Lucas Browne - The Dark Horse Of Heavyweight Boxing.

Lucas Browne - The Big Daddy..

Lucas Browne

Lucas Browne was part of a blog I wrote in April 2012 under another name, he is also mentioned in my picks of 2013 - Click here for that blog. I have written a blog about him when he was due to fight Richard Towers in an eliminator for David Price's Commonwealth Belt and I have been a big cheerleader of his on various fans forums, twitter and facebook.

Suffice to say I am a huge fan of "BigDaddy".

Why am I a big fan? Why am I a big fan of a fighter who is based on the other side of the world from where I live? Ask yourself why is Ricky Hatton Lucas' promoter...

Lucas has had 15 fights winning all of those 15, 14 of which he has won by KO. He has a style that I like with a huge punch. Once he connects correctly then there will only be one outcome. His last fight was against the Japanese heavyweight Masataka Takehara who was dispatched by KO in the first round. Takehara had previously fought Alex Leapai, (Australian No1 by some), and had gained a draw over 6 rounds. Lucas' KO of Takehara in the first round should not be swept aside as many are trying to do. 

Alex Leapai

Lucas' manager Matt Clark and promoter Hatton Promotions obviously think he is heading upwards and onwards as his next fight is against James "Lights Out" Toney. Toney is a legend of the ring and although his best years are far behind him this is a big test for Lucas, he has a lot of experience (74 fights), and has never been stopped, (7 defeats). 

"Lights Out" Toney

This is the "name" that Lucas needs to propel him into the same breath as Charr, Wilder, Boytsov & Helenius, who are all seen as potential world title challengers. In my very honest opinion Browne beats Wilder, Boytsov and Helenius now. Charr will come with a few fights more to gain experience.

I see Browne being the first boxer to KO Toney and then he will have to relocate to Europe to further his career. To have a 16-0 record with 15 stoppages will alert a lot of people in and around the myriad of belts and titles, I could see a shot at the commonwealth title next and then 2 more fights before a title shot, perhaps against Fury...

Time will tell. First he needs to dispatch Toney and then perhaps look at a fight with the like of Ruslan Chagaev or similar in the UK to futher enhance his profile.

Heading for the top...

What I can say without doubt is that Lucas is quite clearly a ferocious talent with TNT in his fists, who will have a shot at the title.

I wish him well... 

Edit - Browne easily defeated Toney with a unanimous points decision, winning every round of the fight.

Browne Vs Toney - Full Fight, CLICK HERE.

With thanks to Hattonboxing.com  for the video..

Edit - Lucas will fight Richard Towers on 25th July in an eliminator for the commonwealth title.
 

 

Richard Towers - The Forgotten Man Of British Boxing?

Time for a reminder...

Richard Towers

Richard "The Inferno" Towers is the forgotten man of British boxing, who had some rare headlines this week, thanks to uncertainty surrounding the Price Vs Thompson fight. Towers claims he was offered the fight at a few days notice for peanuts and quite rightly turned it down. A fight against Price would need a couple of months preparation, to have taken it at a few days would have been just asking for a defeat to be added to your record. It turns out that Maloney was covering his bases in case Thompson's medical records didn't arrive in time.   

Frank Maloney

Richard Towers is the 33 year old current undefeated EU Heavyweight Champion based in Yorkshire with a record of 14 fights, 14 wins with 11 KOs. His last fight, in June 2012, was against the Former French champion Gregory Tony, who Towers stopped in the 9th round. Tony had previously been in with both Perez and Helenius and was a big step up for Towers, who although rocked slightly in the 5th did well to recover and win.

Towers is a very good cagey fighter with some tremendous power in his punches. This would be one of the reasons why he is a regular sparring partner for the Klitschkos and why he is currently ranked number 13 in the world by the WBA. He was also due to fight Lucas Browne in Dec 2012 in an eliminator for David Price's commonwealth title. A fight Towers was forced to pull out of due to an injury.

Towers & Browne

What lies ahead for Towers? Currently he is "between" fights. I would like to see him fight Browne in the rescheduled commonwealth eliminator. Price is likely to relinquish the title to pursue his quest for a shot at the title, so a fight between Browne and Towers could be for the actual title. There was some mentions of Francesco Pianeta as a possible opponent back in October, this could also be an option.

David Price Commonwealth Champion

Whatever his next fight is and wherever it leads him, after the personal problems Richard had in the past and has overcome, I think his boxing career will be a walk in the park in comparison.

I wish him well...

Browne Vs Towers - Commonwealth Eliminator.

Browne Vs Towers - Commonwealth Eliminator.

David Price Commonwealth Champion

On Dec 11th Hong Kong is to host a much anticipated fight between 2 undefeated heavyweights for the right to fight for The Commonwealth Title, currently held by David Price.



 Lucas "Big Daddy" Browne currently has a record of 13 fights, 13 wins, 12 by KO.

Lucas Browne

Richard "The Inferno" Towers currently has a record of 14 fights, 14 wins, 11 by KO. He is also the current European heavyweight title holder.

Richard Towers

Whilst these two men are friends outside of the ring and have sparred on more than one occasion there will be no "favours" inside the ring come December 11th, although Browne has this to say about the fight
“Richard and I spent some time together training and sparring and we got along like best mates. It’s a shame that one of us will end up with a loss after this fight because of the other person, but at the same time it’s business and I’m sure it’s not going to affect the friendship.”

This fight seems to have been overlooked by the press and media this side of the world. The clamour for a Price Vs Fury fight probably has something to do with it as does the fact it's in Hong Kong. It's being promoted by Ricky Hatton's Hatton Promotions in their first excursion into the asian boxing market.

Having fought his last 2 fights in the UK, Browne has clearly impressed Hatton "People are talking about this man now as a world class puncher so it’s a great opportunity". This is an opinion I also share.

Whilst both men carry a big punch the "smart" money would be on Towers who has the better experience and who is currently sparring with Wladimir Klitshcko in Austria. Pretty impressive company in order to prepare for your next fight!!

This is certainly a massive fight for both fighters and it makes a refreshing change for two up and coming undefeated boxers to put their records on the line in order to try and climb the career ladder. 

Hatton says “Here we have two high flying and unbeaten heavyweights. Both are at similar stages in their careers and have a similar number of fights, but now they have an opportunity to catapult their way into the world rankings"

This is certainly true and a case could be made, especially with the backing of Hatton for the winner to be placed into the top 20. A fight for the Commonwealth title will also enhance that ranking. World title fights on the cards for the winner? Not yet, but is a big possibility...

The World Title Holders

My personal opinion on this fight is that it will be fast and furious with both fighters taking and throwing huge hits. I don't anticipate this going more than 3 rounds and will I feel end by a KO. 

My Winner? I think it is going to be Browne. Having seen both men fight I think Browne's power and style are going to be too much for Towers. One thing is for sure, it is going to rank as one of the best fights of the year.

Towers Vs Browne

The winner gets to fight for the Commonwealth Title, will that be against Price or will he vacate to step up his world title push in 2013? That is a question for another time...


Good luck to both fighters.