Matt Skelton would have every reason to fear that he has become Britain’s forgotten heavyweight. Just over a year ago, he topped the bill at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, reversing a previous loss to Danny Williams. Injuries – to himself and others – have conspired to keep him out of the picture since.
Skelton is now 39 but the former kickboxer has not given up his dream of becoming a world champion. He faces Michael Sprott tomorrow at the O2 Arena, London, and Frank Warren, the promoter, has promised to get the winner a world-title shot. That may not prove simple, however.
Sprott earned this bout with his knockout of Audley Harrison at Wembley in February, but, for Skelton, this is retreading old ground. He beat Sprott to win the British and Commonwealth titles in 2004. This time just the Commonwealth one is on the line.
“Because of my age, people think my life is dropping away from me but I still feel fresh and I’ve only been boxing for 4½ years,” Skelton said. “The last year hasn’t been the best, but these things happen. I picked up a fracture in my hand two weeks before I was supposed to face Audley [in December] and then Michael got injured when we were supposed to fight before.”
Options of a world-title shot are limited, though. Oleg Maskaev, the WBC champion, defends against Samuel Peter in October, the same month that Ruslan Chagaev and Sultan Ibragimov, the WBA and WBO champions respectively, are due to meet. Wladimir Klitschko broke his hand retaining his IBF title against Lamon Brewster on Saturday and is sidelined.
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“I achieved world titles in kickboxing but if I could win a world title in boxing I would be fulfilled,” Skelton said.
— Carl Johanneson, the British super-featherweight champion, aims to wipe a significant blot off his record tonight when he challenges Leva Kirakosyan for the European super-featherweight title in Barnsley. Three years ago, the little-known Kirakosyan caught Johanneson cold and stopped him in 101 seconds at Crystal Palace. Since then the Armenian, who is based in Spain, has won the European title that Alex Arthur relinquished to concentrate on securing a world title bout.