DON Broadhurst has got the fight he has always dreamed of: challenging for the British title.
Dec 11 2009 by Ian Johnson, Birmingham Mail
All he has to do now is win it – and it’s not going to be that easy.
Tonight, in Newport, he puts his super-flyweight Commonwealth crown on the line against Bristol’s Lee Haskins, who does the same with the Lonsdale Belt.
Confident Broadhurst is certain he will be bringing both titles back to Birmingham.
He told me: “I cannot wait. This is the fight that I have always wanted. It has been my dream to fight for the British title.
“That’s why I have been calling him out. I wanted to get on his nerves and under his skin so much that he would have to take me on, just to get me out of his way.
“There is a certain amount of ill-feeling between us. Things have been said but the time has come now for us to be thorough professionals with just one aim.
“The fact that he is a southpaw is of little concern to me. I have a decent record against southpaws and I know I can cope with him being the wrong way round.
“He picks his shots well but his footwork is not good, which causes tangles. I have respect for the power of his punches but I know I can negate that.
“He likes to counter with hooks and uppercuts. That is fine, but I will beat him to the target with straight punching. The direct route is always the best especially with faster hands. I am in great shape and have had some superb sparring.
‘‘All I want to do now is get on with it, produce a quality performance and earn a great result especially for the 150 or so fans who will be making the trip.
“I really appreciate the support I am getting at this expensive time of the year.
‘‘On top of that, there is the credit crunch, Villa play Manchester United and Matthew Macklin fought in Dublin and Frankie Gavin in Newcastle last week.
‘‘A lot of Brummie boxing fans support all three of us, so they are having an expensive time.
‘‘But Frankie won and so did Matthew and I will be following in their footsteps and bringing both titles home to Birmingham.’’
