Scottish Boxing: Review of 2010

As we look back at Scottish boxing in 2010 there is really only one place to start and that is with Coatbridge’s WBO super-featherweight champion and BoxRec News' Boxer of the Year, Ricky Burns. Undoubtedly the biggest success story of 2010, Burns captured the WBO strap with a unanimous points decision in a fantastic bout with Roman “Rocky” Martinez.

Burns however opened up his year in May with a decidedly dull but clear points victory over Youssef Al Hamidi who went into the fight with an altogether uninspiring 6-26-2 record. Burns display did nothing to suggest he would be a worthy challenger, never mind conqueror, of the undefeated Martinez. Burns was however the WBO number one contender and for a short time it looked like he would be heading to Puerto Rico for his mandatory shot at the title. Yet a home date was arranged for Ricky and Martinez made the trip to Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall in September for what many (including myself) saw to be a straightforward defence of his crown.

Even the partisan Glasgow crowd began to think it might be an early night's work for Martinez as he dumped Burns to the canvas in the opening round but little did anyone know how strongly Ricky would come back. Not only did he get back up to outbox his Puerto Rican foe but had the champion seriously rocking on several occasions, this despite Burns reputation as a supposed non-puncher. What must have been the biggest cheer in UK boxing all year went up as the judges' scorecards were announced and Ricky Burns was declared the new world champion.

What was so impressive about Ricky’s win was that Martinez wasn’t some weak paper champion but the recognized division's number one and heavy favourite to defend his crown.

After a brief break, Ricky got back into training for his first defence against Norwegian featherweight Andreas Evensen in October. Evensen had a reputation as a decent fighter but he was a career featherweight and with only fourteen fights (13-1) on his record, was relatively inexperienced. Burns got a great reception from the packed Braehead Arena and many expected Ricky to blow the Norwegian away in a few rounds and indeed he had his challenger on the canvas after a flash knockdown in the first round.

The game Evensen however made Ricky work for his money and put up an admirable effort to last the distance with Burns who retained by a wide decision. It was a decent display and solid first defence from Ricky and one that potentially sets him up for some big fights in 2011. The super-featherweight division looks fairly weak at the moment and one would have to give Ricky a decent chance to unify the titles against any of his fellow titleholders, Mzonke Fana (IBF), Takashi Uchiyama (IBF) or Vitali Tjabert (WBC).

One fight that won’t be happening for Ricky in 2011 is an all-Scottish match up with former British featherweight champion Paul Appleby. Appleby had rebounded from losing his British title in 2009 with two convincing stoppage wins over mediocre opposition (Yordan Vasilev and Mickey Coveney) in September 2010, coming only twenty days apart from each other. Appleby then made the step back up in class with a shot at the vacant WBO inter-continental super-featherweight bauble against Ghana’s Joseph Laryea on the Burns-Evenson card. While the bauble at stake might not mean much, it was being seen as an unofficial eliminator for a shot at Burns’ WBO strap and was supposed to set up the big Burns-Appleby fight in 2011.

Whilst Burns kept his side of the bargain with a win, Appleby came up well short against the awkward Ghanaian. His taller adversary boxed from distance, using his long jab to keep Appleby constantly off balance for the majority of the fight. Whilst Appleby landed a few trademark body blows, he simply didn’t do enough to take the win and his deflated look after the final bell showed that he knew as much. Shockingly, Laryea only took the victory on a split decision after judge Zoltan Enyedi scored the fight 115-113 to the Scot in a decision that possibly only Appleby’s own mum might have agreed with. Laryea now looks in pole position for the shot at Burns but he looked as crude as he was awkward and shouldn’t prove to be stiff competition for the champion.

Former Appleby victim John Simpson had what one might call an eventful year; Simpson went into the year as the Commonwealth featherweight champion but lost the belt in a split decision loss to talented scouser Stephen Smith on the undercard of Burns-Martinez. Simpson worked hard throughout the fight and the admittedly biased crowd, who thought he had done enough to retain, erupted in a chorus of boos when the decision was announced. The fight was close enough to warrant a rematch and probably only an injury to the new champion prevented that from happening in 2010.

Simpson instead got a shot later in the year at the undefeated British featherweight champion Martin Lindsay in the champion’s hometown of Belfast. It was a big ask for Simpson who admitted that he might have to consider his future in the sport if he came up short once again. Simpson, now under the tutelage of Ricky Burns’ trainer Billy Nelson, however produced a display to be proud of and outworked and outfought the Belfast man in a cracking twelve rounds and British fight of the year contender to reclaim the British crown he first fought for in 2004, eventually won in 2006 and had lost to Paul Appleby in 2008. A rematch with Stephen Smith for the British and Commonwealth straps would be the obvious choice for Simpson in 2011 and one that Simpson would fancy his chances in.

Another Scot involved in a fight of the year contender was super middleweight Kenny Anderson. Anderson met hot prospect and undefeated George Groves on the Haye-Harrison undercard in a Commonwealth title clash that doubled as an eliminator for the British title. To say that I (almost) felt that parting with my £15 was worthwhile after the debacle of the main event shows what quality this fight had. Anderson started 2010 with decent wins over the soon to become Prizefighter champion Patrick Mendy and Carl Wild. Groves was supposed to be headlining a bill two weeks prior to the Haye-Harrison “event” against James Toney (no, not that one) but had to pull out after his opponent suffered an eye injury.

Anderson got the call and stepped up to the plate despite the late notice. Not many critics gave Anderson much of a chance against Groves but the Scotsman gave him the fight of his life, putting the Londoner down in the third round, before suffering a bad cut and then eventually being rescued by the referee after a barrage of accurate punches in the sixth. Groves has already claimed he would be happy to give Anderson a rematch in 2011 but the boxing world is keenly anticipating a potential clash between Groves and former amateur rival James DeGale, so Anderson may have to wait for his chance or look elsewhere in 2011.

American-based Scot Craig McEwan had a solid if somewhat unspectacular year, winning both of his fights to take his tally to an impressive looking 19-0. The Freddie Roach-trained fighter opened up his year on the undercard of his gym mate and sometime sparring partner Bernard Hopkins' clash with Roy Jones Junior with an eighth round stoppage of fellow light-middleweight Kris Andrews and finished it with a majority decision over the durable Danny Perez. Many had seen 2010 as the year that McEwan would challenge for world honours but the Scot is only 24 and has time on his side. With the exception of Miguel Cotto, the light-middleweight division looks remarkably average at this moment in time and McEwan could find himself on the cusp of a word title shot with a couple more wins. I would expect McEwan to fight a couple of more challenging opponents in 2011 to set up his big shot the following year.

One Scot I don’t want to see fighting in 2011, despite an undefeated 2010 is former world champion “Amazing” Alex Arthur. Arthur looked anything but amazing in laboured points wins over journeymen Peter McDonagh (15-18-0) and the Isle of Wight “Assassin” Jay Morris (13-16-1). Arthur, who held the world title at super-featherweight, looked sluggish in the eight rounders and weighed in for both fights around the light-welterweight limit. Alex claims he wants to be fighting for world titles once again but the very thought of him getting anywhere near a Khan, Bradley or Alexander is ridiculous and could end up with the Scot being seriously hurt. Arthur is a nice guy, has been a fantastic servant to Scottish boxing and has provided his fans with many memorable nights but unfortunately a boxer has to know when to stop and to be blunt, Arthur should have done so two years ago.

Kris “Badger” Hughes opened up 2010 with unanimous points wins over journeymen Youssef Al Hamidi and Anwar Alfadi. This set up a shot at the vacant Commonwealth super-bantamweight title for the 23 year-old against Welshman Jamie Arthur. Hughes put up a good fight but lost the bout and his undefeated record in a close decision. Hughes moves to 12-1 but no doubt learned more from the tough 12 rounds with Arthur as he has from his 12 fights put together and can come back a better fighter and become a force on the domestic scene. A rematch between the pair in 2011 wouldn’t be out of the question and one that you wouldn’t bet against the young Scotsman winning.

Former kick boxer and undefeated light-middleweight Kris Carslaw gave a good account of himself in 2010 with a 5-0 record including a stoppage win over Terry Carruthers for the British Masters title in November. If Kris can have an active 2011 whilst gradually stepping his opposition up in class then he could potentially move towards British title contention by 2012.

My 2009 pick of Scottish boxer to watch out for in 2010, Stephen Russell showed what a great judge I am with his one-fight one-loss record for the year after a four round points loss to Mo Khaled (3-7-3). I hope similar fate doesn’t befall my pick of Scottish boxer to watch out for in 2011, Callum Johnson. Despite residing in Lincolnshire, light-heavyweight Johnson qualifies as a Scottish boxer after his many years boxing for Scotland as an amateur due to his Scottish grandparents. Johnson brought home a Commonwealth gold medal for Scotland from the 2010 Delhi games and launched his pro career with a blistering second round stoppage win over Phillip Townley (1-5) on the Burns-Evensen undercard. Second only to my backing as one to watch for 2011, Johnson also has the backing of his manager Prince Naseem Hamed who is convinced his protégé will win his first ten fights by knockout before fighting for his first title. The shy and retiring Naz claims that Johnson can bring the same excitement to the ring that he did and if that is even half true then Johnson is undoubtedly one to keep an eye on. Whilst I don’t expect to see Johnson fight anyone of note in 2011 I think he can demonstrate why he is potentially the hottest prospect in UK boxing with a number of impressive performances.