Milch marches on
BOXING TONY MILCH made it lucky 13 as he continued his preparations for a second title fight.
The Bushey bruiser maintained his 100 per cent record with a narrow win over Lithuanian Arvydas Tryzno on points, with the referee awarding the fight 58-57 in Milch’s favour.
But the light-middleweight was far from happy with his performance, citing his six-month absence from the ring as a critical factor at York Hall. Milch, who suffered a perforated eardrum while sparring in April, struggled to find any rhythm and he said: “To be out of the ring for six months is too long.
“My coaches were superb and you can spar as long as you like. But it’s not the same as being in the ring.
“I needed a fight to get me back into the swing of things and, more importantly, to set me up for the big title fight I want.
“I didn’t feel great heading into this fight. Two opponents pulled out and I found myself struggling to get up for it. I now need to find bigger challenges on a bigger stage.
“This guy was coming for a win, he wanted to take my head off, so I had to listen to my coach Ian Burbedge and box to instruction. I moved around and boxed from the outside, but it was a great learning fight. I came through, but now I must start looking at winning British titles.
“Every fight you take on is a risk and this was a challenge I had to take to stay active.” Milch, 36, had planned to send out a convincing statement.
But despite his below-par display, he said: “It’s not all doom and gloom. You can’t expect to cruise through every fight and this was the fight I perhaps needed.
“I won through in a tough, but great fight and this will now only help put me in a stronger position for what lies ahead.
“I have felt ready to fight for national titles for a long time. This has just made me even more hungrier and determined to have a shot at one.”
Now I must start to look at winning British titles...