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Former two time British title challenger Jon Thaxton sent out a message to the lightweights of the U.K. with a vicious fourth round knockout of Romanian boxer Vasile Dragomir to retain his WBF crown in Norwich, England. Dragomir had taken the bout on just a few day’s notice after Argentine Eduardo Daniel Roman, himself a replacement for Lazlo Bognar, dropped out with a hand injury. Despite the uncertainty of just who Thaxton would be facing come fight night, several thousand people jammed Carrow Road football ground to support the popular Norwich man. They weren’t disappointed as the stocky, ambidextrous hardman imposed his will from the start and never let the Romanian import have any breathing room.
After dominating Dragomir for the first two frames, Thaxton found himself in a dogfight during a more competitive third round. The offensive burst had the challenger blowing by round’s end and it was a gassed Dragomir that answered the bell for the fourth. It didn’t take Thaxton long to measure his fellow combatant for the kill and before the first minute was done, the Englishman had detonated a tremendous right hand that landed high on the side of Dragomir’s head.
The man from Bucharest went down hard and failed to beat the count, ensuring victory for Thaxton and setting the stage for what could be the biggest bout in over three years for the thirty-year-old puncher. Thaxton, 28-7 (15), has been beating the drum to either face current British and Commonwealth champion Graham Earl, who was ringside in the employ of BBC Radio, or former domestic super featherweight kingpin Michael Gomez, who plans on continuing his career at lightweight.
Should the WBF titlist be unable to get Earl or Gomez in the ring, there are other compelling avenues that Thaxton could take to improve or solidify his standing. Potential opponents Kevin Bennett, Bobby Vanzie, David Burke, Ricky Burns, Lee Meager, Steve Murray, Danny Hunt, Martin Watson, John Murray or Rob Jefferies would all put fans in the seats and continue the renewed media interest in Thaxton’s career.
Since 1995, “Jono” has only fallen short against such top class operators as Ricky Hatton, Eamonn Magee, Emmanuel Augustus, Colin Dunne and Jason Rowland. Currently riding a seven bout win streak, Thaxton has pronounced himself ready, willing and able to meet all comers and has even pledged to go on the road in order to make the meaningful fights happen. Hopefully, those opportunities will open up for the thirty-year-old Norwich man as British boxing would only benefit from such a campaign.
Contact Curtis McCormick at thomaspointrd@aol.com
