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As the fight closed, Harrison stepped up a gear or two, troubling the man who'd beaten him early in his amateur days with a sharp combination at the end of the eleventh. Francis was dropped midway through the twelfth with a clean left hand, but covered up to survive an onslaught which, whilst it could not be called 'full-blooded', was at least more aggressive than anything seen in the previous eleven and a half round. Francis survived to hear the cards read a unanimous whitewash for Harrison.
The comments after the fight betrayed the challenger's approach, as he refused to comment on the prowess of the man who had just eclipsed him, instead demanding credit for going 12 rounds with 'the guy who's supposed to be the next heavyweight champion of the world'. Francis in recent fights has displayed a strong desire just to go the distance to ensure his next journeyman's payday, and this match was no different. Harrison has to step up his competition, and with British and Commonwealth boss Matt Skelton rumoured to be next, he looks to be doing so. The Skelton fight will be difficult to make (the two boxers fight for rival TV networks) but Skelton, despite his limitations, is tough and should make Harrison work more over the rounds.
On the Bristol undercard, Scott Dann looked impressive in winning the vacant English middleweight championship from a brave but outclassed (how many times do we hear that cliché in British boxing?) Danny Thornton, the referee calling the bout over just after the halfway point of the third round. Young Muttley won the vacant English light-welter title with a four-knockdown first-round win over Sammy Smith, in what was expected to be a winnable but reasonably tough fight for Muttley. With Smith down from the first punch of the fight, a left uppercut, Muttley found him far too easy to hit, and to hit hard. Sterner tests must await both Dann and Muttley.
Over in Essex, light welter Colin Lynes was the beneficiary of some home judging as he wrenched the IBO title from Pablo Sarmiento. In what was a good fight, Sarmiento seemed to get the better work in before the boxers became entangles, but the champion didn't get the nod in a split decision. A rematch is deserved. However, with Ted Bami winning swiftly in the chief supporting bout, a match-up between these two for the British title (currently held but maybe imminently vacated by the ambitious Junior Witter), this is another attractive route.
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Tomorrow, what was an entertaining card headed by Takaloo versus Ossie Duran at the York Hall has seen the headline bout cancelled due to Takaloo sustaining a bruised shoulder. The Margate man has had more injuries than a Premiership football team.
The main attention will now be split between three matches. Comebacking heavyweight John McDermott, a perennially out of shape but powerful youngster, makes an attempt to get his career back on track, whilst Danny Williams tackles strong Ivory Coast heavyweight Augustine N'Gou, who has an impressive record built almost exclusively on career losers and debutants. Lightweight prospect Kevin Mitchell makes another appearance and should easily blow over Frenchman Slimane Kebaili. Quite what this will prove is questionable, as Mitchell was undoubtedly facing better competition when he was wearing an amateur vest.
The rest of the weekend is quiet, making this an ideal time to pop over to France in the van to stock up on booze and spend some quality time with the missus. That's my advice anyway.
The June 5th MEN Arena date featuring Calzaghe-Johnson and Hatton-(still)TBA has been pushed back a week, ostensibly to give more time to find a suitable opponent for Hatton. No word yet whether this frees up a date for US TV to show the Calzaghe match. The latest is that Antonio Mesquita will be opposing Hatton. The Brazilian isn't hugely well known, but the announcement of his candidature for the fight is being accompanied by promise to put Hatton in with Vivian Harris or Paul Spadafora in the autumn. Given that Harris is now looking at a Cotto match, and Spadafora won't be allowed to travel overseas due to attempted murder charges against him, either Hatton will be journeying to the States to take on the light-hitting ex-lightweight or yet another substitute opponent will be shipped in. Don't hold your breath, folks.
Past British Updates
March 18 | March 24 | March 31 | April 7 | April 14 | April 21 | April 28 | May 5
