UNBEATEN Capital super-middleweight ace Kenny Anderson has revealed what powered the savage right hander which defeated opponent Dean Walker at the SECC on Saturday night – his fury at being butted above the left eye.
Anderson's killer punch forced the man from Sheffield, who had caused Anderson problems in a bout two years ago, to surrender in his corner just before the bell for round five was about to sound.
And alluding to Walker's return to seemingly dod
gy ring tactics in Glasgow's SECC Braveheart Promotions show on Saturday, Anderson said: "Walker clinched every time he could in the first two rounds but I used a pre-rehearsed strategy of covering my head in the clinches with both my gloves so he couldn't rub his head in my eyes.
"But in the third round when I decked Walker for an eight count with a tremendous dig to the ribs he started the fourth by butting me and causing, thankfully, only a minor cut over my left eyebrow.
"Nevertheless, I was so angry that he should try and inflict a cut of the kind that cost me time and money the last time we fought that I went all out to make him pay for that butt."
And that is exactly what happened. Following the first signs of the slight cut on his eyebrow a clearly fired up Anderson tore after Walker and battered his ribs with a volley of spiteful hooks before dropping the Yorkshireman with the crunching right to the chin that forced Walker's corner to surrender.
Anderson's manager and promoter, Barry Hughes, explained why he had been forced to accept Walker again as an opponent for Anderson.
Said Hughes: "It was much against my own wishes – having Kenny fight Walker again – but mention the name of Kenny Anderson these days to fight managers and other British supermiddleweights and they don't want to know. My biggest problem is finding a British supermiddleweight of comparable experience to fight Kenny – his six fights-six stoppage wins record frightens them away.
"So I'm going to have to go overseas to get Kenny the kind of opponents he'll need to fight on his eventual march towards a world title – which I honestly believe he will achieve.''
On the under card of the Anderson fight Gilmerton featherweight Jason Hastie defeated Crawley based Robin Deacon by a close points decision, 39-38.
Deacon's manager Graham Earl, the former British and Commonwealth lightweight champion, was outraged at referee Kenny Pringle's verdict after four rounds, but the scoreline was spot on.
Deacon – from his pink Mohican hairstyle to his showboating ring movements – was certainly more colourful than his Gilmerton ring rival. But, most importantly, Hastie's punches were both heavier and more frequent.
Indeed, proof positive that Hastie's explosive bursts of body hooks were highly effective in hurting Deacon came in round three when Pringle threatened to deduct a point from Deacon for persistently holding to stop Hastie launching more rib-bending hooks to his sides.
Deacon did come on strong in the final round, explaining the closeness of the final decision, but the result rather flattered loser Deacon as I had Hastie a more convincing winner than the single point which separated them at the end of the bout might suggest.
None of this stopped Deacon throwing down a post-fight challenge to Hastie, however.
"I was robbed," claimed the Crawley boxer. "I challenge Hastie to give me a rematch over six rounds and I guarantee that I will beat him."
Meanwhile, cheering on both of his former Scottish amateur team mates at the SECC ringside, was Leith Victoria's Olympic heavyweight hope, Kenny Simmons.
He said: "I fly out early next week to Athens for my make-or-break Olympic qualifier. But I'm confident because I've just come through, with flying colours, a really tough sparring session with former English pro heavyweight champion, Mark Krence, who at 6ft 5in resembles lots of the Eastern European guys that I could end up boxing in Athens."
The full article contains 673 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
