Class act Maxwell has no hard feelings for referee Foster

The night was all planned out so well. The British light-middleweight title eliminator between Welsh starlet Tom Doran and Birmingham tough guy Max Maxwell had got the British boxing public talking. This was to be the first real test for Doran, deemed the next great Welsh superstar in many people’s eyes. Maxwell, on the other hand was the man who had come up the hard way, a travelling road warrior who had never had it easy, but who finally came to prominence with his sickening knockout of prospective British title challenger Brian Rose.

Two minutes and forty-two seconds after the first bell, the fight was being spoken about for completely the wrong reasons. Howard Foster jumped in and stopped the fight, with Maxwell (who had earlier been credited with knocking his opponent down) covering up on the ropes after taking a crisp right hand from Doran. The stoppage caused shock at ringside and derision on Eurosport (where it was being shown live). Maxwell had been caught but people were left wondering why the fight had been halted. Referee Howard Foster, arguably the best referee in the country, would go on to face a lot of criticism over the next week and the repercussions could stretch even further.

For Maxwell however, the problems with the referee’s performance went back to the ‘knockdown' in the first thirty seconds.

“I always said from day one that Doran is a lovely boxer. The plan was to go in there, let him fire away and then go body, body, head. I was able to put this into practice and caught him with a cracking right hand over the top. He was hurt, I could tell. Then Howard pushed me off and administered a count. He hadn’t gone down, and he hadn’t yet fallen against the ropes. He gave Doran a standing eight count, or that’s the way it looks. I was thinking ‘what are you doing?’ I have no doubt that I would have stopped him there and then, if I had been given a chance. Doran had been caught cold and was there for the taking.”

Maxwell continued to apply pressure as the round drew to a close. Doran began to land, but Maxwell was happy with the way things were going.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘man you are in trouble’. I was walking him down and he was already starting to tire. I really didn’t see him lasting past four rounds. Then I hit him with those three right hands. Even then I wasn’t thinking of stopping him but he was being broken down. Every time I hit him I hurt him.”

It was then, when Doran looked at his weakest that he landed the right hand that turned the fight in his favour. Maxwell’s head jerked back and he headed towards the ropes. Doran sensed his opportunity and went after him. As soon as he got there Howard Foster jumped in and stopped the fight, much to Maxwell’s horror.

“He caught me off balance as I was about to land on him. He certainly stunned me so I knew I needed to get my hands up. But I wasn’t hurt. My hands were up and my chin was down. I was certainly less hurt than he was when I was landing on him, and there didn’t seem to be a rush to stop him.”

The decision caused heartbreak for Max who left the ring immediately, a devastated man.

“Such bad things were going on in my head, you wouldn’t believe. I didn’t want to stay in there and listen to any excuses; I had to get out of the ring. It had taken me two years to get that shot. I knocked out Brian Rose and never got anything for it. I felt that this was a one off chance for me and it would never come round again, no-one would fight me.”

In the cold light of day Maxwell, though still angry, is less vitriolic towards the man in the middle.

“I tell you what Martin, if before the fight I could have picked any referee to do the job it would have been Foster. He once gave me a decision against Lee Edwards who was the big prospect. Howard didn’t care, he did what was right. He is the country’s top referee. But that night he had a shocker. I have no idea what was going on with that ‘knockdown’ and I would love an answer. And I certainly didn’t need to be stopped, that was ridiculous. But I still have lots of respect for Howard; I just want it made right. I know the result has to stand but I would like another shot at somebody, it’s what I deserve.”

Many in the trade are calling for a rematch with Doran. They claim it to be a great opportunity to settle the score once and for all. Maxwell however, does not believe that fight will take place anytime soon.

“I would love the rematch, but I don’t think he is ready for me. That was the mistake his camp made. If he wants that rematch I am here and waiting, but even if he doesn’t fancy it, he should be a man and come out and say that was unsatisfactory, I would respect that a lot. But I’m not going to sit here and slag him off. He did absolutely nothing wrong, and he has the makings of a great fighter.”

There are people however who Max respects a lot less than Foster and Doran. Previous opponents Sam Webb and Brian Rose seem to be at the top of the Birmingham brawler’s hit list.

“The gloves are coming off; I have been far too nice for far too long. The only one I respect is Prince Arron. We got that draw and he immediately came back and wanted to do it again. When he did he got his tactics right and beat me fair and square. He is a real man. Now Sam Webb, that’s a different matter, he’s a dodger. I fought him before he had his eliminator against McDonagh. I floored him in the second and I believe I won that fight. I wasn’t surprised he got it as it was a Maloney show in his hometown but if I was him I would have wanted to fight me to get it straight. He had no intention. Now he has lost his title I would be the perfect comeback opponent for him.”

Max however has an extra level of anger for Blackpool’s English champion Brian Rose.

“Now Brian Rose, he is the biggest nob of all. I banged him out live on SKY, left him unconscious and he won’t fight me! He is going on that he doesn’t need to talk about me as he is above me in the rankings, that’s only one set of rankings. And I still sparked him. He goes on that it was a lucky shot, but he knows I would do it again. I would take that fight for free, I am not lying.”

Until then the appeal process is underway regarding the Doran fight. Maxwell is hopeful that something can be done.

“Firstly I want to thank Dave Roden of the Midland board for working to get me that shot in the first place. I have been overwhelmed by the support. Someone set up a Facebook group, I was too depressed. Now it has over 1000 members, I’m so grateful to every one of them. Journalists have got behind me, I want to thank all of them, Jane Couch of the Union is talking about getting solicitors involved. I am just hoping something can be done.”

After a career which has had its fair share of dodgy decisions and bad luck, you don’t need to be a paid up member of the bleeding heart brigade to hope that something good will come out of this. The BBBofC, it’s over to you.