meanwhile, defended his commonwealth belt with a mundane 12-round decision over Nigel Wright.

At lightweight, Amir Khan boxed a 12-round shutout over durable Gairy St Clair in January. Khan's skills looked world class, though, in truth, against an opponent whose diminutive stature and lack of power meant that he was made for the Bolton man. Nonetheless, Khan has moved into a promising position, with a shot at European champ Yuri Romanov or a WBO eliminator likely to be next up.

Super feather prospect Kevin Mitchell annexed the British belt in an entertaining slugfest with Carl Johanneson on the Haye undercard. Johanneson's work rate looked to be taking its toll in the middle rounds, but the Londoner rallied to do the business. A rematch would be worth seeing, though Mitchell will have to tighten up his defence if he has designs on progressing much further up the ladder. Meanwhile, Alex Arthur finally gets what could be his catapult into the big time when he challenges WBO holder Joan Guzman of the Dominican Republic.

Featherweight Michael Hunter has hung up his gloves in more surprising news. The Hartlepool man, whose only defeat in 30 outings came at the hands of Canada's Steve Molitor in an IBF 122lb shot, cited lack of motivation for his decision to call it a day.

There was a noteworthy victory at super bantam as Leicester's Rendall Munroe picked his shots well to dethrone Spanish European titlist Kiko Martinez. Munroe took a majority 115-113, 115-113, 114-114 win over the champ who had previously flattened Irish hot prospect Bernard Dunne inside a round. It looked more clear-cut that that in all honesty, but congrats to Rendall anyway.

That's about all for this month folks. Until next time. And remember, protect yourselves at all times...


Questions or Comments? Please Email Andy "TKO" Houghton