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Gruelling win puts Anderson on course for title eliminator
The Scotsman - United Kingdom; Jun 13, 2005
Stephen Halliday
IF KEVIN Anderson goes on to fulfil the rich potential many believe
he has, then the 22-year-old welterweight prospect may one day look
back on Saturday night in Kirkcaldy as a pivotal moment in his career.
Anderson's gruelling but convincing ten-round points victory over
Vladimir Borovski at the Fife Ice Arena is likely to prove more
valuable than any of the early stoppage wins the exciting Buckhaven
boxer had previously recorded since turning professional two years ago.
The young Scot was forced to dig deep and extend himself for
almost every minute of every round against his experienced and
resilient Ukrainian opponent. If referee Al Hutcheon's 99-92 verdict
in Anderson's favour was merited, it nonetheless failed to tell the
whole story of just how exacting a night's work it was for the local
hero in front of a partisan 1,500 crowd.
"It was a good learning fight for me," said Anderson. "I will take
a lot more from going ten rounds for the first time with a guy
like Borovski than I would have done from an early knockout. I'm
looking to step up to championship class now, so that was the perfect
preparation."
Anderson has been nominated to face Welsh champion Bradley Pryce in
a final eliminator for the British welterweight title, a contest his
manager and promoter Tommy Gilmour hopes to stage in Kirkcaldy later
this year after the unqualified success of the first professional
show staged in Fife since 1952.
An audience which included 82-year-old Jim Gallacher, the former
middleweight who boxed on the last bill staged at the Ice Arena, were
enthralled by the main event in which the frantic pace set from the
first bell by Anderson barely dropped as he sought relentlessly for
a way through Borovski's unflinching defence. "It was always going to
be a tough fight, but I thought I had him hurt in the opening rounds
and really went for it," said Anderson. "I thought I would stop him
in the first five rounds, but he was really tough. When I went back
to the corner after the fifth round, my corner told me to stay on
the jab and just keep winning the rounds.
"His defence was excellent. I was trying the get him to drop his hands
by working him to the body, but he kept his guard really tight all
the way through. I've got a few things I'll need to work on when I
go back to the gym, but overall I'm happy with my performance. The
atmosphere in the arena was brilliant and it really gave me a lift
boxing at home for the first time. Hopefully we can come back here
with the title fights."
Gilmour was delighted with Anderson's 14th consecutive win since
turning professional two years ago and believes he is now ready to
step into championship class.
"Considering Kevin had not boxed since January, I was really pleased
with him," said Gilmour. "What would a two-round blowout have given
him in terms of preparation for the British title eliminator with
Bradley Pryce? This was the kind of really hard fight he needed at
this stage of his career.
"He tried a lot of different things in there and his level of fitness
was superb. It has given him an indication of what is required to step
up to the next level. No-one can say we have fed the boy a diet of
easy opponents, he is learning his trade properly and I'm delighted
with the pace of his progress."
On a superbly matched undercard, Glenrothes light-heavyweight Stevie
McGuire racked up a fourth straight success with a 59-56 points
win over Varuzhan Davtyan of Armenia and crowd-pleasing Aberdeen
light-welterweight Mike Reid maintained his unbeaten record with a
60-54 shut-out against Birmingham's Lance Veralo.
Stuart Green, the Glenrothes lightweight, was equally impressive in
beating Dave Hinds of Birmingham 60-54 but there was disappointment
for Edinburgh light-welter Keith Ellwood who lost 59-55 to Sunderland's
Martin Marshall.
"The way the crowd reacted, not just to Kevin but to the whole show,
was fabulous," said Gilmour. "I'm going to bid for the eliminator
with Pryce and try to bring it back to the Ice Arena later this year.
Kevin deserves it and so do the fans who turned out on Saturday night."
The Scotsman - United Kingdom; Jun 13, 2005
Stephen Halliday
IF KEVIN Anderson goes on to fulfil the rich potential many believe
he has, then the 22-year-old welterweight prospect may one day look
back on Saturday night in Kirkcaldy as a pivotal moment in his career.
Anderson's gruelling but convincing ten-round points victory over
Vladimir Borovski at the Fife Ice Arena is likely to prove more
valuable than any of the early stoppage wins the exciting Buckhaven
boxer had previously recorded since turning professional two years ago.
The young Scot was forced to dig deep and extend himself for
almost every minute of every round against his experienced and
resilient Ukrainian opponent. If referee Al Hutcheon's 99-92 verdict
in Anderson's favour was merited, it nonetheless failed to tell the
whole story of just how exacting a night's work it was for the local
hero in front of a partisan 1,500 crowd.
"It was a good learning fight for me," said Anderson. "I will take
a lot more from going ten rounds for the first time with a guy
like Borovski than I would have done from an early knockout. I'm
looking to step up to championship class now, so that was the perfect
preparation."
Anderson has been nominated to face Welsh champion Bradley Pryce in
a final eliminator for the British welterweight title, a contest his
manager and promoter Tommy Gilmour hopes to stage in Kirkcaldy later
this year after the unqualified success of the first professional
show staged in Fife since 1952.
An audience which included 82-year-old Jim Gallacher, the former
middleweight who boxed on the last bill staged at the Ice Arena, were
enthralled by the main event in which the frantic pace set from the
first bell by Anderson barely dropped as he sought relentlessly for
a way through Borovski's unflinching defence. "It was always going to
be a tough fight, but I thought I had him hurt in the opening rounds
and really went for it," said Anderson. "I thought I would stop him
in the first five rounds, but he was really tough. When I went back
to the corner after the fifth round, my corner told me to stay on
the jab and just keep winning the rounds.
"His defence was excellent. I was trying the get him to drop his hands
by working him to the body, but he kept his guard really tight all
the way through. I've got a few things I'll need to work on when I
go back to the gym, but overall I'm happy with my performance. The
atmosphere in the arena was brilliant and it really gave me a lift
boxing at home for the first time. Hopefully we can come back here
with the title fights."
Gilmour was delighted with Anderson's 14th consecutive win since
turning professional two years ago and believes he is now ready to
step into championship class.
"Considering Kevin had not boxed since January, I was really pleased
with him," said Gilmour. "What would a two-round blowout have given
him in terms of preparation for the British title eliminator with
Bradley Pryce? This was the kind of really hard fight he needed at
this stage of his career.
"He tried a lot of different things in there and his level of fitness
was superb. It has given him an indication of what is required to step
up to the next level. No-one can say we have fed the boy a diet of
easy opponents, he is learning his trade properly and I'm delighted
with the pace of his progress."
On a superbly matched undercard, Glenrothes light-heavyweight Stevie
McGuire racked up a fourth straight success with a 59-56 points
win over Varuzhan Davtyan of Armenia and crowd-pleasing Aberdeen
light-welterweight Mike Reid maintained his unbeaten record with a
60-54 shut-out against Birmingham's Lance Veralo.
Stuart Green, the Glenrothes lightweight, was equally impressive in
beating Dave Hinds of Birmingham 60-54 but there was disappointment
for Edinburgh light-welter Keith Ellwood who lost 59-55 to Sunderland's
Martin Marshall.
"The way the crowd reacted, not just to Kevin but to the whole show,
was fabulous," said Gilmour. "I'm going to bid for the eliminator
with Pryce and try to bring it back to the Ice Arena later this year.
Kevin deserves it and so do the fans who turned out on Saturday night."