‘We want return’ call after Quartermaine is held to a title draw

Danny Quartermaine…came in overweight for title chance

BOTH Danny Quartermaine and trainer Edwin Cleary want an immediate re-match after the Leamington super-feather’s title fight ended in disappointing stalemate.

Even before Friday’s Commonwealth international tussle with Kurt Jackson, there were choppy waters to overcome.

Quartermaine weighed 10 ounces over the limit, meaning he could not claim the vacant belt even if he was victorious. It went ahead at Coventry’s Sports Connexion as a 10 round title clash, but only Jackson could become champ with a win.

I’d warned beforehand that Jackson was a handful and far better than his 7-4 record suggested. In a total of 58 bouts, the four men who beat him had only one loss between them.

Jackson proved a very worthy contender, rocking former European champ Quartermaine to his bootlaces in the eight, although Danny blazed back in the final session.

I wasn’t at ringside, but the drawn decision has been dubbed fair by knowledgeable ringsiders. A rematch would probably be well received by both boxers.

Cleary thought his man – having his first contest after losing his unbeaten record and titles to Royston Barney Smith – won, but conceded Danny was below his best.

That may be down to weight-making. Quartermaine has an all-action style – the kind that shows if there’s been a struggle at the scales.

“I thought Danny did enough in the first half of the fight to pull ahead,” Edwin said. “Jackson came into the fight in the latter rounds, but Danny won the last, in my opinion. The way Danny fights – he likes to get in and get stuck in, I think it’s hard for the referee to score it because of the work he does inside.

“He didn’t do the weight right, I have to admit that.

“I knew it was always going to be tough, but I think Danny can beat him easier in a return. For me and Danny, we want the return out of respect for Kurt and out of respect for Danny. Danny’s all heart and determination, he’s a throwback fighter.”

It was not the return Quartermaine wanted after being comprehensively outscored by Barney Smith last October. That snapped a 15 fight unbeaten run that brought him the IBF and WBO European belts.

There was no such drama for Coventry middleweight Bradley Goldsmith. Topping the bill, he looked razor sharp in patiently drawing the sting from Asinia Byfield for the Commonwealth international title.

Goldsmith put on a boxing masterclass, chipping the resistance from Byfield, a former British title challenger, then stopping him in the eight.

That’s Goldsmith’s first pro belt: expect more to follow.