British Scene: Simpson Stops Game Truscott

Dave Oakes recaps the rematch between British featherweights John Simpson and Paul Truscott.

John Simpson retained his Commonwealth featherweight title on Friday night after stopping Paul Truscott in the tenth round of a savage fight that kicked off the British season in style.

Both fighters started at a fast pace with Truscott landing crisp jabs and Simpson landing a couple of solid overhand rights. The round was fairly even but I felt Truscott was landing the cleaner punches and was looking like a much improved fighter from their first meeting.

Truscott was stopped on a cut in their last meeting and it looked like history would repeat itself in the second round when a clash of heads left him with a nasty cut above his right eye. Sensing the fight might be stopped, Truscott changed tactics and elected to stand and trade with the much stronger Simpson. He did well to match Simpson in the round but you had a feeling watching it that the change of tactics would play into the champions hands.

Truscott started the third round in ferocious fashion, firing punch after punch at Simpson. Simpson isn’t one to back down from a tear-up though, and came back with some heavy shots of his own. Truscott was getting the better of the round but disaster struck towards the end of the round when he was cut yet again, this time around his left eyelid.

Truscott’s corner did well to stem the flow of blood between rounds but the fourth had barely begun when Simpson landed a couple of glancing blows that sent blood streaming down the challengers face. The referee took Truscott into the corner to be examined by the doctor, and after a wipe of his face and a brief inspection of the damage, the doc gave the fight the go ahead to resume. Truscott, clearly feeling he was on borrowed time, went on the offensive. Both fighters traded heavy blows in what was a tremendously brutal and exciting round, but it was obvious that Truscott was facing an uphill battle from there on in.

Simpson could sense victory was near and put his foot on the gas in the fifth round. After four close rounds, this was the first round that either boxer had clearly won; Simpson was closing Truscott down quickly, trapping him against the ropes before firing three and four punch combinations at him. Truscott was still throwing his own punches but they were having little effect on the fired up Scotsman.

The sixth followed the pattern set in the fifth, with Simpson battering Truscott with some heavy shots before having to weather the occasional brave flurry from the bloodied but ever so brave challenger.

Simpson took complete control of the fight over the next two rounds, he was landing heavy punch after heavy punch and Truscott’s face was beginning to look like something out of a slash horror movie. To his credit, Truscott still tried to trade blows despite the fact he was struggling to see. At one point, to the amusement of the fans, he used the referee’s shirt as a towel to wipe away the blood from his face. It provided a brief moment of light heartedness in the middle of a fierce battle.

If things couldn’t get any worse for him, Truscott received a standing eight count in the ninth round after the referee wrongly ruled that he’d touched down following a hook from the champion that clipped the side of his head and made him momentarily lose his footing. Perhaps the referee didn’t find the whole wiping his bloodied face on his shirt as amusing as the rest of us did!

The end came in the tenth. With Truscott tiring and taking more and more punches, Simpson went into overdrive, landing shots that were now rocking the challengers head back. Halfway through the round Truscott was trapped against the ropes, he had been before in the fight and had managed to bravely fight his way out, it wasn’t to be this time though as Simpson landed two crushing hooks that had Truscott sagging prompting the referee to jump in to save him from taking further punishment.

Truscott howled with disappointment at the stoppage but it was the correct decision, sometimes a fighter needs saving from his own bravery. Truscott was in tears in the corner afterwards, distraught at losing in front of his hometown fans for the second time in his career, but after such a courageous performance, he can walk around Middlesbrough with his head held high.

Simpson now moves to 20-6 and looks to have finally established himself at domestic level. He’s expected to make another couple of title defences before challenging the talented Martin Lindsay for the British title sometime next year.

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British Scene: John Simpson vs Paul Truscott II Preview

Dave Oakes previews tomorrow night's rematch between between featherweights John Simpson and Paul Truscott.

Paul Truscott will be looking for revenge on Friday night when he challenges John Simpson for the Commonwealth featherweight title at the Eston Sports Academy in Middlesbrough.

Truscott will be fighting in front of his hometown fans once more, as he was when he lost the title to Simpson just over seven months ago. Truscott was stopped in the eighth round last time after a couple of hefty head clashes caused a nasty cut above his right eye. The Middlesbrough man was ahead on two of the judges scorecards at the time but was starting to lose his way in the fight, with Simpson’s marauding style seemingly having an effect on him.

Simpson is the older man by just three years but is a far more seasoned campaigner than Truscott, having had twenty-five fights compared to Truscott’s fourteen. Simpson’s record of 19-6 is a bit deceiving; he was thrown in at the deep end very early in his career and has only lost to good fighters. He’s certainly the best fighter Truscott has ever faced.

Simpson isn’t the fastest, slickest, or even the strongest fighter in the featherweight division, but he’s got a massive heart and is more than happy to take a punch to land one. He also hits harder than his record suggests (just seven of his win have come inside the distance), he hasn’t got one punch knockout power; his punches are the type that have more of an accumulative effect.

One thing for certain is that he’s the puncher in this fight. Truscott has only got one stoppage on his record (13-1) and hasn’t got the power to trouble Simpson, who’s got a solid chin. Truscott is fast, stylish, and better suited to hitting and moving rather than trading punches. He started their first meeting well but seemed to be surprised at how quick Simpson was closing him down. If he’s to stand any chance of winning the rematch he must land sharp combinations to keep Simpson off balance before moving out of range.

I’m impressed that Truscott has decided to take the rematch so willingly; it shows that he believes he’s got what it takes to beat Simpson. There were plenty of other options available for Truscott, who at 22, is still in the learning stage of his career.

I’m having a hard time picking a winner in this fight; I believe it’ll go to the scorecards where there’ll be very little separating them. I give Simpson the slight edge but Truscott’s confidence leads me to think he could snatch a victory if he executes the perfect game plan. He’ll have to be on his toes from the first bell to the last if he’s to win but he’s more than capable of doing so.

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The Boxing Bulletin Pick'em Game - Week 1

The Boxing Bulletin's Pick'em game has arrived.

Our game is a little different than most of the variations we've seen online, as it's a combination of picking the winners straight-up and beating the odds. If you're ready to match your prognostication skills against other boxing fans, then let's get started...

How to play:

The game is strictly for fun, and entry is free. The deadline to enter this week is Thursday night at 11 PM EST. We'll post the pick breakdown on Friday, and have the results tabulated and online by Sunday night.

Pick The Winners

This part's easy - 2 points for each correct answer.

Beat The Odds

This is where it gets a little more involved. You will have the option of choosing 1 fight to risk double points, and 1 fight to risk triple points. Points gained (and lost) will be multiplied by two and three times respectively for these fights.

You do not need to risk points on every fight. If you wish to skip a fight, just check "pass" for both fighters.

Standings

We will keep standings for the full year, although each game will only last for 1 month. At the end of the month standings will be reset and a new game will begin.

We've got a few details below on the fights in play this week, but if you're ready to get started, here's the Week 1 game sheet.

This Week's Line-up - clicking on the fighter's name will open up their boxrec page September 4 John Simpson vs Paul Truscott - Commonwealth featherweight title - Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, United Kingdom (Television: Sky, UK) These two featherweights fought back in January, with Simpson coming away with an 8th round "stoppage" win. It went in the books as a TKO, but it was an accidental clash of heads that lead to the bout being called (the correct ruling under British rules). Simpson was coming on strong at the time, and enters Friday's rematch as the favorite. Jose Lopez vs Marvin Sonsona - WBO super-flyweight title - Rama, Ontario, Canada (Television, TSN, Canada) This will be a huge jump in class for the 19 year old Sonsona who's fought a grand total of 38 professional rounds. Is he ready for it? Here's the Filipino phenom's one punch knock-out win over Wandee Singwnacha this past May. The 37 year old Lopez is 15-0-1 since dropping a 12 round decision to Fernando Montiel back in 2001. September 5 John O'Donnell (21-1-0) vs Tom Glover (9-5-3) - 12 rounds - Commonwealth welterweight title & Lee Purdy (11-1) vs Peter McDonagh (14-14) - 10 rounds - Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom (Television: ITV4, UK) O'Donnell enters the main event as a big favorite, but Glover has put together an unlikely string of upsets, including a win over former European lightweight champion Jon Thaxton last time out. Purdy's only defeat as a pro... a 10 round points loss to McDonagh last December. Luis Concepcion vs Omar Solado (12 rounds) - interim WBA flyweight title - Panama City, Panama Solado was stopped last year in a WBC eliminator by Julio Cesar Miranda. After a couple of wins, he's getting another crack at a strap but will have to travel to Concepcion's hometown for the opportunity. Concepcion's lone defeat game in his 4th pro fight and since then has rolled off 18 straight victories. Here's the video from his latest fight (it's a short one): click For a short previews of Simpson vs Truscott and O'Donnell vs Glover, check out Part 1 of our UK Season preview by Dave Oakes.

If you're ready to play, click here for the week 1 game sheet.
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British Scene Season Preview Part One; Simpson vs Truscott, O'Donnell vs Glover, Davis vs Napa, Fury vs McDermott & Olusegun vs Daws

The new British boxing season is just about ready to get underway and over the next couple days Dave Oakes will be previewing what we have to look forward to in September and October.

In today's preview:

John Simpson vs Paul Truscott - Commonwealth featherweight title

John O'Donnell vs Tom Glover - Commonwealth welterweight title

Gary Davis vs Ian Napa - British bantamweight title

Tyson Fury (Photo © Justin McKie) vs John McDermott - English heavyweight title

Ajose Olusegun vs Lenny Daws - British light-welterweight title

It’s at times like this when all British based boxing fans are starting to get withdrawal symptoms. It’s been nearly a month since the last boxing card that contained a title fight, and a month is a long time for any boxing addict. So, with the inevitable feeling of melancholy descending upon me, I decided to raise my spirits by taking a brief look at what we can look forward to when the new season starts in September.

Simpson vs Truscott

First up is the rematch between Commonwealth featherweight champion John Simpson and former champion Paul Truscott on September 4th. Simpson stopped Truscott in the 8th round of their first meeting after a clash of heads opened up a nasty gash above the then champion’s right eye. Simpson was clearly ahead on the cards at the time but Truscott believes there’s unfinished business to be taken care of.

Simpson’s speed surprised Truscott last time out, Truscott thought he could dance rings around Simpson but found that the experienced Scotsman was no slouch in closing the distance between them. If Truscott has learnt from their first fight, and can make the necessary adjustments, he can make it a much closer battle.

O'Donnell vs Glover

In the days of protected fighters with padded undefeated records, it’s good to see a fighter like John O’Donnell proving that a defeat can be a positive rather than a negative.

O’Donnell was a much touted prospect in the early part of his career and was looking the part until bumping into one Christian Solano on a hot night in Vegas in May of 2007. O’Donnell, eager to impress on his U.S debut, was caught cold and went down heavily after a short left hook landed around his temple midway through the first round, he managed to get to his feet but never seemed to recover.

His corner waved the fight off in the second round after he was dropped heavily by another hook, he’d managed to get to his feet again but his legs were still shaky and it was a sensible decision by his trainer Robert McCracken to stop the fight.

Such a devastating defeat proved hard for the likable Londoner to take, he took an extended break before eventually returning to the ring just over a year later, his batteries recharged and mind focused on the future rather than the past.

His patience and determination paid off when he claimed the Commonwealth welterweight title earlier this year, winning on a split decision after a bruising encounter with Craig Watson. Watson started the quicker but O’Donnell came on strong in the later rounds to just edge a fight in which he showed plenty of heart as well as some superb technical boxing.

He returns to the ring on September 5th against the durable but limited Tom Glover in a fight that should be a competitive warm up before the first defence of his Commonwealth title in December.

Glover is in the form of his life having beaten Chas Symonds, Nadeem Siddique and Jon Thaxton in his past three fights. He was considered the underdog in those fights but battled his way to deserved victories through willpower and work-rate. Glover isn’t blessed with great speed, skill or power but makes the most of what he’s got. He’s a fighter that will struggle to win titles in his career but he’ll always gain the respect of his opponents.

O’Donnell should be too skilful for him but Glover will make it a hard night’s work like he always does. I expect the much taller O’Donnell to use his reach advantage to jab and move his way to an early lead before trading punches more as the fight goes on. I think O’Donnell will win somewhere around the 118-110 mark in an entertaining but one-sided fight.

Davis vs Napa

A week later sees Ian Napa challenge Gary Davis for the latter’s British bantamweight title. Napa is coming off a career worst performance, having surrendered his European title in the meekest of manners against Malik Bouziane.

Napa couldn’t get going that night and found himself being picked apart at distance by the much taller man. He needs a performance here to disprove his critics from claiming that his career is on the slide.

Davis, on the other hand, is full of confidence after dropping Matthew Edmonds three times en route to a 7th round stoppage to claim the vacant title earlier this year. Davis imposed his will on Edmonds from the first bell and looked very strong for the weight.

This will be an intriguing clash of styles and experience but I’ve got a feeling the cleaner punching and better tactical nous of Napa will be enough for him to win on points.

Fury vs McDermott

The undercard is headed by Tyson Fury taking on former British title challenger John McDermott. Fury is unbeaten with all of his victories coming inside the distance and will be looking to continue his reign of terror on the domestic heavyweight scene.

McDermott is the nearly man of the division having lost in his three British title attempts. He failed to turn up in his first attempt when he was pummelled to the floor three times and stopped inside a round by Matt Skelton. The other two title defeats were much closer affairs against Danny Williams but it was worrying that when the going got tough, McDermott went into his shell and found a way of losing when he could’ve easily battle his way to victory.

I think this is the perfect fight for Fury at this stage of his career and one in which he’ll be made to work for a few rounds before claiming an impressive stoppage win.

Olusegun vs Daws

The following Friday (September 18) sees the world class Ajose Olusegun defend his British light-welterweight title against former holder Lenny Daws at the legendary York Hall, Bethnal Green.

Olusegun is using this fight as a warm up for a world title eliminator that’s been pencilled in for a month later, this could prove to be a dangerous move if he views Daws as nothing more than a competitive spar.

Daws lost this title in his first defence against Barry Morrison, but still has the ambition and hunger to give Olusegun a real battle. Daws is a pressure fighter who is willing to walk through walls to win.

Olusegun should be too classy for Daws and should be able to pick him apart off the back foot, but if he takes his foot off the gas, or lets Daws get into a rhythm, then he could be in for a bruising night.

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Check out the second half of Dave's season preview: British Scene Season Preview Part Two: Macklin vs Asikainen, Thaxton vs Murray, Sexton vs Rogan & Booth vs Hunter
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