King gets a Midlands title chance in Devon
Chris King….will fight Ben Andrews in Torquay for light-heavyweight belt
THE Midlands Board of Control has shown a welcome commitment to ensuring its titles do not stagnate.
That keeps the interest boiling locally in weight divisions.
And things have certainly been changing at a fast pace in the light-heavyweight division. Tamworth’s Dave Butlin has been stripped of his belt for failing to defend in an allotted time.
He won the title in June last year by outpointing Ryan Whelan. He was granted a voluntary defence against novice Chris King – the pair even took part in a photoshoot to promote the contest – but the 10 rounder failed to materialise.
The Board then made Black Country Boxing Promotions’ Ben Andrews mandatary challenger for Butlin’s title.
Now Andrews will meet Birmingham’s King, who fights out of Spencer McCracken’s gym, for the vacant title.
I find that a little puzzling. Andrews – a very good fighter who has won eight on the spin – has a West Midlands management team, but is from Torbay, Devon. He’s only fought in our patch twice.
And his Midlands title fight with King will take place in Torquay on June 13. Geography was never one of my strong points, but I’ve always considered Devon a long way from our region.
That aside, it looks a very hard ask for King who came here from Ghana five years ago and, by day, teaches science in schools.
The 29-year-old won hjs first two pro contests on points, then travelled to Accra, Ghana, in September and halted countryman David Okai in one round.
That performance needs to be put into perspective. Okai had a big edge in experience, but I can trace a run of 15 straight stoppages: in this country, Okai’s licence would’ve been taken from him some time ago.
Speaking to me in December, King said: “This is why I’m working so hard, this is what I think about each day. The motivation couldn’t be greater – this could open a lot of doors.
“I like to think I’m pretty strategic and adaptable in the ring.”
It’s in Torbay for a reason, however. The seaside town wants to witness the rarity of a local becoming a pro boxing champ.