By Mick McNeill: Friday the 13th was a lucky one for British fight fans as they were treated to an enthralling encounter which saw Kent’s Sam Webb lose his British light middleweight title to the rangy Prince Arron from Droyslden in what was a punishing battle. Momentum swayed in favor of both fighters, culminating in a twelve round stoppage win for Arron with Webb being stopped on his feet after absorbing an overwhelming amount of punishment in the second half of the fight.
Webb (10 st 13lb 8oz) a masterful boxer coming off a punch perfect performance versus Martin Conception, was hoping to move one step closer to winning outright the Lonsdale Belt that he had won against former amateur foe Anthony Small, by making his second defense.
Meanwhile underdog Arron was looking capitalise on a winning streak which began back in February which saw him outpoint decent operators such as Bradley Price and Brett Flournoy en route to winning the Prizefighter Light Middleweight tournament. He then went on to notch up three stoppage wins to supplement his poor knockout ratio.
The fight started off quietly with both fighters feeling each out. The stature and styles of both fighters seemed reminiscent of a domestic Leonard – Hearns match up with the Lanky, 6 foot 3’ Arron stocking the fleet footed Webb who circled the ring and used his immaculate evasive skills to puzzle Arron and land a few snappy jabs and glancing shots. The second round was much of the same only Webb stepped up the work rate and befuddled the challenger with clever head movement. The first punch of note came just before the bell with an overhand right landing cleanly on Arron’s temple.
Webb managed to corner his man in the third, landing some useful flurries before stepping out. Ironically it was the awkward Arron who was having trouble figuring out the style of the man 6 inches smaller. However, he managed to score with some straight rights and a left hook in the fourth only to be once again outworked by the champion.
The fifth round was a dramatic turning point from the opening bell as the frustrated Arron launched an evil looking left hook – straight right combination followed up by two more shots which dropped Webb onto his rear and forced him to use the ropes to pry himself off the canvas to his feet. The home fighter looked like his senses had deserted him as referee Victor Loughlin pulled his hands together and allowed the action to resume. It looked like it could have been stopped at any moment as Arron poured in with barrages of long punches with Webb backed up on the ropes somehow managing to evade those that would have finished him and even managing to fire back one or two of his own. The champion’s legs almost betrayed him after taking a thunderous right hook followed by a slight push to the canvas prompting the referee to call it a no knockdown, despite him virtually having to haul Webb off the floor. The wounded Webb managed to see out the rest of the round with Arron seemingly having used up a lot of energy launching the previous assaults.
The 30 year old Webb appeared to have recovered well in the following round, managing to some punches off and even win the round on work rate as the relaxed Arron seemed unbothered the onslaught. This pattern continued over the next couple of rounds with Webb taking the fight to the 23-year-old challenger. His defense became increasingly porous though and Arron was able to infiltrate it with impressive left uppercuts that seemed to be having increasing effect on the legs of Webb.
The ninth started with what was almost definitely should have been called a knockdown as a straight right delivered perfectly sent Webb straight to the canvas only for the referee to call it a slip. Webb rose and got back on his bike but nearly touched down again 30 seconds later as Arron nailed him another right. From this point on it became difficult to watch as the Lionhearted Champion absorbed thunderous shots, no longer assisted by his reflexes and agility, you sensed that his corner would throw in the towel at any moment. With a cut open on his forehead, Webb willed himself on, armed with only with his conditioning and his bravery. The same fighter who resembled a Ray Leonard at the start of the fight now was fighting more like the late Atturo Gatti.
Amazingly, the scorecards could still have been close going into the final round and it would have been nonsensical for the tiring Arron not to try and get his man out of there. And so he did, backing his man up to the ropes and nailing him with another perfectly placed left uppercut as Webb shrunk to the floor. When he rose at the count of seven, I’m sure I was alone in longing for Victor Laughlin, or Webb’s corner man Alan Smith to get the battered champion out of there, Webb was a victim of his own courageous pride and it was almost impossible to watch when the action resumed, Arron hounding him into the corner and injecting him with the cleanest shots of the night forcing Loughlin to finally end Webb’s agony and belatedly stop the fight at the exact moment that the towel came in.
Arron deservedly celebrated his emphatic win but in far more comedic fashion than the spectacle that had just took place, as one of his seconds attempted to carry the new champion on his shoulders, the pair of them toppled off balance and hilariously rolled about the floor, a moment that just like the fight, was not following any script.
As the new Light Middleweight champion of Britain, Arron is a testament to how a loss or two early in the career of any aspiring champion is entirely recoverable. The lions den in which Aaron once was served as prey to John Duddy, no doubt was instrumental in equipping him for the battle that took place on Friday.
On a final note, I sincerely hope such a warrior like Sam Webb recovers well and if suffers no long lasting effects of the defeat. It would be a shame to see one of the best technicians on these shores, be forced into decline on the back of this.