‘That wasn’t the real Danny,’ says Cleary after first title defeat
Danny Quartermaine….Edwin Cleary thinks the occasion got to his boxer
IT wasn’t Danny Quartermaine’s defeat to Royston Barney-Smith that surprised me: the lightning-fast South Coast southpaw was always going to present a very hard night’s work.
It was the overwhelming nature of that defeat at London’s O2 Arena that shocked this writer.
You can’t sugar-coat it. Leamington’s IBF and WBO European junior-lightweight champ – unbeaten in 14 before Saturday night – was outfought and out-thought from first bell to last.
To his credit, trainer Edwin Cleary has refused to sugar-coat what happened or offer excuses. When I spoke to the former pro, he appeared equally puzzled.
He said: “Afterwards, he sat with me and said, ‘I thought I was there, but not there’. I honestly think the occasion got to him.”
Quartermaine’s legion of Spa town fans – a noisy army that believe their hero is destined for world glory – are probably still finding it hard to comprehend what they witnessed.
On paper, it appeared a 50-50 clash between two quality fighters: Southampton’s Barney-Smith, now 15-0, is seen as a star of the future. This was his toughest test.
On canvas, it was anything but. Quartermaine was hurt in the dying embers of the third, referee Marcus McDonnell docked a point for illegal use of the shoulder in the seventh and a thoroughly miserable evening ended with a count in the final round.
The scores reflected 21-year-old Barney-Smith’s superiority. Two judges had it 100-88 – for those who struggle with boxing arithmetic, that’s a 12 round victory in a 10 round fight, the other 98-90.
Defending champ Quartermaine tried to impose himself physically, forcing forward, only to be nailed by Barney-Smith’s flashing fists. He appeared to have no answer to those straight, southpaw left hands and ran into sharp counters.
By the mid-rounds, I felt the 28-year-old needed a Plan B, yet he continued with what wasn’t working. By the eighth, I believed Quartermaine had to plant his feet and look for the one single KO shot that could turn the tide, rather than throw punches in bunches.
There were some signs he could rough-up Barney-Smith in the first two sessions. The challenger delivered an ominous warning in the third, however, sending Quartermaine reeling from a left.
It got worse for the Warwickshire hope. He incurred the wrath of Mr McDonnell in the sixth, the referee loudly telling him: “You’re fighting dirty”. He had a point deducted in the seventh.
Quartermaine bravely attempted to impose himself in the ninth by working the body, yet those sharp punches continued to pierce his guard.
The knockdown in the 10th was contentious, as much from a tangle of feet as Barney-Smith’s right hook. By then it didn’t matter – Danny was way behind, the announcement of his first professional loss a formality.
“When the door closed in the gym, everything went well,” Cleary said. “I can’t say Danny didn’t prepare well. I can’t complain because everything went well.
“He stepped in the ring and something changed. He usually throws 80 to 100 punches in a round, yet he just didn’t seem to work – the occasion got to him, I feel. It was the worst performance of his life on the biggest night of his life. He is far, far better than that performance.
“I expected Danny to give Royston Barney-Smith the hardest fight of his life and for some reason he left it in the dressing room. For me, I just expected Danny to give him the hardest fight of his career. I know he was ready to go in the dressing room.
“Sometimes you can get a win out of a loss because of your performance. I think this was a loss with a loss. Danny can make the best fighter look bad – that didn’t happen on Saturday. Danny didn’t get out of first gear and neither did Royston, he didn’t have to.”
He added: “He has to work his way back and it could be a long road back. But he will come back, I know that.”