11.05.04 – By Ben Carey: Esham Pickering’s quest to be taken seriously as a credible future world title challenger takes him to the Rivermead Leisure Centre in Reading tomorrow night in the first defence of his European super-bantamweight title against Spain’s unbeaten but lightly regarded Juan Garcia Martin. The Spaniard may be bringing to England an unbeaten record, but after 11 wins over obscure opposition few are expecting the 31-year-old mystery challenger to upset the form book. Pickering was unable to put any meat on the bones concerning Martin when British Eastside spoke to him over the weekend.
“I don’t really know much. I know that not many people are giving him credit because his opponents haven’t been up to much,” acknowledged the champion. “But there’s a lot of fighters who have been like that and I’m not going to underestimate him. He’s knocked 6 or 7 people out so I’m going to go in there and do my best and do my job again. I’ve spoken actually to a promoter in Spain who’s had some dealings with him and he told me he (Martin) will definitely be there to win. He’s very determined. He’s 31 and he’s going to give it his best shot.”
It will have to be some effort to derail the classy Pickering whose meteoric rise during the last 15 months has seen him romp to triple title success without barely breaking sweat. A fifth round stoppage over Duncan Karanja to lift the Commonwealth crown last February initially set the wheels in motion on Pickering’s previously stalled career. The Newark stylist added the British title 5 months later with a 4th round wipeout of Scotland’s battle hardened Brian Carr. Last October Pickering negotiated a problematic opening round to flatten Ghana’s game Alfred Tetteh in the seventh which booked him a European title appointment with useful Italian Vincenzo Gigliotti at the turn of the year.
With some wondering whether Pickering’s purple patch was about to be substituted by Gigliotti for bruises on his body, the 27-year-old Wincobank gym rat duly rose to the occasion to stop the Italian in the tenth after largely controlling the action. One fight earlier Gigliotti had extended then WBA champion and twice Michael Brodie victim Salim Medjkoune the full 12 rounds. The new European champion, one of only 3 current in Britain (Howard Eastman and Nicky Cook make up the trio) reflected on a career best win:
“I thought it was a better start. I started off a little more positive but then I went to sleep a little bit and got complacent. It wasn’t the fact of him (Gigliotti) coming into it. I thought it was the fact of me losing my focus but there’s loads more to come,” Pickering assured me. “ I don’t know if you’ve noticed that in my last 4 fights I’ve stopped them all but I’ve just cruised. I’ve not got out of first gear. They’ve all been reaction punches when I’ve knocked them out – that’s all. I’ve not put the pressure on in abundance. Now if Gigliotti would have carried on after the knockdown then I would of really stepped in and let some shots fly but I haven’t done that yet and I know there’s a couple of extra gears that will be there for the bigger fights hopefully.”
Few would have predicted Pickering’s rapid career turn around following his 72- second smoking at the hands Mauricio Martinez in an audacious WBO title challenge down at bantamweight in the summer of 2000. Though acknowledged as possessing talent, critics had consigned the Newark man’s career to the trash bin despite the glaring evidence that a severely weight weakened Pickering’s punch resistance had been removed at the scales beforehand. How he proved them wrong.
“I’ve been boxing 13 years and I think you need a little bit of something when you start. You can’t just be nothing – you have got to have some natural ability, I believe anyway. I had that but there’s a lot more to it. It’s not just about been able to fight. I’ve learnt about the game a little bit and I’ve just become more hungry,” said Pickering reflecting on his new-found success. “I want it a lot more. I’ve always been dedicated training wise but in the ring I’ve really got something to fight for. I’m a bit older now, a bit more mature and I’m really focussed on what I’m doing. I’ve got a lot of goals in my life. Obviously to get as much money as I can but I’m really confident and if I keep winning it will give me more confidence. I just want to keep excelling like that.”
Though Pickering now has the satisfaction of wearing the belts around his waist (he’s since vacated the British title recently claimed by Hartepool’s Michael Hunter), the current Commonwealth and European champion is still striving for the respect of the people as the British boxing grapevine continues to largely concern itself with the unproven rather than the achievers.
“I’ve said to you Ben that nobody has given me much credit yet but I understand that and they probably never will do,” the champ acknowledged. “They never did to Johnny Nelson but Johnny’s not that exciting to watch. But I believe I’m not bad to watch, I’m quite marketable and I’m a nice boxer. I don’t go in there like Mike Tyson and go in there all angry and uptight, I’m very relaxed and I go out there and box. I know I’ve got the punching power and the speed. I’ve got a lot of attributes. I wouldn’t say any of my attributes are fantastic but I think I’m good at most things. Probably my best asset is my movement. In my last 4 fights I haven’t had any marks on my face so I must be doing something right.”
Indeed. Providing Pickering can emerge unscathed from his Euro defence against Martin on Wednesday the bigger fights and the recognition that comes with them could be just around the corner. This may include a sizzling end-of-year showdown with none other than former WBC bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough. Preliminary talks would appear to have gone quiet between the camps but Pickering remains optimistic that chatter can be revived if he is victorious tomorrow night.
“Jess (Harding) says he has spoken to McCullough’s people a little bit but I’d rather McCullough have a fight first because I don’t think he’s wise to go straight in with me. I’m not going to get the credit anyway,” stressed Pickering re-emphasizing that he isn’t just concerned with boosting his bank balance.
“I want to be successful and I want to earn money. But I also want people to give me credit and get behind me and believe in me. That’s going to be hard to do because I was knocked out in a round against Martinez and beat by John Jo Irwin (in a British featherweight title bid on points) after 15 months as a pro and then I was robbed against (Alejandro) Monzon (Pickering lost on a split decision in Spain in what was regarded as an abysmal decision). Every defeat that I’ve had has been totally different. I’ve learnt so much from them and I think it’s going to take a long time for people to believe in me. But I’m only going to get better. I’m looking to hit my peak when I’m 30/31 and I’m going to be around for the next 10 years, I know I am. I do everything right. I train right, I eat properly and I’m relaxed,” he added.
If a fight with “The Pocket Rocket” fails to come to fruition Pickering’s guiders may still be able to fashion him a world title shot – an opportunity that he would dearly relish. Could he surprise everyone still further?
“I don’t think the super-bantamweight division is in the limelight at the moment but I’ve seen Joan Guzman. Oscar Larios is a good fighter, Medkkoune’s very strong but I’ve been told he’s quite limited but he’s strong, tough and durable. So I think at the top level there’s some good fighters. Domestically Michael Hunter’s a good fighter and I’m hoping to get a fight with him as well. I want it to be a bigger fight though so it would hopefully build both our profiles up. Michael Hunter is one of the best in Europe.”