Thompson tunes-up for flyweight thriller
Thompson with Tristan Davies before Friday’s warm-up win
ON December 20, fight fans will receive an early Christmas present when Bradley Thompson and Brad Coley meet in a battle to discover our region’s Lord of the Flys.
That clash of unbeatens, at Birmingham’s Eastside Rooms, is a five star Midlands title fight.
And Thompson, brother of former world champ Liam, tuned-up for the big one on BCB’s “Unfinished Business” show at WV Active Aldersley on Friday night.
The lean, hard-hitting southpaw didn’t get through his four rounder with tough, squat Nicaraguan Darwing Martinez unscathed. Thompson was gashed in the corner of his left eye in the third – “just a scratch,” trainer Tristan Davies assured me afterwards – from what I believed was a head-clash.
He also dropped a round on referee Chris Dean’s 39-37 card. I didn’t see 24-year-old Thompson dropping anything and scored 40-36.
Thompson (8st 8lbs), now unbeaten in seven, possesses lightning reflexes and Martinez was simply too slow to trouble the prospect.
He was harpooned by southpaw jabs, endured hard, long punches to the body and by the second the 47 bout veteran’s face was reddened by the incessant flow of punches.
He attempted to use the ring more in the third and tried to capitalise when blood ran in a thin stream from the injured eye.
Telford’s Thompson was having none of it. He stayed composed, kept it long and by the final round was piling on the pressure, nailing Martinez (9st) – a regular in Midlands rings – with a stinging right hook.
“I just needed Brad out,” trainer Tristan said. “It wasn’t punch perfect, but the other lad was a lot heavier.
“I needed to get him out for the mental side of fighting and, for me, he was 60-70 per cent. He needed that fight, mentally.”
On paper, the forthcoming 10 rounder with Erdington’s Coley, unbeaten in seven, looks a very evenly balanced affair. They met once as amateurs, Coley taking the decision.
Tristan doesn’t see it that way.
“Brad Coley is no threat to him,” he said matter-of-factly. “He hasn’t stopped anyone, he doesn’t know how to stop people. Brad beats him in every department, really.
“After that loss (to Coley), Brad went on to win national titles – what’s he done? Had a break here, had a break there. OK, it’s been the same with Brad, that’s why we needed a fight for him.”
If that’s not fighting talk, I don’t know what is.