bigped you were asking the other day about Colin McNeill. Theres an article about him in tonights Evening News. You may have already seen it but here it is anyway..
Arthur sure McNeil can be pro success
BOXING BY BRIAN DONALD
ASK ex-British super featherweight champion Alex Arthur who he regards as Eastern Scotland’s most exciting boxing prospect bar none and there is only one answer: "Colin McNeil."
"Fauldhouse-based welterweight Colin is a better bet to reach the top of the pro game in my opinion than even Gilmerton’s unbeaten light welterweight Gary Young [beaten by McNeil in the amateurs] or any other East Coast boxer you care to name."
And southpaw McNeil, winner of five amateur welterweight titles and four gold medals in international competitions as far apart as Mauritius, Spain, Finland and Egypt, aims to make Arthur’s prediction come true.
"I want my name and photograph to be on the same fight promotion posters in future as Alex Arthur and Gary Young and I know I can make it happen.
"But time - not some guy in the opposite corner - is probably my biggest enemy as I am 31 years old so I want as many fights as possible to build on my unbeaten three bout pro record.
"The pro game suits me better as three of my greatest assets - extended stamina, endurance and punch power - are vital for success when boxing in the paid ranks.
"But to be honest, although I have great faith in my manager Alex Morrison who told me he is bringing me along gradually I would fight anybody right now - even current welterweight champion David Barnes.
"I’ve seen Barnes in action and having sparred with ex-WBO continental light middleweight champion Scott Dixon from Hamilton loads of times I’m confident that I could beat Barnes for the British title - not next year but now.
"In the meantime, I would love to fight another guy I’ve sparred with dozens of times - Paisley’s reigning Scottish welterweight champion Kevin McIntyre for his Scottish crown.
"Why am I so confident? In the five years between 1998 and 2003 I never lost a fight in the amateurs to any British-based opponent."
McNeil’s long-time coach Pat Toner said: "Christian Blatt, who is the current IBF welterweight champion and is rated in the top ten IBO welterweight ratings, was beaten by Colin in the amateurs."
The coach’s observations brought complete agreement from McNeil, who said: "I beat Christian Blatt of Denmark - who is now IBF welterweight champion - in a ring war in Liverpool in the amateurs. If I could do that then I could do that now."
Toner added: "We have been working hard on Colin’s punch power with short punches, like hooks and upper cuts, and it paid off against his last opponent, the Russian Anton Ivanov, who he stopped in two rounds [at Braehead Arena on June 19].
"That early-round stoppage was no accident as Colin has been working hard on loading up on punch power."
McNeil’s Glasgow-based manager Alex Morrison also expressed delight with his man’s ring progress.
He said: "Colin is a first-rate professional who never skips on training and works hard in the gym, but I disagree about him fighting Paisley’s Kevin McIntyre who has been knocked out twice - Colin beating McIntyre would prove absolutely nothing.
"I want Colin to win his next six or so bouts over the six and eight-round distance and then I will get him a title fight - the guy is just so talented that there is no big rush."
Morrison, who in 1981 aged 35, himself became the oldest Scotsman to fight for and win a Scottish Amateur heavyweight title, added: "Colin’s age of 31 doesn’t mean we need to rush him either.
"Modern fighters last longer than the old-timers who were often burned out by their late 20s because they fought so often."
Nevertheless, with one eye on his post-fight game future rising Fauldhouse ring star McNeil graduated last weekend as a sports masseur from the National Sports Massage Clinic in the Welsh capital Cardiff.
Commenting on this latest triumph, McNeil said: "By successfully passing my exams in sports massage at Cardiff I now hold the Diploma in Sports Massage and that’s what I intend to do once I hang up the gloves as I don’t want to be a ceramic tiler all my life."
In the meantime, McNeil aims to expertly ‘massage’ the chins of ring opponents with his big southpaw right hook in his quest the reach the summit of championship boxing.
A goal that, if achieved, would pave the way for possibly owning his own sports massage clinic.