02.01.08 – By Andrew Wake: Norfolk’s own Rocky, Jon Thaxton is a guy who feels he is missing out. Ever since the Norwich switch-hitter defeated Salford’s highly regarded, former two weight ABA finalist, Lee Meager over twelve bloody rounds and claimed the British lightweight title in late 2006, his name has been mentioned consistently in the same breath as Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan.
When young Khan won the Commonwealth title by bravely rising from the canvas and stopping Willie Limond last July, it seemed likely that an old style British-Commonwealth match up could be made but instead Amir turned his attention to Thaxton’s previous victim Scott Lawton..
Once the Lawton bout was out of the way, Khan’s promoter Frank Warren informed the media that his young fighter would return on his twenty-first birthday in December and again Thaxton’s name was mentioned. However, when the opening bell rang in Bolton on December 8 it wasn’t the British champion that came out of the opposing corner but the former holder Graham Earl, a man who himself had turned down a meeting with the Norwich native.
Recently it was announced that the Bolton sensation will face the feather fisted Dane Martin Kristensen in February and again it appears that, despite a lot of talk from his camp, Khan, or at least his promoter Frank Warren, are overlooking the evergreen Thaxton again.
I caught up with Jon this past Sunday and got his thoughts.
Andrew Wake: Jon. We’ll start with the burning question. What’s your opinion on Amir Khan now fighting Martin Kristensen rather than yourself?
Jon Thaxton: He had a good win against Graham Earl. It was a very good win on paper but I don’t think it was the same Graham Earl you would have seen a few years ago but like wise it was a very good win so let him have that. He then started calling my name out saying that I’d gone missing and that he had wanted posters out. He said he was more scared of Delia Smith than me because she can at least crack an egg so I then threw my name back into the hat and said “right fine if you want a fight I’m happy to oblige”. He then turns round and fights the guy from Denmark. It’s ridiculous because my promoter Mick Hennessy had said that he’s happy for me to fight Amir on a Sports Network promotion but someone out there clearly doesn’t want us to fight.
Andrew Wake: A few months ago you even said that you’d fight Amir for free because Goldenpalace.com was willing to pay your fee. What happened to that offer?
Jon Thaxton: Yeah Golden Palace was happy to sort it out for October. Mick Hennessy organised for them to pay my purse and again he was happy for me to fight on a Sports Network show but for some reason I got declined.
Andrew Wake: Did Frank Warren or anyone at Sports Network give you any indication as to why they weren’t interested?
Jon Thaxton: No nothing. I got no response at all. At the end of the day, when I fight Amir Khan now I expect to be well paid for it. I’ve earned my stripes. As far as I’m concerned I’m the best lightweight in Britain, I’m the champion. I’ve earned that ‘cause I’ve been there. You know over twelve years ago I fought Paul “Scrap Iron” Ryan at twenty-four hours notice and knocked him out in the first round and I was then the British number one at light welterweight and all these years later I’m still up there. I’m the first to admit I’m not the most talented fighter in the world and I haven’t had whopping great pay days but I’m an honest pro and very disciplined and determined. I just love the sport and I just wanna do the best I can for me and my family. My family are my motivation.
Andrew Wake: You had a couple of years out didn’t you and now your back better than ever.
Jon Thaxton: Yeah, I was out with an injury for a couple of years because I had a car accident but then I thought I’d come back and give it another go and since then I’ve been unbeaten. I’ve beaten some good fighters as well, I beat an undefeated kid from Argentina, I beat Lee Meager, I’ve defended my title twice and then I’ve had two mandatories pull out on me in Graham Earl and Willie Limond.
Andrew Wake: On subject of Graham Earl, he took the Khan challenge but wouldn’t fight you even though you offered him a winner takes all with the purse money. What’s you thoughts on that?
Jon Thaxton: Well people say “Oh Amir Khan knocked him out in 72 seconds” to that I say brilliant. He jumped on him and he had Earl looking like a rabbit in headlights but you’ve gotta remember that same Graham Earl would not step into the ring with me. So it’s no good someone saying he’s the British number one until he’s been British champion. You know, the British title is part of history. Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe and all the other great fighters have gone the British way and I think Amir Khan should. He’s now my mandatory so lets see what happens on January 8th when the purses are open.
Andrew Wake: There’s a bit of a double thing there because he’s your mandatory but aren’t you also the mandatory for his Commonwealth title?
Jon Thaxton: Yeah, so why can’t the fight happen? I’m also the European number one so if goes down the European route and beats Yuri Romanov then he’ll have to face then as well. So why doesn’t he do himself a favour and step up to the plate?
Andrew Wake: Just coming back to Graham Earl for a second. Now that he’s been blasted out by Khan is he someone that you would look at again?
Jon Thaxton: Why have Amir Khan’s left overs? The only time I’m willing to defend my British title now is against my mandatory, which is Khan, because I want to win the belt outright. I know I’d be the underdog but I like being the underdog, it’s what I thrive on. I feel I deserve a decent payday when I meet Khan and I know Mick Hennessy is going to put in a big bid.
Andrew Wake: What do you think of Khan’s chin?
Jon Thaxton: Well Khan is saying that I can’t crack an egg but funnily enough I can, I’m not bad cook at all. I can punch. If there’s one thing that’s certain about me it’s that I can punch and he’s been put down by a non puncher in Willie Limond and he’s been down a few times in amateurs so why the hell would Frank Warren want him to fight someone like me?
Andrew Wake: Do you think that his last two opponents, Scott Lawton and Graham Earl, have shown him too much respect?
Jon Thaxton: Yeah they’ve definitely shown him too much respect. At the end of the day Amir Khan is just a guy with two arms and two legs but his people have made him bigger than he actually is. Graham Earl was scared out of wits and I don’t think Scott Lawton took the fight as seriously as he should have. I offered to spar Scott before the fight cos I was due to fight a Dave Stewart, a tall rangy fighter, and to begin with he agreed and then changed his mind. I don’t think Scott took it all seriously because I think he felt he couldn’t beat Khan.
Andrew Wake: Did you also offer to spar Graham Earl?
Jon Thaxton: Yeah, my agent knows him personally and after him pulling out on me I thought that it was unlikely we’d ever end up fighting so made the offer because I love sparring but he said “No I don’t want to spar with you”. I thought why aren’t these people wanting to prepare properly? When I train for a fight I spar Junior Witter and we really go to town on each other so when I get in that ring to actually fight I’m doing the easy bit because I’ve done all the hard work in gym.
Andrew Wake: If it stays unlikely that a fight with Khan will happen is Yuri Romanov someone you’d consider?
Jon Thaxton: Definitely. If Khan doesn’t want it then I’ll go down the European road. I’d be very proud to be British and European champion.
Andrew Wake: What’s your thoughts on Frank Warren and Amir Khan now talking about world title shots?
Jon Thaxton: Well, they’re trying to make this fight with the Danish guy a final eliminator but to be fair the kid isn’t known as a puncher so it proves to me that Frank Warren doesn’t have any confidence in Khan’s chin and so he’s unlikely to risk him against someone like Katsidis or Diaz.
Andrew Wake: Do you feel then that this fight is just another case of Khan being well matched?
Jon Thaxton: Of course it is. It doesn’t matter who Amir Khan fights, he’ll sell the place out because he’s been to Olympics, he’s on ITV and everyone knows him so he’s a very marketable fighter. I really want to fight him because I love to box but I just hate the politics and where Frank Warren is involved there just seems to be nothing but politics.
Andrew Wake: He’s the only fighter now that has a deal with ITV. If he lost and his marquee value dropped then ITV would have nobody else to promote, so do you think their deal with him alone is a little bit short sighted?
Jon Thaxton: If someone like me knocked him out, and I’m sure I would knock him out, then they wouldn’t try and build me up, they’d just look for any way they could bring him back.
Andrew Wake: What do you think of his opponent Martin Christensen?
Jon Thaxton: Well, his record has no depth to it. Fair enough, he’s been in Zoff but he’s about 108 years old and he couldn’t beat him in two attempts.
Andrew Wake: Christensen’s last fight, his only one in the whole of 2007, was a six round split decision, at home, against an unknown Romanian with a record of 13-12-2. What do you think of that?
Jon Thaxton: It’s crap isn’t it? And the thing is, how much is Amir Khan getting for fighting this guy? For primetime TV this fight is rubbish and that’s what gives boxing a bad name. The British public deserve better. They deserve to see him in a real test.
Andrew Wake: Is there anything you want to add in closing?
Jon Thaxton: On January 8th the purses are open for me to defend my title against Amir Khan and Mick Hennessy is going to go in with a big bid because we really want the fight. I really want the fight. The British public want the fight and they deserve it. They want to see Amir Khan become the best lightweight in Britain and the only way he can do that is by beating me because I’m British champion. Amir Khan is a very talented fighter and do have utmost respect for him, as I have with any fighter I step into the ring with, but I think he needs to give the British public a proper fight and not a farce against some Danish bloke with non-punching record that wont go more than two rounds.
Andrew Wake: Thank you Jon and have a happy new year.
Jon Thaxton: Happy new year to you and it was a pleasure to speak to you.