Danny Williams retained his British heavyweight title with an ugly split points victory over John McDermott.
Ugly win keeps champion top of the heavyweight pile
The rollercoaster career of Danny Williams looks set to continue after he held onto his British heavyweight title with a messy split points victory over John McDermott in Sunderland.
Before the fight Williams said he wanted to find out what he had left, but in truth he will have got few answers from a contest that was marred by holding and very few clean punches.
The key to Williams win was his jab which he established from the outset and used to pepper McDermott whenever he got in punching range.
Although he failed to follow it up with any meaningful combinations it was enough to keep the challenger off balance and ensured he took the opening four rounds comfortably.
In the first meeting it was Williams who started slowly and almost paid heavily but the rematch saw a complete role reversal. McDermott seemed to use up all his energy in an uncharacteristically robust ring entrance.
Straight away doubts seemed to creep into the Hornden man's head and they can't have been helped when he had a point deducted by Terry O'Connor in the third for illegal use of the forearm.
Deduction
But Williams is no avid follower of the Queensberry rules himself and he was soon in trouble for hitting behind the head and failing to break at O'Connor's command. His inevitable point deduction came in the sixth for holding, which meant a 10-8 round for the challenger.
In a contest between two fighters with such fragile temperaments, that was enough to give McDermott the encouragement to start dictating the contest.
Round eight was his best where he exchanged blows with Williams in the centre of the ring and suddenly had the champion on unsteady legs. But, just like their previous encounter, McDermott failed once again to take full advantage of any opening that presented itself.
By the ninth round he had taken the centre of the ring but instead of making Williams pay he simply barged forward with out landing any scoring shots.
Mauling
From this point onwards the fight descended into the ugly wrestling matches that have dogged the British heavyweight scene over the last five years, and sadly until Williams chooses to finally bow out, it looks like that will continue for at least a while longer.
The last three rounds were almost impossible to score with O'Connor working as hard as the two fighters as he tried to separate the persistent mauling on the ropes. By the final round his shirt was soaked with sweat and he looked as keen to hear the bell as McDermott and Williams.
The last seconds of action summed up the ugly fight with Williams hurled to the floor in frustration by a clearly annoyed McDermott.
But the Essex man only had himself to blame as his early reluctance cost him the title and a 116-111, 113-115, 116-111 points defeat.
As for Williams he fights on, but on this showing probably not for much longer.
