Goldsmith is back - and back to his best

Bradley Goldsmith tames Jordan Dujon. Picture: Chris Dean/Boxxer

ANY demons Bradley Goldsmith harboured following his first pro loss – and the man himself admitted there were doubts – have now been banished following Saturday’s win under the big lights.

On Boxxer’s BBC televised show at Derby’s Valiant Live arena, Goldsmith looked pin-sharp in outpointing Jordan Dujon. The Coventry middle jabbed with authority, put combinations together with blinding speed and bossed the action against an opponent who never stopped trying to upset the applecart. Barnet’s Dujon is a tough character, put in his place with a big shot in the first round.

On the cards, Goldsmith lost one of the eight rounds – 79-73. I had him a whitewash winner.

The performance was not only impressive, it was the perfect antidote for Bradley’s surprise stoppage defeat to Troy Coleman for the Midlands title seven months ago.

That’s because of the discipline he showed. Against Coleman, the 27-year-old, making his first arena appearance, appeared too eager to make a statement, went for broke too early, strayed from the script and paid the price.

As he succinctly put it after pasting Dujon: “This time I did what I wanted to do not what I believed others wanted me to do.”

That one set-back in a 15 fight career can now be put to bed. It’s over. Goldsmith is back where he belongs and can look forward to title opportunities in 2026.

“I’m more than happy,” Goldsmith said after victory. “I just felt like I needed it. I’m only human and you can’t help taking questions into that fight. I was more than confident about the win and the performance, but you still have those little voices in the build-up – am I fit enough, am this, am I that. Those were all answered.

“I said in the build-up, don’t think this lad (Dujon) is here just to fill the show. I knew he was coming thinking a win would drag him to a very good position. He was more dangerous than people thought.

“When I caught him in the first, that changed the fight. That’s props to my power.”

Dujon, a former Southern Area champ, never stopped attempting to turn the tide, always looked to force the action, but faced an opponent whose timing matched that of a Swiss watch.

The future now again glints for Goldsmith.

He said: “I want to be back out early in the first quarter of the new year and when the opportunities arise, I’ll take them. I’m not stupid, I know to get in line for titles you have to have eliminators. If that comes in the next fight, so be it. I’ll be more than ready.”

Goldsmith – near honest to a fault – believes he is a better boxer because of the Coleman loss.

“You can’t skip or buy experience,” he explained, “I found that out back in April and I accepted it for what it was. I got back, got stuck into my work and did what I needed to do.

“In a way, I’m happy it happened. Imagine I fought like that, got the stoppage, didn’t learn anything and went into an English title fight trying to do the same. That kind of loss at that level would’ve been more detrimental to my career.”

He added: “You have to persevere and keeping working on the things you need to do.”