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Junior “The Hitter” Witter has for many years been regarded as a tainted talent, originating from the world famous Ingle Gym in Sheffield, England. He has on occasion showed the makings of something special but at other times Witter has dwindled, generating bouts of criticism about his career. |
Junior started out in 1997 with a draw against Cameron Raeside, but he continued his streak as a skilful fighter, rather than the puncher for which he is now known as, racking up wins mainly by unanimous decision. He got a chance to box for the lightly regarded WBF Light-Welterweight title which went his way when Junior stopped opponent Malcolm Melvin inside two rounds.
As Witter continued to build his respectable career with points wins and a few stoppages, his big chance came when the got the ultimate offer of a shot at the IBF title holder Zab “Super” Judah in 2000.
Yes, this was the stuff that dreams were made of for the up and coming Witter but, in reality, it was not an ideal situation. He had only nine days to prepare for such a challenge and was walking down the path that would forever taint his career for the rest of his boxing life.
Being confident, Junior he took the challenge as these sorts of chances do not come along very often. The stage was set in Hampden Arena in Glasgow, Scotland and it turned out to be a fight that was uninspiring to many boxing fans and critics. Witter went out and boxed all night on the back foot, handing an easy points victory to Judah.
Junior did so much back peddling in the fight that Judah laid an even worse smack down to Witter’s reputation by commenting that he should have brought his running trainers. Many boxing experts deemed Junior as a nearly man or a guy who just did not cut it in the true top class of the boxing world.
This was the making of “The Hitter”. He took the critics’ comment, declared that he had an off night and made a stern decision to get his career back on track. Witter traveled to different countries such as Ireland and Spain and also boxed his way across England to reignite his career. Junior must have kept the thought of losing to Zab because he pushed his way past opponents, knocking them out with vicious power.
In time, Witter picked up the British, Commonwealth and European Light Welterweight titles, showing the British people that he was not the man who boxed so negatively against Judah.
If this wasn’t good enough for “The Hitter”, the call came for a chance to box a title eliminator bout for the most treasured and highly regarded WBC Light Welterweight title, which the Bradford man had dreamed about since he was just a young boy.
The bout itself would be held in the legendary Staples Centre in Los Angeles, against the extremely tough and durable Lovemore N’dou. The Australia based fighter had previously boxed superstars Miguel Cotto and Sharmba Mitchell, who managed to beat him on points.
Lovemore N’dou had never been knocked down in his entire career when he met with Witter, who certainly changed that with an amazing feat of accurate power shots, dropping the South African for the first time. This was a brilliant time for Witter as it showed he was capable of dismantling tough boxers with his skills.
But the bout itself also had a downside due to Witter breaking his hand, forcing him to ease off and cruise to a victory by unanimous decision. Although Junior had forced his way into the position to fight the WBC Champion at that time, Floyd Mayweather Jr., he still received the harsh criticism for the second half of his American bout with N’dou.
Junior pressed on in search of the title, but politics and Mayweather moving up in weight meant Witter’s title dream shot was put on halt for the time being. This meant him defending the titles he had collected against the domestic and euro division.
After N’dou, Junior made two defences, one against the tough Ukraine Andreas Kotelnik and another against fellow British boxer Colin Lynes. Witter showed very flat performances in both fights as he seemed to lose steam in the second half of each.
After pinching two uninspiring unanimous decisions, Witter’s critics had more fuel for the fire, totally diminishing his achievement in the US against N’dou. In response, Witter claiming that he just could not get up for these kinds of fights anymore.
Emerging through the tough criticism of a career spanning nine years, Junior is on the doorstep of the dream’ a championship title bout that if won, will hand him the greatest and most prestigious belt, the WBC Light Welterweight title.
The two choices for Junior are simple; sink or swim. The question of Witter’s class will finally pan out and show whether that night in Glasgow against Judah was simply ill preparation or a learning experience that would build him into a champion making history.
Time will tell…
