Moore-Walker Preview

By Matt Winsper

23/09/2005

Moore-Walker Preview

British fans get a nice little match up tomorrow night, when British Jr Middleweight champ Jamie Moore takes on exciting David Walker in a highly anticipated showdown at the George H Carnall Centre in Moore’s hometown of Manchester. No-one is claiming that these two are anything like world class, but both Moore (21-3 with 13 ko’s) and Walker (23-2-1 with 11 ko’s) are value-for-money fighters who give their all every time out.

Last time out, Jamie Moore looked superb as he got off the canvas twice in the third to overpower rival Michael Jones, winning back his British crown (he had previously lost the belt to Jones on a disqualification). It marked a return to form for the Oliver Harrison-trained puncher after a horrible six months that also saw him lose his Commonwealth belt to Ghanaian Ossie Jones when a hip injury flared and temporarily paralysed one side of his body mid-fight.

For David Walker, of Sidcup in the south, it has been a rocky up-and-down career so far. As a novice pro, being trained by former middleweight contender Robert McCracken, he carved a name for himself as an exciting boxer-fighter who spent more time fighting than boxing. His first loss, to rugged veteran Jimmy Vincent, was a domestic fight-of-the-year battle at welterweight, and Walker’s late fade in the fight convinced him move up to jr middle afterwards. Two exciting knockouts over John Humphries and Spencer Fearon put Walker in line for a European Title shot against feared Russian contender Roman Karmazin, the same guy, of course, who went on to impressively win the IBF belt. Walker, in hindsight, was completely overmatched. He was a British level fighter going in against one of the world’s best…it’s just that we didn’t know it yet. He tried his hardest but was blown out in three rounds. Since then, Walker has rebuilt with four wins including one over faded former IBF title contender Howard Clarke to set up this British title challenge.

Moore, a sharp southpaw, carries early power. He fights well on the inside and has a strong, bullish look to him. He has defensive lapses, but by and large his effective aggression wins through most of the time. Walker on the other hand, should be boxing, but gets involved in a war and can’t break the trend. The result could be a short fight that’s full of drama and excitement whilst it lasts. Walker will box well for a few rounds, but as soon as Moore’s extra strength starts to tell, the naturally smaller man will be drawn into a dog fight…and then there’s only one winner.

The Pick: Moore TKO 5

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Send questions and comments to: mattwinsper@yahoo.co.uk