Losing Commonwealth super flyweight title and failing to win the British Lonsdale Belt ends in tears for Don Broadhurst
Dec 14 2009 by Ian Johnson, Birmingham Mail
THE pain of defeat for Don Broadhurst will almost certainly mean he will not be enjoying Christmas. For such a party lover, that sums it up.
Losing his Commonwealth super flyweight title and failing to win the British Lonsdale Belt to a unanimous points decision in Newport, Wales, against Bristol’s Lee Haskins ended in tears – literally.
The battling Brummie told me yesterday: “I was so gutted in the dressing room that, once it had registered that I had lost, I cried my eyes out.
“I wanted a hole in the ground to open up and swallow me up. I was devastated.
“It didn’t occur to me that I would lose. That wasn’t an option.
“The last time that happened to me was in Bulgaria in 2006 in the final of an amateur tournament. As a pro I won all my 11 fights.
“And I knew all about Haskins, the southpaw with a nightmare-style of boxing.
“I trained hard and well to tackle him and go on to win. It should have been that simple but it wasn’t.
“As soon as the bell went nothing went according to plan. Nothing came right. Nothing came from my head.
“I couldn’t get going. I needed to keep it clean but it didn’t happen. I couldn’t work it out. I had no appetite and it got me down.
“I was devastated to lose knowing that I should have performed so much better and that I am better than him.
“I desperately wanted to bring both belts back to Birmingham.”
He added: “Obviously this was a setback but there is no point in having regrets. I need to take it on the chin like a man and get over it.
“Especially as the result doesn’t change my dreams of one day becoming a world champion.
“I would, however, like to put the record straight and have a rematch with Haskins because, if there is a next time, the result will be different.’’
And he only needs to listen to his dedicated trainer Richie Woodhall to find out what it’s like having to get over a shock defeat.
Woodhall had won 21 fights and suffered his first loss on a 12-round TKO in America.
Two fights later he was the WBC super middleweight champion of the world.
Woodhall said: “Don was devastated and disappointed but he will get over it.
“He has got to come to terms with the fact that he cannot win every fight and that sometimes things can go badly wrong.
“Haskins was no more of a nightmare opponent than we expected.
“But for Don on the night it didn’t work out and he didn’t deal with it the right way.
“We knew the first three rounds would be dangerous but the plan was to get through them and then come on stronger in the later part of the fight.
“Don needed to take Haskins out of his comfort zone by forcing the pace more and turning the screw.
“He couldn’t do it on the night.
“On another night he would have done as a re-match, if there is one, will show.
“In one way I am happy he is hurting so much because it shows just how much he cares – especially for his fans – and how much he wants to put it right.
“So do I.”
