Chamber Made: Isaac Chamberlain keeps it simple to secure the titles and victory his endeavour has long deserved
IT IS more than seven years since Isaac Chamberlain’s shoulder was dislocated during the third round of his memorable scrap with Wadi Camacho. He could have swallowed it there and then, ducked out citing the injury and maybe secured a rematch, maybe gone a different route. But he didn’t. He got the shoulder popped back in and won the fight, one-handed, on points in one of the biggest displays of courage in that York Hall ring for many years.
So it felt appropriate that it was the same Bethnal Green venue that played host to this, his most significant win yet and the punctuation on this remarkable journey so far. He’s never been one for giving up.
In the end it was one of his most straight-forward victories, so disciplined was his performance across the 12 rounds to widely outpoint the previously undefeated Mikael Lawal, capturing his British and Commonwealth titles in the process.
The corner team of Bobby Mills and Jon Pegg delivered clear, precise instructions round after round and Chamberlain, resisting the urge to go to war with Lawal, followed them to the letter to cruise to his titles.
Judge Terry O’Connor scored him a 119-111 winner while both Marcus McDonnell and Victor Loughlin made it 118-111. It really was as clear as that, with Chamberlain making Lawal miss and then pay time after time to rack up the rounds.
Considering the bitter and long build-up, this was actually a reasonably uneventful and attritional fight, which suited Chamberlain. There were no knockdowns and neither man was ever really hurt at any point but there was only one winner.
“I’m so happy,” said Chamberlain, who was celebrating before the bell to end the 12th had even rung. “I’ve got tears in my eyes.
“I just want to say God is so good. Every dog has its day. I didn’t have the best amateur career, I turned pro at 19 and they chucked me in the deep end but I never gave up.”
This was Chamberlain’s second attempt to win the Lord Lonsdale Belt after he lost on points to Chris Billam-Smith in July of last year following an epic fight during which he broke his orbital bone in his right eye. Appropriately Billam-Smith, who has gone on to win a sanctioning body title since, was commentating at ringside for this one.
Chamberlain added: “Everybody fails at life, we just happen to fail in front of the whole world. You can always bounce back no matter what.”
Chamberlain attacks Lawal (LAWRENCE LUSTIG/BOXXER)
Of course, that fight was only given top billing due to the postponement of Joshua Buatsi’s fight with Dan Azeez, who suffered a back injury, which meant this undercard was shifted to York Hall in order to save the show. This, tight, four-fight card was one of the smallest in this venue in decades.
The fight of the night came in the chief support, a super-welterweight clash between Louis Greene and Sam Gilley for the former’s Commonwealth title.
It was Greene who made the better start against the tentative Gilley, who was caught by a series of hard jabs from the Medway man, who was dipping to his left and screwing the shot up through the middle.
But Gilley settled, established control and set about trying to find a home for the left hook to the body, his best shot. And the Walthamstow man, backed by a noisy crowd who had made the short trip from north to east London, did exactly that in the fifth, dropping Greene to his knee. The champion was up as McDonnell counted ‘nine’ but it was a clear sign that the fight was slipping away.
Greene attempted to force his way back in the later rounds but Gilley, composed by now, was picking him off with right uppercuts as his opponent surged forwards. There was a standing ovation inside the hall as the bell rang to end the fight, but again the result was obvious.
O’Connor made him a 118-110 winner, Williams 117-110 and Loughlin 116-111, which seemed the fairest given Greene’s role in such an entertaining, high-paced fight.
Gilley, who has secured a shot at the British title by way of victory here, said: “That’s the first time in my entire career I’ve felt my legs go. This man can punch like a train. It was heavy, lucky I’ve got a good chin.”
There was a big upset in the second fight of the night as late stand-in Joe Laws clinched a 77-75 victory over Michael Hennessy Jnr on Bob Williams’ card after eight entertaining rounds at super-middleweight.
Laws admitted he was on his sofa ‘eating cheesecake’ when he got the call to fight following Harley Benn’s withdrawal a fortnight ago. Hennessy looked in great shape following a full camp and boxed well, often switching stances and landing with eye-catching flurries.
However, there was never enough power to slow down Laws, who kept pouring forward and applying the pressure. The Benwell man landed cleanly time after time with left hooks and right hands although Hennessy never looked in any real trouble. Even so, there were few complaints when the result was read out, sparking pandemonium in the Laws corner.
“I put my balls on the line and my heart on my sleeve,” Laws said. “Give me a shot with a full camp. Watch what I can do.”
In the opening fight of the night, Macclesfield’s Karriss Artingstall made light work of Canadian visitor Vanessa Bradford.
Southpaw Artingstall could not miss with the straight left hand, which dropped Bradford midway through the first. There was a carbon copy of the knockdown in round two before Bradford was pulled out before the third started handing Artingstall the first stoppage of her career and the only one of the evening.
VERDICT: Not quite the O2 but Chamberlain delivers at York Hall.
