Padding a boxer’s record is common in England
Box Rec.com feature article written by Ian McNeilly is a hoot: Delroy Spencer gets a win in his 125th fight
The following article was put up on their website 2-11-11 and it’s such a great read because of the phraseology and funny word choices the author, Ian McNeilly uses to describe English boxers and poke fun at the journeyman fighters who go years without a win and have these cringeworthy records of 11 wins and 110 losses or one win, 25 losses and 3 draws.
Delroy Spencer gets a win in his 125th fight
Ian McNeilly of BoxRec.com
Any fight fan who follows British small hall boxing is likely to have seen Wolverhampton little man Delroy Spencer in action. Last night was another milestone in his career as one of the domestic sport’s most active journeymen; it being his 125th professional fight. I doubt anyone at the Barnsley Metrodome expected him to improve his 11-110-3 log against home town fighter Ross Blackwell (now 1-1) but he did. And, he deserved it too.
Fair play to new ref John Latham for calling it 58-57 to Spencer – it would have been the easiest thing in the world for him to raise the home town fighter’s hand. It was only Spencer’s second win since April 2006 – since then, including last night, Delroy has had 80 fights. It was his first win since he pipped Luke Wilton in June 2009.
Eighteen-year-old Blackwell must have thought the sport was easy after his debut in December when he knocked over an import twice, stopping him inside a round. Indeed, he took the first two sessions against Delroy but the veteran picked things up in the third and Blackwell, trying as he might, just lost his way somewhat and couldn’t get back on track. Spencer even gave away the last session on his bike and still won.
I’m sure the youngster from Wombwell can come again – though when he does, it had better be with an improved haircut, which looked like a carpet sample had been laid on top of an oversized egg. This was bad enough but a black bandana too? Come on lad, this is South Yorkshire.
Another midlands journeyman was in action, this time in the main event of this Carl Greaves Promotions eight-fight card which was, with one exception, novices versus serial losers. Birmingham’s Jason Nesbitt dropped a 39-37 decision to Barnsley’s Gwyn Wale. Wale, heavily tattooed and a tad fleshy, is having a second crack at the sport, his last fight being a loss to Billy Smith in September 2006. Wale actually beat Nesbitt more convincingly in his first career in 2004 when he dropped him in the second round before winning 39-35. No such fireworks this time and Gwyn, brother of Josh who fights for the English bantamweight title in a fortnight, apparently intends to be more boxer than brawler this time around.
In his first career his highlight was a points loss against Stefy Bull for the Area title. Hard to tell from last night’s fight if he can reach the same standard as the pair appeared to be going through the motions for the most part but at least his motions were better than those of his opponent, which is the main thing.
Carl Greaves told me the fights would start bang on 7.30 p.m. because Londoner Mickey Helliet had to get his charge Bheki Moyo back to London on the train. It was a long way to come for the beating Neil Beevers gave him over four-threes. Beevers (now 5-0-1) looked in great physical shape and was aggressive from the start trying to give Moyo (now 0-20-1) a chance to get an earlier rattler to King’s Cross. The Earls Court-based South African could have folded in the first and finished with a swelling on his left eye. But he literally took his lumps and kept plugging away.
In the third he grew in confidence until a Beevers right hook reminded him of the script. The Wombwell man poured it on in the final session but whatever Moyo was paid he earned every penny. 40-36 to the home fighter on referee Latham’s card.
Samir Mouneimne took an improved 6-0-1 record back to Hull by beating Walsall’s Steve Gethin. Mouneimne looks the part – switch hitting, nice combinations, hands down – though lacks a bit of pop. (He forgot to mention it was Gethin’s 24th straight loss)
Rotherham cruiserweight Neil Dawson racked up a record of 8-0 before he hung up his gloves at aged 25 in July 2005. He’s now back and such is the paucity of quality in this division that he might very well find himself in the domestic mix up quickly if he keeps ticking over like this. He stopped Mansfield heavyweight Mark Lewis, who retired complaining of an injured right shoulder after the second round. Dawson rattled home some crisp one-twos in the second session and one opened up the nose of the bearded Lewis which had the effect of rapidly dispiriting the big man. He drops to 1-13. The funny thing was, though he retired with an injured right shoulder, he fully extended his right arm to touch gloves with Dawson after the fight was brought to a close. Nothing in it, I’m sure, but it did make me laugh.
Waddington’s (light middleweight) Ryan Clark fell to 1-25-3 with his 39-37 loss to Barnsley’s Matthew ‘Buster’ Mallin but for a little while it looked like he might double the number in his win column. Clark never gives any less than his best and always tries to intimidate his opponent before the bell but Mallin literally laughed off Clark’s refusal to touch gloves.
Clark gets hit far too often for his own good but is incredibly durable. At the end of the first round, the pair tried to exchange right hooks but novice Mallin (now 2-0) missed and Clark landed, knocking the advancing Yorkshireman off balance and causing him to touch down. This was the highlight of the evening for Clark though, as Mallin took a close second round and the closing two sessions more widely with some nice punch picking. The naughty boy slightly lost his rag with Clark’s uncultured efforts in the last round and stuck his head in, for which he was rightly warned.
Tipton super bantamweight Lee Glover (left) lands a glancing left on Delroy Spencer's head.
Warning, don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper.
The day following Delroy Spencers’ loss to Lee Glover (July 23, 2010) a local U.K. newspaper printed an article hailing Lee Glover as a future British champion after beating Walsall’s Delroy Spencer at Birmingham’s Holiday Inn.
“(Delroy) Spencer has been in there with a roll call of British champions including Shinny Bayaar, Jamie McDonnell, Lee Haskins, Chris Edwards and Ian Napa. And the 41-year-old veteran, taking on Glover in his 117th professional bout, believes ‘the Tipton Slasher’ (now, 2-0) has the tools to follow his previous foes into the title circle. He (Delroy Spencer) said: “I have been in with everyone and he’s a British champion, no problem whatsoever. He’s a big lad who can punch, no one will be able to live with him. The only reason he didn’t knock me out, (is) because I am an experienced fighter – I know how to move, how to hold, how to dodge and weave. Anybody else and he would have stopped them.”
“A standing ovation before and after from fight fans for Spencer was deserved after he took the fight at 24 hours notice, stepping in after Russian scheduled opponent Vladislav Sagalakov pulled out. But the wily veteran found himself on the canvas after a glancing left hook knocked him off balance in the second of four rounds, answering the count with no problems and carrying on. Glover had settled into the fight by then, with Spencer doing very well to recover from an onslaught in the last two rounds when his 23-year-old opponent was picking combinations at will. Referee Terry O’Connor scored it 40-35 – with a point off because of the knockdown – but Spencer to his credit went the distance.”
Also to his credit, I believe the U.K. boxing writer should have mentioned that Delroy Spencer in his preceding 70 fights had just one win with 68 losses and one draw. For many years, Spencer has been used as a punching bag. And who’s to say a boxer with 110 career losses is a good evaluator of talent, especially when that novice boxer has only fought twice professionally? Since then Glover, now 4-0-0, has yet to fight a boxer with a winning record. However, he has fought boxers with a combined record of 23-176-6.
