By John Hargate
 
Rob Norton spoke to BoxingScene about his future after a scrappy, close contest at London’s York Hall last Friday which culminated in Norton relinquishing his British Cruiserweight title to Streatham’s Leon ‘Solid’ Williams on a contentious points decision.
 
Norton explained how hard it is for a fighter to properly score a fight while being in the ring. “You can never tell when you’re in there really. The point is, I don’t really know (if the decision was a fair one). He didn’t hurt me throughout the fight to be honest. He caught me with some good shots but he didn’t really shake me or anything. Don’t get me wrong, he probably threw the harder shots but I thought throughout the whole fight I connected more but obviously I’d have to watch the fight to give my honest opinion on it.”
 
The Stourbridge veteran, now 35-5-1 (19), felt that his inactivity may have been a factor in his defeat. “No excuse, I’m not a man to make excuses but you can’t have twenty months off at this level (since his last fight with David Dolan). They were making fights and I was training for them but they kept on falling through and time just went by. They offered me this fight [but] I only had four weeks notice for it.”
 
Now thirty-nine Norton is in the twilight of his career but may decide to carry on. “I don’t know (whether to retire or not). Bear in mind I’ve just gone twelve rounds - some people thought I’d possibly nicked it - and that’s with two years off. I thought I won the last two rounds there. I don’t know, the last one was close because we were opening up on each other. I thought I was landing more of the shots [but] he was landing the [bigger] shots.”
 
That last round saw both men move their hands for the full three minutes but the power and snap in both men’s work had deserted them. Norton looked like he was having to dig deep into his reserves. “I don’t know how I pulled that last round out to be honest. I was on autopilot really.”
 
“No favours have been done to me in my career,” contended Norton. “The lengths of time I’ve had off. Are favours going to be done to me now? I don’t know. I’ve asked him for a return but I don’t know if he’ll give me one or not.”
 
“I still do think I have a lot to offer if I get back in and have a couple of warm-up fights. I only heard about this [fight] a month ago. [Williams] was in the best condition to be honest.”
 
“I’ve got no excuses. Fair play to him, he won, but if he gives me a return, I’d love a return. Obviously I’d love a six or eight rounder first to get into the groove. I think I deserve that. Whether I will or not I don’t know.”
　
Leon ‘Solid’ Williams spoke to me in his dressing room after his victory over. During the bout many of the rounds were close and hard to score with twenty seven year-old Williams, now 9-3 (4). Williams found the thirty-nine year old devilishly hard to tag clean with many of his blows, all too often finding shoulders, elbows, gloves and fresh air.
 
In the 10th Norton took a breather and clowned in the corner, beckoning the younger man in. Williams obliged, happy to have the slippery Norton boxed in and loaded up a fuselage of big bombs which he unleashed with both hands. Norton evaded most of them by ducking and turning away from the shots but a few hard right hands found their mark.
 
To the delight of the London crowd Williams was awarded a split decision win with two cards in his favour - 116-113, 116-114 - with one going to Norton 115-114. I had the bout 115-113 for Norton but it certainly wasn’t the ‘robbery’ some have called it since. The reality is that there were many rounds that neither fighter really landed anything of note in, and in those rounds it came down to whether you preferred the more accurate but cuffing and tapping shots from Norton, or the heavier, wilder blows from Williams, many of which were blocked or slipped.
 
Williams acknowledged that Norton was a tricky customer. “I’m not going to lie, he was a very awkward fighter. Very clever, knew what he was doing, but I was fit, ready and strong. I don’t think you can get more awkward than Norton. [He was] very experienced. It was only my 12th fight - he’s had thirty-odd fights. He’s been around, been there, done that, seen it all. I was fit, strong and I’ve got a great team behind me.”
 
Some commentators had the fight clearly going Norton’s way but Williams believed the scoring reflected the action. “Yeah (the scores were fair). I put it on him. I got told by [trainer] Johnny Eames in the later rounds to just throw everything at him. Kitchen sink, everything.”
 
Norton seemed to tire and fade towards the end of the contest but he bluffed his way through a couple of the later rounds - the 10th in particular. “I’m not as experienced as he is,” Leon explained. “He would have realised if I was tiring. I didn’t realise he was tiring. I thought he was playing games but he was fucked. That’s why he wasn’t punching.”
 
There have been rumours of a possible showdown with Romford’s Tony Conquest but Leon stated that nothing has been set in stone. “It’s just talk. There’s a lot of talk right now. Tony Conquest is a good friend of mine and it’s not going to be good fighting a friend but this is the business we’re in. I hope he does win (in his upcoming fight against Toks Owoh). Whoever I’ve got to fight next, I’m going to fight them, I’m going to prepare and I’m going to crush them and be the winner. Defend my belt.”
 
Rob Norton seemed keen to secure a re-match post fight and Williams appeared open to the possibility. “I wouldn’t mind fighting him again. I’d put it on him from early and hopefully get a stoppage. I’ve got the confidence now that I know I can fight twelve rounds. I know I can put it on him. I’ve dealt with his awkwardness - it’s something else I’ve got on my C.V. - I’ve got the experience.”
 
Trainer Johnny Eames had said pre-fight he’d been delighted by the huge improvement in Williams in recent times. “I’ve got a good team behind me, pushing me,” Leon enthused. “I’m not in my comfort zone at all. When I’m in the gym I’m not happy in there. I’m training hard, hard. It’s not relaxing. I only relax when I get in the shower and it’s done. I’ve got a good team. They don’t let me have it my way. I do it their way and that’s the key. That was the key to me winning this fight.”
 
Williams brought over 200 of his own fans with him to the York Hall and they created an intimidating atmosphere - although Norton seemed oblivious. “They always come to my fights. That’s why I’m here now. I started off on small-hall shows - selling tickets, putting bums on seats. I’ve got people coming from Gloucestershire, Oxford - they come all the time. Those people are here today and I’m British Champion now.”