Dilks bemoans latest misfortune
Carl Dilks is testimony to the notion that bad luck comes in threes. The Liverpool scrapper had agreed to take on unbeaten prospect George Groves in a British super-middleweight title eliminator on the undercard of David Haye’s world heavyweight title defence against John Ruiz on 3 April. To Dilks’ dismay however, the fight was subsequently put on ice after Groves secured a Commonwealth title crack against Charles Adamu for the same date.
To rub salt into the Liverpool man’s wounds, Ghana’s Adamu controversially outpointed Dilks on a split decision when they clashed for the vacant Commonwealth super-middleweight strap in December.
Dilks’ initial run of bad luck began in the inaugural Prizefighter: The Light-Heavyweights tournament last February. After being announced as a semi-final points winner over Darren Stubbs in the ring, just five minutes later a representative from the British Boxing Board of Control ruled that the three scoring judges had totalled up their scorecards incorrectly. The overturned verdict saw Stubbs replace the unfortunate Dilks in the final against eventual tournament winner Tony Oakey.
If there is a silver lining to the dark cloud currently hanging over Dilks, he will at least be kept busy in the coming weeks. The approachable Scouser will box on VIP Promotions’ show at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium on 14 March and has also been offered an undercard slot on Haye-Ruiz at the M.E.N Arena on 3 April, both against selected opponents.
“That’s not the point though, is it?” said an exasperated Dilks to BoxRec News. “I stepped up and was willing to fight Groves now and took time off work to commence training only to be told that Groves was now boxing Adamu.”
“Apparently, I wasn’t allowed an immediate rematch against Adamu but I don’t see how Groves can box for the Commonwealth title after only eight fights. I think Groves is a good fighter, he’ll be too quick for Adamu, but he’s not really beaten anyone to justify getting his title shot. To be honest I think they (Team Groves) are taking the easier option by fighting Adamu instead of taking me on first,” argued Dilks.
Providing he comes through his upcoming bouts unscathed, Dilks is expected to be first in line to meet the winner of Groves-Adamu. However, Carl is also keeping a firm eye on next Friday’s (March 12) British super-middleweight showdown between fellow Scousers Paul Smith (champion) and Tony Dodson (challenger).
“I’d love to fight the winner of Smith-Dodson as it would be a great fight for Liverpool. I know the lads and hold them both in high regard. I think Smith is the better boxer and possesses the classier skills however he may be looking towards fighting for a world title. I just have a feeling that Dodson might want this a bit more and his desire could be enough for him to win it.”
