By Terence Dooley
Two weeks ago, former WBA light-welterweight title-holder Gavin Rees had question marks hanging over his boxing future. ‘The Rock’ injured his nose when winning the British lightweight title by stopping John Watson last November; there were fears that his career could be prematurely curtailed.
Thankfully, Rees’s injury has healed. However, the Welshman elected to vacate his British title in order to free up the belt for Watson versus Anthony Crolla. Gavin was sat next to me at Liverpool’s Olympia venue during the Watson-Crolla dust-up. The former world titlist enjoyed Crolla’s ninth round KO win, he also made it clear that he will be rejoining the fray within a few months.
“I had an operation on my nose injury and had to pull out of tonight’s fight,” stated Rees. “I wanted to help them save the bill so I agreed to give up my title as long as I get to fight for it next.”
“There were worries”, he explained when asked if he had feared for his future, “but I went to the doctor, he sorted my nose out and I can even start sparring again next week. I want to be back in April. I fought in November so wasn’t out for too long a time – I want to go straight back in for titles.”
Rees’s win over Watson was a snorter. Gavin started brightly, Watson then came on strong during the middle sessions only to be caught late and stopped in the eleventh round. Rees revealed that there were shades of Larry Holmes and Henry Armstrong in his performance – Holmes and Armstrong had to swallow their own blood in title fights (against Kenny Norton and Lou Ambers respectively) but fought through the discomfort to register wins.
“I won the first six rounds but then my nose went. It was hard to breathe because of the blood going down my throat so I lost a few rounds but came back to stop him. It is all sorted out now so I’ll fight better next time,” pledged Rees.
“I’m thirty now so I’ve still got a few years of top-level boxing and want to fight for titles. I don’t need warm-ups. I just need to move on. I want to fight for the European or my old British title.”
Rees campaigned at super-featherweight earlier in his career, jumping up to lightweight and, later, light-welterweight despite giving away height and reach to the majority of his opponents. Indeed, Gavin gave away every physical advantage when challenging then-WBA 140lb boss Souleymane M’baye in 2007 only to overcome his foe using desire, inside fighting ability and aggression.
“I was never a light-welterweight. I boxed for years at lightweight but was offered a world title fight up in weight and you don’t turn those fights down. Winning was a great feeling. M’baye was 35-1-1 and the world champion but I knocked the fight out from him. It was a good performance on the night – I want to get back to that level.
“Then I was offered a chance to defend the world title and you obviously that is something you want to do. I lost to [Andriy] Kotelnik and realized the weight wasn’t for me. I’d never box up at light-welterweight again. I did it for Prizefighter in 2009 because I needed to make some money and get some rounds in but I’m better off at lightweight,” says Rees.
The 34-1 (16) pressure fighter believes that his engine is unsurpassed at 135lbs, a hypothesis he intends to prove by taking out the best domestic fighters in the division over the next year. Crolla’s British and John Murray’s EBU belts are his chief targets.
“I think I’ll go for Murray down the line to be honest because [Kevin] Mitchell’s coming off a big loss to Michael Katsidis and won’t have boxed for a year. Maybe he needed a fight before taking on Murray, you know. That one will be a war and you’ve already seen a good fight for my old belt tonight so I’ll be prepared to take any of those names on when I come back,” insisted Rees.
However, Murray’s April 2nd tangle with Mitchell leaves Gavin at a loose end for the next few months. Although the 30-year-old was impressed by Crolla’s performance, he wants the opportunity to vie for his old title right off the bat.
“Tonight’s fight was a great fight, it will be one of the fights of the year even though I think Crolla was in control from the start,” mused Rees. “I don’t think that Watson is strong at the weight but he showed some good boxing at times. Sometimes you want to fight but your body can’t do it.
“I gave up the title so I am next in line and a fight between me and Crolla won’t disappoint people. Murray and Mitchell are fighting each other so I can’t go for them yet so why not go for Crolla next?”
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