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Big Friday Night in The British Isles
It’s an epic Friday night in the UK and Ireland with three stellar cards taking place at the same time in three different locations. First off it’s charismatic cruiserweight David Haye taking on a highly dangerous assignment in the form of vastly more experienced opponent Vincenzo Rossitto on a Fight Academy card in Huddersfield, England. The hammer fisted Haye, 13-1 (13), was originally slated to challenge British and Commonwealth Champion Mark Hobson in a pairing that was already postponed once. No amount of bad blood has been spared between the two but Hobson pulled out last week due to a case of shingles.
Haye is to be commended for selecting the hardened Italian Rossitto, 30-3-2 (17), currently the IBF Intercontinental titlist, as his replacement opponent. Should be pull off a victory over the tough but possibly chinny Rossitto, Haye will certainly gain a great deal of credit but the 25 year old London area sensation has admitted to a lax training camp as he prepared for Hobson and that lack of dedication makes this matchup a doubly difficult task.
On the undercard, former Commonwealth and WBF Welterweight king James Hare continues his comeback by facing Lithuanian southpaw Oscar Milkitas, 6-4 (1), over six rounds. Twenty nine year old Hare, 31-2-1 (16), was once considered one of the best boxers in the UK but a loss to Mexican veteran Cosme Rivera in 2003 and a failed title bid against then British Champion David Barnes late last year has taken the luster off the “Robertown Rocket.”
Crossing the Irish Sea we head to the National Stadium in Dublin where Brian Peters promotes a large card of Irish fighters. We lead off with undefeated super bantam phenom Bernard Dunne, who squares off against leather tough Pontefract southpaw Sean Hughes for the vacant IBC crown. Hometown hero Dunne, 16-0 (9), fought his first fourteen bouts in the US and is on his third venture on Irish soil while, Hughes, 10-2-1 (1), has only lost to British Super Bantam Champion Michael Hunter and English Featherweight titlist Steve Foster, Jr.
Also on the bill, former Irish Light and Super Middleweight Champion Jim “The Pink Panther” Rock, 25-4 (7), contends for the vacant IBC Middleweight belt against ex-British title challenger Alan Jones, 9-1-1 (3). Rock and Welshman Jones faced each other two years ago and the Irishman pulled out a razor thin victory.
Ex-longtime IBO Super Middle strapholder Brian Magee rounds out the card when he meets hard luck Birmingham based Armenian journeyman Varuzhan Davtyan, 5-20 (1), over eight rounds. Magee, 23- 2 (16), had barreled through his first twenty twenty bouts without a loss
but last June ran into former WBC Middleweight Champion Robin Reid and was dropped four times enroute to suffering his first professional disappointment. In his most recent outing the talented Ulster southpaw dropped a controversial vacant European clash to Vitali Tsypko in Germany this past June.
On now to Scotland where in Motherwell, Chris Gilmour promotes a card headlined by Barry Morrison’s British Master’s Light Welter title defense against journeyman Tony Montana, 15-21-3 (0), originally from Yugoslavia but residing in Sheffield. Morrison, 10-0 (6), a local lad,
won the British Masters belt with an eighth round stoppage over Gary Reid in May. Chris Gilmour is the son of premier Scottish promoter Tommy Gilmour and is off to a promising start in his first year of organizing fight cards.
