24.04.04 – By Ben Carey: Matt Skelton’s meteoric rise continued when he battered home-town hero Michael Sprott into submission in the 12th and final round to become an unlikely British and Commonwealth champion at an electric Rivermead Leisure Centre in Reading tonight. Having looked desperately tired in the 11th, the 37-year-old Skelton dug deep to launch a furious two-fisted barrage at a shell shocked Sprott that had him all at sea up against the ropes. Though most of Skelton’s punches were missing, a left hook finally did get home which paved the way for a clubbing right which dumped the champion on the canvas.
Sprott’s eyes looked clear as he crouched on one knee to listen to Richie Davies’s count amid feverish cheers from Skelton’s large travelling contingent. However, somewhat surprisingly, the Reading man was content to surrender his titles only electing to rise when the referee had counted to ten. Skelton, boxing in only his 13th fight, simply wanted it more and it showed. But whilst the giant’s achievements are commendable, in truth this fight was a desperately poor advert for heavyweight boxing in Britain.
From the off, the contest was more reminiscent of a chip shop brawl than an exhibition of the sweet science. Sprott was bundled to the canvas inside the opening 20 seconds by the sheer brute strength of Skelton as the tone for the rest of the fight was immediately established. The challenger marched forward and crudely hurled several clubbing right hands at Sprott whilst using his left hand to hold him round the back of the head. Finally managing to break free, Sprott uncorked a left hook that nailed Skelton flush but he merely smiled through his gumshield and bellowed out a roar to signal he was relishing the battle. Richie Davies was not in agreement, however, as he issued Skelton with a ticking off. Sprott was being bullied around the ring like a rag doll and strangely turned sideways to look out into the crowd before throwing a right hand in an attempt to catch Skelton unawares.
The action continued to be crude and untidy in rounds 2, 3 and 4. A pensive Sprott was instructed by his corner to walk forward behind his jab but he was unable to throw his normally effective weapon with any authority. Undeterred, Skelton continued to pound his man in close with a variety of right hands and uppercuts. Sprott’s polished boxing skills were not in evidence as a confident Skelton had turned this fight into a roughouse brawl. The champion was conceding 17lbs in weight to Skelton and needed to keep the action at long range. When up close Sprott was physically found wanting as Skelton worked away furiously without being tied up properly.
Richie Davies brought both men together in the centre of the ring at the start of the fifth to admonish them for wrestling. Some loose tape on Sprott’s glove brought about another untimely disruption midway through the round. Upon the resumption, Skelton voluntarily boxed off the back foot for the first time in the fight suggesting that he was started to blow under the glare of the warm ring lights. Given room with which to work, Sprott was beginning to creep slowly back into the contest and a decent right hand made Skelton wince as the bell sounded to end the round.
Skelton was noticeably not forcing the pace as we reached the halfway stage of this ugly, repetitive maul. Sprott was again pushed to the canvas in round 6 as both fighters seemed to be fading. The local favourite managed to come to life though and catch Skelton with an uppercut with which to shade the stanza.
Despite Skelton conveniently standing him off him, Sprott’s fragile mental makeup saw him struggle to capitalise as he remained reluctant to let his hands go. He did register with a rare right hand success but Skelton showed no reaction and beat his chest in defiance. By virtue of Skelton’s workrate dropping I had Sprott only a point behind on my card after seven completed rounds. But just when the bout appeared to be turning in Sprott’s favour, Skelton rallied to sweep the eighth. Richie Davies again failed to issue Skelton with anything more than a ticking off after he sent Sprott flying to the canvas with a push. The champion rose gingerly and was breathing heavily now as Skelton was firmly back in the ascendancy after taking 3 rounds off.
The pair wanted to fight before the bell had sounded to start round 9 forcing an overworked Richie Davies to initially separate them. This only served as some brief respite for Sprott though who was soon scurrying around the ring as Skelton launched a succession of overhand rights as the fight continued to degenerate into a tedious affair. Sprott was urged to do more in his corner in-between rounds but fared little better in round 10. With his titles slipping away, he did produce a rare moment of quality in round 11, however. An excellent left-right combination nailed Skelton flush as he wearily dangled his arms down by his side but to his credit he absorbed Sprott’s punches well.
Despite remaining on his feet, Skelton looked spent as he returned to his corner at the end of the 11th as a grandstand finish seemed likely. But it was the 37-year-old challenger who mounted one last effort to knock Sprott out in the 12th and final round. Whatever the former K1 star’s shortcomings, and there are several, both his chin and stamina were not found wanting on his big night. Lacking in experience and technically deficient, many predicted that Sprott’s smooth boxing would expose the Bedford brawler but he made a mockery of such claims.
Although Skelton’s last two victories over Michael Sprott and Julius Francis could make him a TV-turn off, his team, led by Eugene Maloney and Kevin Sanders, have found a winning formula. Skelton badly lacks finesse but it’s too late to make adjustments to his style now. Devising a plan to defeat him is not hard, but actually executing it certainly is. It will be interesting to see how far the crudely effective Skelton’s brute strength will carry him. If he requires any more inspiration, the often maligned John Ruiz is currently the WBA heavyweight champion in a division lacking in both depth and talent.
Macklin forces Dixon retirement
Former amateur star Matthew Macklin got his career back on track with an impressive 5th round retirement victory over Hamilton’s former Commonwealth welterweight champion Scott Dixon. It initially appeared that the Scot’s withdrawal was due to him sustaining a cut to his right eye but MC Michael Pass announced that Dixon’s decision was due to him sustaining a perforated left ear drum.
The abrupt ending was a pity. After taking a pummelling for 4 rounds from the impressive Macklin, Dixon gritted his teeth and mounted a rousing comeback in the fifth to give the 21-year-old prospect a real run for his money. Had Dixon shown this ambition from the outset things would have been far more interesting.
Macklin is said to be coming on leaps and bounds after his recent switch to respected Manchester trainer Billy Graham and from the opening bell this was clearly evident. A busy Macklin immediately went to work on Dixon’s vulnerable body and sank in no less than 14 shots to his opponent’s mid-section in the opening round. With his career threatening to descend into journeyman mode Dixon’s performance was curiously negative. He had barely thrown a punch in anger as Macklin continued to work the body doubling up with either hand as well as throwing a solid jab.
Dixon had sustained damage to his right eye in the fourth and attempted to gain a foothold in the fight only to be met by two uppercuts inside and a right round the head as Macklin continued to dominate. With the fight rapidly descending into a lost cause for Dixon he came flying out of the traps in the fifth as if a completely new fighter. The turnaround in the Scot’s performance was remarkable. Gritting his teeth that was reminiscent of his memorable winning comeback against the current British & Commonwealth champion Jamie Moore earlier in his career, Dixon suddenly took the fight to a startled Macklin. A right hand followed by a left hook signalled Dixon’s intent and his now spirited attacks was much more like it.
Another burst seemed to jolt Macklin, but faced with a mini crisis the Birmingham prospect responded to meet fire with fire. A right hand of his own staggered Dixon which forced him to abandon his attacks for the final 30 seconds of the fifth which unfortunately saw the action brought to a close.
Having failed to make a significant impression on Macklin after a super-human effort, perhaps Dixon had accepted that victory against his younger opponent was beyond him. Though Macklin would have wanted to end the contest more decisively, he can take heart from a career best performance that saw him become only the fourth man to halt Dixon inside schedule in his now 40-fight career. After losing narrowly on points to Andrew Facey in a failed English middleweight title bid last year Macklin is heading in the right direction again. He improves to 11-1 (8).
Six out of six for Mitchell
Earlier in the evening, one of Britain’s leading prospects Kevin Mitchell upped his record to 6-0 (5) with a first round stoppage over French import Eric Patrac. A series of lefts to the body had the Frenchman glancing in discomfort towards his corner. Sensing victory was imminent Mitchell continued to whip his shots home and Patrac touched down shaking his arm as if to suggest he had dislocated his shoulder. With the Frenchman showing no desire to continue Richie Davies waved it off to provide Mitchell with the easiest of victories.