By Oli Smith
Domestic rivalries don’t come much hotter than Tony Quigley and Paul Smith’s grudge match for the British Super Middleweight title, as the pre-fight build up proved on multiple occasions. A palpable tension could be felt whenever they stood near each other and often they would need to be forcibly separated. It is just as well that the two men from Liverpool would get to fight in front of their home crowd at the Echo Arena, which had been packed to capacity.
Tony Quigley was fresh from a domestic fight of the year candidate against another Liverpudlian, Tony Dodson. In only his 14th professional fight, and behind on the score cards entering the final round, Quigley scored a double knock down and then put his man away for good to win the vacant British title. During the press build up, he often took the role of protagonist, reveling in winding Paul Smith up and had angered at comments Smith had made about his boxing ability.
Paul Smith on the other hand almost seemed subdued, aside from rising to the bait on occasions; he looked to have the confidence that is often exuded by classy boxers. He is no stranger pressure, nor operating at this level, having competed in the “Contender” series and fighting against classy operators on both sides of the pond, he amassed a 27-1 (15KO) record going into tonight’s contest, exactly double the amount of fights as his challenger. Smith has also risen in the World rankings, currently sitting at number four in the WBO’s list of Super Middleweights. Yet like Joe Calzaghe and Carl Froch before him, Smith would first fight for British honors before moving onto the world scene. Interestingly, the top three contenders above him in the rankings are all currently taking part in Showtime’s Super Six tournament; Ward, Abraham and Dirrell.
The first round started fast as Smith hunted the champion down, both men looked tense, the pre-fight hyperbole looked to have boiled over into the ring as each man swung wildly, looking to land bombs. Quigley came into the ring looking a little fleshy; it would be weight that he put to good use through the course of the rounds as he leaned on in the clinches and sapped Paul Smith’s strength.
Both men took their time to warm into the fight, by the second round they took turns in pawing the jab before trying an over hand right. Paul Smith had come to box; it was the key to winning the fight against a limited technician. Yet at no point would Quigley give him the space required to build momentum. It was a clever tactic, yet made the proceedings entirely messy. The polar opposite of his clash in March with Dodson.
During the early rounds the template had been set and at times the referee worked harder than the fighters at centre ring. In an odd move Quigley started to switch hit, although bringing him no more success, it gave Smith one further problem to try and solve as the time ticked by. Often rounds were all but un-scorable as Quigley pressured and Smith landed the better shots off the back foot. Having said that, the champion fought more effectively during the mid section of the fight, he just couldn’t find a way to fight intelligently enough to neutralize Smith and really take command.
A nasty little cut had opened over Smith’s left eye in the fifth round - due to a clash of heads – and gradually worsened as their heads continued to come together in the clinches. After repeated attempted by the referee to get both men to start putting on a show, he called a halt to the action twice in the ninth round and gave them both a piece of his mind. It seemed to work, for a while at least. Smith was able to find space for shots as the fight inevitably started to slow. At the end of the round, Quigley caught Smith with a short right on the inside, only to have Smith turn him on the ropes and return the favor with the best body shots of the night.
As the fight moved into the championship rounds Paul Smith finally started to take over, it was evident that Quigley was beginning to tire, his mouth started to hang open and his work became sloppy when he needed it most. But as the champion had proved all night, he was willing to take to punishment in order to dish it out; he showed remarkable punch resistance in constantly walking forward and never gave up looking for the big shot that might swing the balance in his favour. It was to Paul Smith’s credit that it never came, when it looked like it might, the challenger drew upon his greater experience to stem the tide and rally back effectively.
As the final round began Paul Smith looked more confident than he had all night, having survived the worst, he finally turned aggressor and scored the clearest winning round of the contest. He threw everything at the champion in an effort to take a very close contest out of the judge’s hands, yet Quigley stood firm and refused to be taken out.
The final scores were read out; a split decision which could have gone either way given the nature of the fight. In the end scores of 116-114 to Quigley and 113-116, 112-116 to Paul Smith, saw a new champion crowned in Liverpool. A decision which drew applause and boos in equal measure, for what it is worth I had Paul Smith up one point on my card as he threw the more effective shots which was vindicated by a higher overall connects and percentage. However, I had scored two rounds tied and I don’t believe there would have been any room to complain had Quigley retained his crown.
Frank Warren immediately looked to a rematch as Smith’s first defence of the British title, which only seems fair given the nature of the fight. Neither man was particularly impressive tonight, both have fought far more effectively in the past and this might be due to a combination of the pre-fight bad feelings and a mismatch of styles. Whatever the reason it didn’t make for pretty viewing. Nonetheless Smith got the job done and aside from the British title, he should perhaps now start to make his world championship ranking work for him. Interesting European level fights could be made with Dimitri Sartision or Karoly Balzsay; the former is fighting for the vacant EBU title in January, enough time for Smith to get a rematch out of the way and then concentrate on taking the next step in his bright career.
On the undercard both James DeGale and Frankie Gavin saw action against hopelessly outclassed journeymen. DeGale faced off against undefeated Ally Morrison; with a record of 2-0-1, he had turned pro well into his thirties and as the first round started the fight looked like a foregone conclusion.
DeGale looked fresh and powerful having reinvented himself for the paid ranks. He recently spent time at Floyd Mayweather Jr’s camp and looked to have gained confidence from his spell there. He timed his shots well and bobbed and weaved out of trouble very effectively. Morrison came alive in the second round landing a few jabs and pressing the action a little more.
As the third round started, a chorus of boos echoed around the arena, as if answering the detractors, DeGale immediately stepped up through the gears and landed three answered hooks, knocking a stunned Morrison across the ring. As he followed up his attack the referee jumped in to stop the punishment. With the win DeGale registers his third consecutive knockout and has proved again, though it wasn’t particularly in doubt, that he is ready for a step up in class. Talk at ringside suggested a title fight of some sort later on next year. As the level of his competition rises, DeGale is very likely to get better and better.
Frankie Gavin took centre stage against toughened Veteran Steve Saville; initially this looked to be tougher test for Gavin, as the squat and muscular Saville looked far stronger than the young former Amateur prodigy. Frankie Gavin proved his class from the first bell, despite having a strength disadvantage; he controlled the pace from start to finish. In the second round a left hook to the body knocked the wind from Saville’s sails, a quick follow up from Gavin saw him hit the deck. As he rose the ref called the contest off in the interests of safety, the competition had become worryingly one sided toward the tail end of the second round and without doubt it was the right decision. Like DeGale, Gavin registers his fourth win, unlike DeGale however he has yet to hear the final bell and is certainly a prospect to keep an eye on as he progresses up through the ranks.