Boxing Preview: John Simpson vs. Paul Appleby

British title fights are almost always entertaining, but this Friday’s all Scottish clash at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow between champion John Simpson and hot prospect Paul Appleby could well turn out to be a mini classic.

In one corner, we have an experienced 24 year old belt holder who took the featherweight crown in his third attempt and will stop at nothing to keep it in his possession.

In the opposite corner, we have a relentless attacking machine who is determined to prove his mettle and become Bonnie Scotland’s youngest ever holder of the prestigious Lonsdale strap.

Some people have said that at just 20 years of age and with only 11 professional fights under his belt, Appleby is not ready for a contest of this magnitude but the truth is that the youngster from the Edinburgh district of South Queensferry has crammed a lot into his short term as a professional fighter.

Since his first paid outing against Blackburn’s Graeme “Dezzi” Higginson in January 2006, Appleby has got in some serious tuition, spending time at Freddie Roach’s world famous Wildcard Gym in Hollywood as well as Glenn McCrory’s Newcastle academy.

He’s also held his own in sparring with Scotland ’s latest world champion, Alex Arthur, and more recently, former British light-welterweight king Barry Morrison.

So, has this opportunity really come too soon for the prospect?

It seems not.

Appleby is an all action fighter that mixes his short hooks between the head and body. While his shots may not be may be devastating singularly, the accumulation has proved difficult for eight of his 11 victims to withstand.

Last time out, vicious work to the body saw Appleby drop Hungarian visitor Ferenc Szabo, not once, but four times before referee Paul Graham did the correct thing and wave the contest off towards the end of the third round.

Appleby’s most impressive win to date came against tough Ghanaian Ben Odamattey last November as he dominated every session to the extent that the African quit half way through the sixth.

What made the win so special wasn’t just the repertoire of shots that Appleby landed that night, but also the fact that Odamattey had previously taken top level domestic fighters Michael Hunter, Lee McAllister and Ricky Burns the scheduled distance.

The 20 year old challenger is expecting another stellar display this time as well and has certainly been talking confidently, telling daily rag The Scotsman “If John keeps on coming forward he will keep getting a jab in his face.

“I don’t see it as an upset if I win. I think I’m the favourite going into the fight to be honest, although other folk think John is favourite.”

The 24 year old champion, John Simpson, 17-5 (6), from Greenock, may not have Appleby’s buzzsaw style or punching power, but he does have the edge in experience, having completed the twelve round distance four times, while Appleby has never gone beyond eight, in his 22 fight career.

He has also battled, although not always successfully, a higher calibre of opposition.

Simpson turned pro in 2002 at the age of 19 with a first round knockout of Sheffield ’s Simon Chambers, but things soon turned sour when, in his second fight, he dropped six round decision to Lee Holmes.

“Simmo”, as he is nicknamed, then won ten fights on the spin, including a decision over Southern Area super-bantamweight champion Marc Callaghan, before being handed his first shot at the British 9st [126 lb] crown against Dazzo Williams in November 2004.

That night, in Williams’ adopted hometown of Hereford, Simpson put in the best of performance of his career and seemed to have done enough in the eyes of all observers to be crowned the new champion but referee Phil Edwards (refs still scored British title fights then) saw it differently and handed the home fighter victory by a solitary point – it was a decision that even Williams’ own fans booed.

Exactly a year later, Simpson challenged for the title again but was soundly outpointed by Wythenshaw’s Andy Morris. In April 2006, he embarked on the first of two failed attempts to capture the WBU featherweight title when he lost to another Mancunian, Steve Foster Jnr, by unanimous decision.

A chance to redeem himself and win the British title again came when he fought Morris for the second time on the undercard of the Danny Williams – Audley Harrison rematch at the Excel Arena in London in December, 2006 and on this occasion it seemed that a referee was willing to do him a favour for a change.

As in their first match up, Morris was firmly in charge but a right hand from Simpson late in the fourth round opened up a cut above the Mancunian’s left eye which, in the following, caused referee John Keane to halt the contest.

The cut didn’t actually appear that bad as the blood ran away from the eye not into it, but that didn’t matter to Simpson, who was now the champion. Talk about third time lucky!

To prove the victory wasn’t the fluke that many had perceived it to be, Simpson took on Morris again last September and scored a seventh round knockout.

Sandwiched in between those fights with Morris was a fifth round knockout of the game but outgunned former lightweight Ryan Barrett and a bloody battle with then WBU supremo Derry Matthews, who had dethroned Simpson conqueror Steve Foster six months earlier.

Simpson floored the lanky Liverpudlian with a looping right hand in the first round, but fight turned messy when Simpson was cut near the hairline from a clash of heads early in the sixth stanza. From that point on, Matthews resorted to dirty tactics as he hit several times on the break and, on more than one occasion, rubbed his glove into Simpson’s cut, trying to make it worse.

Matthews did have two points taken away by referee Mickey Vann, but on another night would have been disqualified. In the end, Matthews retained with a unanimous 118-112, 117-110 and 113-111 verdict.

Last time out, Simpson out won a close decision over Dewsbury based Syrian Youssef Al-Hamidi, but had to suffer the embarrassment of touching a glove on the canvas after being caught by a right hook.

Verdict: Simpson is a well balanced fighter who works well from his jab and has more sting in his shots than his six stoppage victories suggest, he’s never been stopped and, despite Appleby’s undoubted power, I don’t see him being halted here either but I fully expect the hear the ring announcer say “And new!”.

For me, it’s Appleby on points but whichever man wins, I’m sure the cross of St. Andrew will be flying proudly on Friday night.