Burns and Rose are rebuilding and another Smith will shine
Thursday 2 October 2014 21:17, UK
Josh Warrington Leeds the way on Live Fight Night on Saturday, with a European title in his sights.
The local lad will be cheered on by a vociferous and packed crowd as he takes on Davide Dieli for the vacant EBU featherweight championship.
But there are also some other big names trying to bounce back on the undercard. Ricky Burns is looking for his first win in four fights and Brian Rose climbs in the ring for the first time since losing his world title shot in New York.
Callum Smith is also taking another tough test as he moves up the ladder so who better to set the scene than our own Jamie Moore, who we put under the spotlight - and who has also been looking back at a memorable night a few years ago...
Jamie says: He's not unknown to me. He's one of Steve Wood's fighters and I've seen him come through. He's a good ticket-seller and although he's not a big puncher he does not have a fierce reputation but I have seen him spar and the boy is good. He is very workmanlike, has a very solid style for the 12 rounds and I think that's what makes him successful - and great TV. He is made to go the distance and that usually brings 12 rounds of entertainment. People want to watch knockouts but Warrington is always in good fights and is always worth watching. I think we will see him become European champion but although I do think you might actually be surprised how hard he hits, that lack of outstanding power might well be the one thing that holds him back from becoming a world champion. Look, it is not impossible and I'd say 50 per cent of figthers who win that European title can mix it - and win - with the world title.
Jamie says: I am not sure, to be honest. It is hard to see but I can certainly see him getting back to European level. He's got the Lonsdale belt already so we know he has cleaned up at domestic level, so I am sure he will go again. Mind you, the British light-middleweight now belongs to Liam Smith and he needs one more win to get the Lonsdale away, so what a great fight that is. And if he can get back into the mix - and beating Smith would do that - he will get that European title back too. And let's be honest, when he went for that world title Demetrius Andrade was a new champion on the scene who we new little or nothing about. But the American knew all about him and that is why he was - and is - heavily avoided. Brian did well to hold his own for seven rounds but let's be honest, he was outclassed and it wasn't nice to see because he's a mate of mine.
Jamie says: He's always been a big lad and he's no longer a young pup, so it makes sense in that respect, and he did struggle with his weight in the past. But don't forget he's had two defeats and a draw on the bounce, so really it is a case of re-inventing himself. He's got to try and create some chances again because he should've lost to Ray Beltran and lost a close one against Dejan Zlaticanin and was outclassed by Terence Crawford, so there are a lot of question marks at lightweight. Moving up to light-welterweight will give him opportunities and the fact that he is more comfortable at the weight, we should see a good, fresh Ricky Burns again.
Jamie says: Well, Paul only needs one more notch before he can keep it, so I am sure they've had that conversation and Paul has told him he will defend it, vacate it and move on. Of course all the talk is about a rematch with Arthur Abraham but I don't think that will happen and I hear he is waiting for the winner of Felix Sturm and Robert Stieglitz. I think he can make a voluntary [defence of the British super-middleweight title] and keep busy and get to keep it. Then Callum can take over and really start building up the momentum because we all want to see great British fights at the moment. But first this Rafael Sosa Pintos is going to be tough and the further up he goes the more problems Callum has to deal with; defensively he has to be a little tighter and cuter and offensively he is going to come up against problems he's not seen before but I don't think there's anything he can't adapt to or deal with. His body punches alone are scary.
Jamie says: Those bloody bodyshots he hit me with! Listen, do you know what? I don't really have too many memories from the fight because after five or six rounds I can't remember anything. But the over-riding feeling was what a brutal fight that was and what sportsmanship we showed at the end. And above all, what great friends we have become since. I've said loads of time since, once you've actually gone through something like me and him went through that night, you can't really understand or appreciate the respect you have for each other. You can't really explain but not only have we got that respect for each other, we've got a friendship that will last a lifetime. All of that came from that fight...
