Ian Napa: A career in retrospect
Last month, the diminutive former British and European bantamweight champion Ian Napa called time on a 15-year boxing career. A final ledger of 19 wins and ten losses doesn't quite do justice to his sublime boxing skills which, at his best, made him resemble a mini-Floyd Mayweather Jr.
For that reason – and despite the numerous successes - it can be argued that Napa underachieved over the course of an up-and-down career, the end of which was accelerated by an eye problem.
Napa was born in Zimbabwe and came to England in 1991 settling in the Stoke Newington district of Hackney. Napa was a keen footballer and had a trial with Arsenal in 1993. Predictably, at 5'1" his lack of height went against him. Presumably he failed the test where you had to beat Steve Bould in an aerial battle.
Football's loss was boxing's gain. That year he joined the Crown & Manor Boxing Club in Wiltshire. What followed was a successful amateur career which saw him pick up national titles along the way before taking the ABA Senior light-flyweight in 1997. In the same year he took part in an England versus America competition at the Hilton Hotel where he was one of only two winners for the home team.
Napa turned professional in 1998 whilst retaining the services of his amateur trainer, Steve Kipps. He made his debut in the paid ranks against Nick Tooley winning via a six-rounds points decision. This result would repeat itself over the next three contests which included a victory over future British champion Nicky Booth in only his second fight. What stands out at this stage of his career is that neither opponent entered the ring with a losing record.
'Dappa' became a fitting nickname. For every Johnny 'The Entertainer' Nelson and Matthew 'Magic' Hatton (he's good, but magic?) there is a moniker which truly fits a fighters boxing style. His slick movement and smart reflexes were largely a necessity due to his short stature and lack of reach – he often gave away four or five inches in height – so fighting in the traditional (perhaps stereotypical) upright 'British' style simple wasn't an option. Instead he adopted for the fluidity more often associated with American-trained boxers and his idol Sugar Ray Leonard.
In his fifth contest, Napa picked up his first professional title by winning the Southern Area flyweight belt with a ten round points victory over Mark Reynolds.
The year 2000 would be a busy one for Napa with three consecutive wins which included decisions over trial-horses Anthony Hanna and Delroy Spencer. In November of that year he fought for the British and Commonwealth flyweight titles against an 18-1 Jason Booth, younger brother of Nicky. He lost a 12-round points verdict.
Napa bounced back against the hard-hitting and undefeated former Olympic bronze medallist Oleh Kyriukhin, winning over six rounds. However, that was followed by a failed attempt to wrest the WBU title from long-standing champion Peter Culshaw. It was perhaps a fight too early as Napa came out at a pace he was unable to sustain over the 12-round distance. The seventh round stoppage would be the only TKO defeat of his career.
That prompted a three-year break from the ring during which time Napa himself admits, he went 'off the rails.' When he returned, he did so with new trainer Brian Lawrence, and racked up three straight victories. However, he then suffered three back-to-back losses. The first, a razor thin loss to Marc Callaghan; the second, a failed British title challenge against Martin Power on a split verdict; the third, a tight defeat to Damaen Kelly. The next bout of significance, a European title tilt, also ended in failure.
A pattern had emerged. Come the big fights, the short man had always come up... well...short.
However, this would change in his next contest; a rematch with former foe Jason Booth. This time he rose to the occasion and stripped Booth of his British bantamweight title over 12. He followed this by claiming the Lonsdale belt with consecutive defences against Lee Haskins, Martin Power and Colin Moffett. He topped this off in October 2010 with a European title challenge against dangerous puncher Carmelo Ballone. In arguably the greatest night of his career, Napa won a majority decision. The Belgian champion was making his second defence, but Napa's slippery boxing skills were just enough to relieve him of the title. Many observers felt that Napa was good enough to fight at world level and that the European title would give him the necessary springboard.
However, he was disappointing in his first defence and unexpectedly lost by a wide margin to Frenchman Malik Bouziane whose high work rate and reach advantage provided Napa with a puzzle he couldn't solve. Napa returned to domestic level and reclaimed the British title against Liverpool's Gary Davies in a close fight. His first defence was also a challenge for the vacant Commonwealth title versus Jamie McDonnell. In what many saw as a controversial reversal, the champion lost on a split decision. In truth, Napa tired down the final stretch and the result could have gone either way. It would be a sign of things to come.
Again the British title was vacant and Napa was pitted against the fast-progressing Stuart Hall. In a strange outcome, Napa looked to be boxing beautifully against the bigger, stronger man. After a good eighth round, Napa pulled out of the contest claiming that he'd found it hard to make weight and was suffering due to the heat of the venue.
That prompted a move up to super-bantamweight in July of last year for his final contest which he lost to Martin Ward on another close decision. And that was probably a fitting end because Napa's career was littered with close decisions. It makes you wonder if his smooth 'hit-don't-get-hit' style sometimes stopped him from making a more persuasive case in the eyes of the judges because at times, he was perhaps trying to pick punches too artfully rather than providing the quantity of blows which may have swung certain fights in his favour. It certainly wasn't due to a lack of power because despite not having a knockout to his name, Napa could certainly punch. His well-timed body shots often took the wind out of his opponents and made them wary of trading punches - much in the style of a latter day Bernard Hopkins.
However, Napa isn't set to have a protracted career like B-Hop, instead he's had to cut his retirement date short by a year in order to have a cataract operation on his left eye which the Board says will leave him unable to gain a licence. So instead, the 33-year-old will apply for a licence to train. He certainly has a lot of wisdom to pass on, after a career of such highs and lows, and perhaps from the knowledge that he could have achieved more.
But in truth, no matter how expertly he might guide a novice fighter, it's unlikely that they'll turn out quite so 'dappa.'
