Williams Pulls Out of Skelton Clash, Krence Steps In!

Citing the flu, Danny Williams has pulled out of his British Heavyweight title bid against reigning champion Matt Skelton at the last minute and been replaced by former English beltholder Mark Krence. It was only yesterday that Williams weighed in for the much anticipated bout in Bolton, England’s Reebok Centre and scaled a surprising 283lbs. Sports Network chief Frank Warren has been quoted as being incensed by the former British champion’s withdrawal and has vowed to never work with Williams again. In the middle of all this, Mark Krence has bravely thrown his hat into the ring for the opportunity to face the imposing brawler Matt Skelton.

Skelton is 38 years old and never had an amateur fight in his life but the former mixed martial arts champion strikes terror into the hearts of prospective opponents and for good reason. Skelton is a six foot three, 250 pound brawler who will not give an inch in his quest to engage in a chest to chest slugfest.The Bedfordshire man has surprising stamina for what in boxing is an advanced age and has won all sixteen of his bouts, with only the cagey former British and Commonwealth titlist Julius Francis going the distance. It took only eight contests for Skelton, co-managed by Frank and Eugene Maloney and promoted by Frank Warren, to win his first belt, a sixth round punch out of Michael Holden.

It is against this backdrop that Chesterfield’s Mark Krence, 21-3 (6), steps into the breech. Despite winning the English title by outpointing John McDermott last December, Krence has had a tough time of it lately. The six foot five boxer has dropped two of his last three, getting shocked by both Ukrainian journeyman Konstantin Prizyuk in six rounds and most recently by Welsh novice Scott Gammer in eight this May for the British title eliminator.

Boxing is wonderfully unpredictable but it seems a slim possibility that Krence will finish his challenge of Skelton on his feet. The taller and much thinner challenger ran out of gas while alternately trying to nullify or wrestle “Big Bad” John McDermott in London but still managed to get a controversial decision. Not only is Skelton more aggressive than McDermott but he’s much more adept at fighting on the inside.

Fans may have to wait until Skelton steps up to the higher levels of European competition such as Sinan Samil Sam or Luan Krasniqi to find an adversary that can withstand the British champion’s bull-like strength and turn his lack of fundamental skill against him.