By Terence Dooley

Tommy Gilmour, the manager of Scottish heavyweight prospect Gary "The Highlander" Cornish, has thrown cold water on the BBBoC’s plan to match his charge against London’s Dillian "The Villain" Whyte in an eliminator for the British title.  The Board mandated the match last week, only for Gilmour to reveal that he wants to take the 27-year-old to world title contention via another route rather than going for the Lonsdale title.

“It was a stupid idea from the board, but that’s to be expected,” said Gilmour when speaking to The Inverness Courier.  “I’ve been asking the BBBC to give Gary a straight crack at the title but even if he took this fight, he’d still have to fight again before he got a shot.  If it was a final eliminator I would have considered it.  It’s obvious these guys are administrators and not boxing promoters.  It made little monetary sense—it would have been worth thruppence.  We’ve not worked for four years with Gary to throw it away against someone who’s just back from a two-year suspension.  I’ll do the same as I’ve always done—help Gary progress.  I’d say that we’ve not made too many mistakes so far.”

For his part, Cornish denied accusations that he had ducked Whyte, arguing that he was happy to let Gilmour decide which direction he takes.  “Fighters fight and managers manage,” stated the 20-0 (11) contender.

“Tommy told me last week that it wasn’t happening and you have got to put your trust in your manager.  That’s what you pay them for.  Tommy’s got a few world champions on his books and I wouldn’t have signed with him again if I didn’t trust him.  He’s promised me he’ll come up with the goods.”

It leaves Whyte, 14-0 (11), and the Board looking for a new opponent for the mooted eliminator.

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