By Terence Dooley
Robin Deakin didn’t feel the need to celebrate wildly when the final bell sounded on his 2008 four-threes lightweight contest against the then-undefeated Vinny Mitchell, younger brother of Kevin, at the historic York Hall, Bethnal Green; the Crawley-based boxer had gone 0-3 since turning pro with a win over Shaun Walton in 2006 yet he believed that a much-needed win had been secured and was quietly confident that his hand would be raised.
However, Deakin’s good cheer turned to despair when referee Richie Davies declared Mitchell, who had been floored in the first round, a 38-37 winner. Robin slipped to 4-1 and though a plucky loser in a further 17 fights, the flame-red haired fighter never quite got over the pain of that particular reverse, this ache was exacerbated when Mitchell took a deserved 40-36 decision win in their 2009 rematch.
Sure, Robin has come close to breaking his losing run on a few occasions, most notably when losing to Jason Hastie, then 2-0, up in Scotland, the first of two defeats at the hands of the Edinburgh man, but the fight was knocked out of the 24-year-old after that first Mitchell reverse.
Now, though, Deakin’s belief is back; he’s had a year’s R & R and is scheduled to fight Lee Gillespie on August the 28th; the fighter has one goal, to grab a few Ws and prove to people that he is a lot better than his 1-21 slate. “I’ve taken some time out. I’ve just been living my life and now I’m back,” revealed Deakin. “I’m fighting Lee in August. I’m looking to eventually get Vinny Mitchell again.”
That Mitchell defeat remains a bugbear for the ABA quarter-finalist – Robin lost to eventual winner and current British 126lb boss Gary Sykes in the 2005 finals. Vinny’s ‘0’ was taken by Jon Baguley back in February courtesy of a fourth-round TKO; Jon, like Robin, had been lumbered with the ‘plucky loser’ tag but showed that every loser wins as long as they keep the faith. Deakin’s belief that he has the beating of Mitchell has not withered over time; indeed, Robin is spurred on by thoughts of revenge.
“I’m still a bit annoyed about my loss to Mitchell, yeah, but I have to grin and bear it,” said Deakin. “There is no point screaming about it but if I got that fight again it would go my way. I was actually there at Wembley on that night in February; it was late in the night so maybe that was behind it (Vinny’s loss). I was surprised because I thought he’d have won it.
“Vinny should be beating Jon Baguley, though. I saw Dean Powell the other night and he said they are looking to step Vinny up, but if they’re stepping him up then why was he fighting Jon for a second time and then Daniel Thorpe for a second time?
“He’s talked about stepping up but he has boxed me twice as well, if he was going to step up then he’d have done it before now. He lost to Jon, he beat Thorpe in his comeback but that was the second time he’s fought Daniel. Vinny keeps fighting the same people.”
Deakin’s chagrin is laced with a lingering sense of bitterness over that first result. It is not just the loss that rankles, what really does for Deakin is the fact that the defeat saw him slip into the journeyman bracket.
“That broke my heart,” sighed Deakin. “When my hand wasn’t raise, that feeling is something I remember. I watch the video over and over again and when he [Davies] brought us together I thought I was going to get the verdict. I thought, ‘Fuck it’, after that fight. I trained hard for it. I was ready for it. My heart was broke and I couldn’t see the point after that, nothing I was doing seemed to work.”
Robin, though, insisted that he had tried to win his subsequent fights. “Every fight I’ve taken, even though I’ve lost, I have given it one hundred and ten percent. I wanted to do something about those losses but after that Mitchell fight it was tough for me,” declared Deakin, who pointed out that the sport had not done him any favours in terms of his opposition.
“Steve Bunce said that of all the people I’ve boxed, at the time I boxed them, thirteen were undefeated. I got robbed against Jason Hastie in Scotland [a 38-39 reverse]. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken the fight but that is what I do, I’m a fighter and have got unlucky a few times. You wouldn’t get many other pro fighter taking that type of fight in the other guy’s own backyard.”
Still, Deakin has readily admitted that he allowed himself to lapse into some serious stinking thinking in the aftermath of his loss to Mitchell and that this mental outlook may have prevented him from producing the type of boxing that he knew he was capable of.
“Taking those types of fights was my mistake, really, but at the time I needed to live and go out and support myself. I was living on my own and needed to pay rent and boxing was my only income. I’ve got a job now, my girlfriend, Katie, is working as well and helping me out so I can get on the right track, stop taking fights for the money and take things from there.”
Robin has been given a timely confidence boost ahead of his return to the ring, he’s been sparring rising prospect Frankie Gavin, who recently told James Howard of Boxrec News that Deakin ‘…is definitely better than his record says, without a doubt’. Robin was quick to admit that his spars with Gavin were a welcome, if painful, boost.
“Yeah, I sparred Frankie Gavin”, he enthused, “it is good to get the experience and what he said about me gave me a lift. He told me that I’m better than my record and what to do about that. Frankie gave me the inspiration to prove to people what I’m made of.
“Frankie will go all the way, it is a good job Curtis Woodhouse pulled out (their fight) to be honest with you. They’d have to pay me a lot of money to fight Frankie because he’s the top boy; he’s at a different level. Seven fights, six knockouts, and he’s looked good in all of them. You can see what he’s made of – he’s a different fighter from the others out there.”
Indeed, Deakin believes that he’s now sparred and fought two of our top prospects; Robin lost by second-round TKO to Stephen Smith in 2008, ‘Swifty’ is Deakin’s other domestic pick.
“I’d say Stephen Smith is the best lad I’ve boxed, he is top-drawer. It only went two rounds but he’s like Frankie Gavin, a great amateur. I’ve never been hurt the way Frankie hurt me in sparring and the way Stephen hurt me in our fight, John Simpson has got his work cut out,” predicted Deakin, who reiterated his desire to reverse that troubling career trajectory.
“I’ve been training so, like I said before, I am ready for fights now,” he smiled. “I’ve already fought in people’s backyard so nothing bothers me. I’m working on my defence with people like Frankie Gavin so people will see a different me. I can turn my career around.
“Now, I’m doing it to get back on track and I can say for sure that I will go for one of the Area or Masters titles. I would love Mitchell for the central area, over ten-rounds, and we could settle it for a title. A couple of fights, a couple of wins, and I’ll be looking for Vinny.”
Deakin, who battled through painful childhood operations in order to fix his weak legs, is determined to perform some drastic cosmetic surgery on that losing slate; he’s hoping to introduce the boxing world to a new, improved and revitalised ‘Rocking’ Robin Deakin come August.
You can join Robin’s Facebook group and follow his progress by visiting http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=64861822118.
Please send news and views to neckodeemus@hotmail.co.uk
