EUROPEAN TITLE TILT
Hughes reckons Yigit has picked the wrong challenger, writes Daniel Herbert
Underdog Joe Hughes is aiming to cause a shock against Anthony Yigit
MALMESBURY battler Joe Hughes gets an unexpected but welcome chance when he challenges European superlightweight champion Anthony Yigit on a Cyclone Promotions bill at Leicester Arena on Saturday (December 2).
Channel 5 televise live in the UK, and Hughes gets an opportunity to make up for the draw he was given in a British title tilt against Tyrone Nurse at the same venue in April.
Said Hughes: “Something good has come out of the Nurse draw, which I’m still unhappy about. It’s the same venue and this time I imagine I’ll have most of the crowd behind me.”
Nurse had been favoured to retain, but gritty Hughes stuck his head on the champ’s chest and stopped him developing his more stylish boxing well enough to win 115-113 for one judge. But scores of 116-113 Nurse and 115-115 meant the belt didn’t change hands.
Perhaps the handlers of southpaw Yigit looked at that and concluded Hughes would be an acceptable risk. Joe disagrees.
“Yigit has made a mistake picking me for a voluntary defence,” said the Wiltshire man. “He’s a very good fighter who went to the [2012] Olympics for Sweden and is unbeaten. I’m sure they’re expecting to win, but I normally give them a bit of a shock.”
Hughes, a former national amateur champion, has already done better than many expected given he suffers from Erbs Palsy, a condition that produces partial paralysis in his right arm.
After an early setback against Joe Elfidh, he has lost only to Jack Catterall, who recently took the British title off Nurse. Both defeats were on points, Elfidh in a six-rounder and Catterall a 12. Hughes has twice won the English 140lb strap, beating the likes of Anthony Hardy, Anthony Upton and Andy Keates for that belt. He has a solid chin and good stamina, hits hard with the left hook and has plenty of fighting spirit.
Will that be enough? In his sixth paid fight Yigit was held to a six-round draw by Welshman Tony Pace, but apart from that he has done everything asked of him, most recently in February, when he came to England and outpointed Lenny Daws for the vacant EBU crown. The Swede won by margins of eight, seven and four points against a hugely experienced opponent, so we know he can handle the pressure of boxing on the road.
He has defended once, unanimously outscoring Spain’s Sandor Martin in Sweden in September, and also holds wins over faded former world ruler Demarcus Corley (rtd 3) and talented Irishman Philip Sutcliffe Jnr (pts 8).
Hughes has been doing his homework, saying: “I’ve watched some of Yigit’s fights and he’s an aggressive southpaw, good on his feet, but who comes to fight. It should be entertaining.”
To prepare for Yigit’s portsided stance, Joe has been sparring left-handed Essex hope Johnny Coyle, as well as Bristol’s orthodox Kane Stewart. And while Hughes did lose to a southpaw in Catterall, he has beaten a couple in Hardy and Philip Bowes (rsf 10 for the vacant Southern Area belt).
What may trouble the challenger is not Yigit’s stance, but his ability to maintain a hot pace for 12 hard rounds. Joe can bother smart boxers like Nurse, but if Yigit can repeat the intensity he showed against Daws he should retain with a clear points victory.
Another title 12-rounder sees Swindon’s Commonwealth cruiser champ Luke Watkins, 12-0 (8), defend against Mike Stafford, 16-3 (3), from Southport. The 36-year-old challenger was outpointed in a British title challenge to Jon-lewis Dickinson in 2013, and wouldn’t appear to have the power to trouble Watkins, who won the belt (vacant) with a crushing six-session stoppage of Robin Dupre in October.
The fresher Watkins, 28, can retain at some point during the fight’s second half.