Wilson-Bent keeps big title hopes alive

River celebrates gruelling victory. Pic: GBM/Leigh Dawney

FOR every fighter with title dreams, defeat is a serious setback.

At 30 and with a career spent in top class, River Wilson-Bent has reached boxing’s tightrope years when a defeat is potentially disastrous.

I like the Coventry middle. There’s a lot to like: River’s paid his dues, always gives value-for-money, is courageous and the scars etched on his brows shows he’s bled for this unforgiving business.

The boxer is also a thoroughly nice individual.

On GBM’s big show at the Skydome, in his home city, last night, River was presented with a potential banana skin in the form of rugged Geordie Matt McCallum.

He rose to the occasion, outpointed the southpaw in a bruising, if sometimes untidy, eight rounder and, in doing so, kept alive hopes of bagging a major title.

Not many boxers deserve one more. In 23 contest, River has won the Midlands belt with a truly spectacular KO and drawn and lost by majority decision to mighty Tyler Denny for the English belt.

He is, surely, on the home run of a career that he can look back on with pride. It would be satisfying to see him bow out with the English belt, as Wombourne’s Ricky Summers did.

A Wilson-Bent fight would not be complete without drama and the McCallum bout had the customary turbulent times to overcome.

He was unjustly given a count in the fifth – replays later revealed River slipped – and suffered a gash over his right eye in the last round.

But he produced the cleaner work in a contest marred by clinching and took a narrow 76-75 decision from referee Ryan Churchill who asked for the pair to tidy it up on a number of occasions.

It was a battle short on science, top heavy with endeavour. But the finesse on display was served up by the home fighter.

And McCallum was no “given” for the Sky Blue favourite. He had won seven out of 10 going into the contest, hits hard and won the Northern Area title at super-middle.

Ultimately, what little class that was on display showed – and it came from River.

“I went in there and found a way to get the job done,” said Wilson-Bent (11st 8lbs 9oz). “I set the pace. I’ve spoken to the referee and he apologised for the count. I thought I was well ahead, he was smothering.”

“I want Shakiel Thompson (Sheffield’s 12-0 IBF European champ) in Sheffield, 100 per cent.”

Manager Jon Pegg has a different dream. He said: “I’d love to get River an English title before the end.”

In truth the fight with southpaw McCallum (11st 7lbs 7oz) was a hard one to score because the pair became frequently entangled. The lasting impression was River wanted it more and produced the more clinical work.

He stung McCallum with a right downstairs, left hook to the head in the third and planted right hands in the fourth.

The northerner always competed, always chugged forward and let both hands go following the fifth round knockdown.

Wilson-Bent (11st 8lbs 9oz) responded by raking  McCallum with long punches and both men blazed away in the final round, the contest’s best session.

It wasn’t pretty – sometimes you have to win ugly. It was a win for River and a win keeps his big fight hopes alive.