By Terence Dooley

Perfect records mean a lot in boxing, it is not often that a guy with a good few losses on his slate manages to force his way into a title shot on and onto our screens.  Birmingham's Max Maxwell has 10 defeats on his ledger, against 15 wins (3 KOs) and three draws, yet on Saturday night he will contest the British light-middleweight title live on Sky TV due in part to his tendency to pick up decent results at just the right time and a burning desire on the champion Brian Rose's part to avenge a stunning 2010 sixth-round KO defeat to Maxwell. 

After winning the belt courtesy of a brilliant performance in his split decision win over Prince Arron last December, which was marred only by a 115-114 card from Phil Edwards for Arron despite the challenger's dominance, Rose, 18-1-1 (5), ignored the ephemera of rankings and records and called for the man who had inflicted his only defeat.  It was music to the ears of Maxwell and the two meet in a good old fashioned “Revenge or repeat?” match at Blackpool's Winter Gardens tomorrow night.

“I can't wait,” said Maxwell when speaking to Boxingscene.com about the contest.  “Normally I only get two weeks or 10 days notice, but I've had 12 weeks for this one – I wish it had come around sooner because I'm looking forward to it.  I can't complain at all because I was lucky to get the return, especially once he became British champion.  I am pinching myself.  My coach had to hold me back so I didn't peak too early.  It is a dream, really, because I've boxed all over and never disgraced myself, but didn't expect to get this shot.

He added: “I was hoping to box for the English title, any title is appreciated and I was going to treat that as my world title shot, but then I got the British and will take this with both hands.”

Maxwell's muscular style can leave opponents bruised and bristling.  Indeed, Prince Arron warred to a draw with the 32-year-old in December 2009, the youngster jumped back in with his tormentor in May of the following year and registered a decision win.  The Birmingham-based boxer believes that Rose and Arron showed a lot of grit and desire by seeking to set the record straight.

“When I boxed Arron the first time I got a draw and he came back and gave me a rematch when I didn't expect it, so out of all the guys I've boxed, like Sam Webb [who won a narrow decision over Maxwell in 2009] and Brian, he was the first guy who came out and said he wanted a rematch straight away,” said Maxwell.

“I didn't expect the call to come from Brian, but to give him his credit he came out and said he wanted it when he won the bell, he posted it on Twitter and everything.  Not many people say, 'I want the guy who beat me', so I give him the maximum respect, but not to the extent that I'm just glad to be there – I want to beat him. 

“I've watched the first fight back and when you're facing the favoured fighter you don't usually get credit for the things you do, but I was pushing him back, fighting on the inside and was comfortable.  Brian didn't like the uppercut – I landed it over and over.  I broke him down and took him out with a shot we'd been working on, it came together perfectly.”

Maxwell with have to make the ropes and corner his house if he is to repeat the trick.  Rose is a lovely, traditional boxer when he gets going, eschewing the traditional pressure style of the North West for an approach that owes more Scottish stylists such as Ken Buchanan and Alex Arthur.  Bobby Rimmer, the trainer of Rose, put together the perfect plan ahead of the Arron fight; Rimmer was calm and composed in the corner that night and recently told me that Maxwell knows that this could be his only chance to contest the British crown.  It all adds up to an on-form Rose and a tough night for the challenger. 

Maxwell, though, believes that he can once again slip past Rose's shots and unload his own ordnance to make Brian's reign a brief one.  He said: “I know he's a nice boxer, he showed that against Arron, so I expect him to come out and try to jab my head off.  It is up to me and my team to work on how to counter that.

“Brian has also shown he is tough by taking this.  A lot of fighters call themselves top 10 or 20, but when they hear my name they don't want anything to do with me.  Brian's got to number one, and he deserves to be there because he's a class act, but we can all beat each other on our day.”

A strong back story helps overcome a record that has one too many defeats for the TV executives, much will be made of the change of luck in his Maxwell's career since he lost in a single round to Tom Doran last May.  Doran went down heavily in the first, he got up and later hammered Maxwell when under pressure and referee Howard Foster stopped it with 18 seconds left in the opener.  The result brought Maxwell to his lowest ebb, thoughts of retirement rattled around his mind and it was seven months before he fought again – a decision win over Rocky Chakir on December 20.  Rose won the British title on the third of the same month, Maxwell's luck was finally in, his name bubbling back to the surface just as the new champion was surveying the domestic 154lb landscape and searching for a suitable opponent for his triumphant return to his usual place of residence.   

“I can't put it into words to tell the truth,” said Maxwell when asked how he felt when the news of his shock title challenge came through.  “I will do everything in my power to bring that title back to Birmingham. 

“After my fight with Doran I felt that I might retire because I thought, 'I can't keep doing this'.  I caught him then got caught myself and the referee stopped it.  I wasn't hurt and felt that was my big chance gone because it could have led to a British title eliminator – the referee took it out of my hands.  I dusted myself off and have come again.  Doran hasn't fought since, he's pulled out of fights and I think he knows that he has to come back better with what he came with that night if he is to break into the top ten.”

Still, a win for Maxwell on Saturday night could result in a natural Maxwell-Doran rematch with the Lonsdale belt on the line.  Would Maxwell take a leaf from Rose's book or is he still seething over the perceived injustice of the defeat?  “I don't think he'd deserve it to be honest, so no,” his thoughts on that one.

As for the Rose fight, “Mad Max” believes that all the pressure is on Rose, he holds the W over his opponent and scored a stunning stoppage to boot, leaving the road warrior in no doubt as to the outcome come Saturday evening.  “A Maxwell win, whether by knockout or the full 12 rounds,” he predicted.

The circumstances have percolated nicely for Maxwell, Rose's rise to the top means that opportunity has knocked for the Midlander and although his record might not tick all the boxes the fight itself might turn into a torrid affair if both men hit their stride.  One man will be left stoked by the outcome; the other will feel a bit gnarly; the fans won't care as long as the fight ebbs and flows, and it probably will.

For Rose's thoughts on fight click the following link: https://www.boxingscene.com/brian-rose-hopes-exorcise-max-maxwell-demons--50065

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