British Scene Weekend Recap: Vassell and Watson Win Titles

Dave Oakes recaps this past weekend's British boxing action.

Denton Vassell won the vacant Commonwealth welterweight title on Friday night after a hard fought battle with Lee Purdy at the Robin Park Centre, Wigan.

Purdy edged the opening two rounds on my card, Vassell was stalking Purdy and targeting his body but Purdy was the sharper of the two, especially with the straight right, which he thudded home a couple of times to good effect.

The third was a clear round for Purdy, who seemed to be growing in confidence, he landed the dangerous looking straight right again and seemed to momentarily hurt the Manchester man with it. Vassell responded well late in the round but Purdy was looking in control.

The momentum of the fight turned in the fourth round, whilst Vassell’s aggressive come forward style hadn’t quite made the impact he hoped it would in the first few rounds, he started to get closer to Purdy in this round, which resulted in some crunching shots to the body.

The following two rounds also went in favour of the Manchester fighter; his superior work-rate and non-stop body attack were swinging the fight back in his favour. The left hook under Purdy’s ribcage midway through the sixth was a tremendous punch and visibly made Purdy gasp.

After three impressive rounds, Vassell completely lost focus in the seventh, he turned southpaw and was repeatedly caught by punches he would’ve blocked in his usual orthodox stance. Vassell didn’t look at all comfortable as a southpaw; it remains a mystery to me as to why he attempted such a tactic. The tactic nearly backfired spectacularly when Purdy landed a vicious left hook seconds before the bell that had Vassell badly hurt, the bell sounded to end the round before Purdy got the chance to finish the job with a follow up volley.

Vassell was given a stern talking to by Bob Shannon inbetween rounds and came out more focused in the eighth; he took the round after landing more hefty body shots and he was the busier boxer.

The ninth was one of the rounds of the year; both boxers came forward and slugged it out, Vassell with a barrage of hooks to the body and Purdy with straight rights. The final twenty seconds of the round saw both men land hard rights but it was Vassell’s that seemed to be the heavier punch, jolting Purdy’s head back.

The impressive stamina and determination of Vassell helped him to finish strongly down the stretch and he took the final three rounds on my card. Purdy was still responding with his own shots but was being outworked; it did make for an enthralling fight for the fans, though.

The judges scorecards read: 117-112, 117-111 and 115-114 in Vassell’s favour.

I thought the fight was another outstanding domestic match-up, one of many we’ve been lucky to witness in recent times. Both boxers deserve credit for their effort and I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch sometime in the future.

In a battle of southpaws, Craig Watson demolished Badru Lusambya in the second round to take the Commonwealth title at light-middleweight. Watson started brightly in the first round, catching Lusambya with quick sharp left hands before sliding out of range before the lumbering Lusambya could respond.

The end came in the next round, Watson caught the Ugandan with a powerful left hook that sent him sprawling to the canvas, Lusambya got to his feet but he was soon back down again, and again, and again, Watson’s left hook causing all four knockdowns. The referee called halt to proceedings following the fourth knockdown.

Watson now has the dilemma whether to move back down to welterweight, which he can make with ease, or stay at light-middleweight and defend his title.

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