Mark Hobson takes on Rob Norton: a preview
Posted: 01 Sep 2003, 15:45
Huddersfield's Mark Hobson and Rob Norton of Stourbridge clash for the vacant British cruiserweight title in Sheffield this Friday in a fight propelled to main event status after the scheduled headliner between Clinton Woods and Glencoffe Johnson fell through.
Hobson, the reigning Commonwealth cruiserweight champion, will also be putting that title on the line.
Hobson won the Commonwealth crown with a ridiculously easy fourth round stoppage of Uganda's Abdul Kadou in January - and will find it tougher against former WBU champ Norton, who won a long battle to regain his boxing licence after failing a brain scan two years ago. Norton has fought only once since: a six-round points win over tough Paul Bonson last November.
Hobson, ironically, also enters the fight with a lack of rounds behind him. He's blown away his last three opponents - all of them imports, including a second-round stoppage of Belarussian Muslim Biarslanov in his last fight and that fourth round stoppage of the 41-year-old Kadou, who, frankly, shouldn't have been in the same ring. Hobson's last meaningful fight is a solid 10-round decision over Lee Swaby in 2002 in in a British title eliminator. Swaby, you may recall, is the only man to have beaten current WBU cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli.
Norton also holds a decision over Swaby, in an eight-rounder in 2001, and at 31 boasts far more experience than 27-year-old Hobson. The Dudley man turned pro in 1993 and went unbeaten in his first 17 fights before Darren Corbett pipped him for the Commonwealth cruiserweight crown in Belfast - a place Corbett has knocked over many a good man in.
A couple of wins later, Norton was challenging South Africa's Jacob Mofokeng for the WBU cruiserweight title on local turf in Birmingham and boxed smartly to win a close 12-round decision.
The new champion only reigned five months when Sebastian Rothmann reclaimed the title for South Africa with an eighth round kayo following an uncharacteristically tame display from Norton, who later claimed he was suffering from glandular fever. The strong and talented Rothmann also proved too much for Hobson in a subsequent defence - winning after nine bloody rounds when Hobson was pulled out by his corner. The challenger had been down in the third.
After losing the title, Norton bounced back with three straight wins and was lined up to fight Hackney's Bruce Scott in late 2001 when he failed the routine brain scan. He successfully appealed. "Regaining my license is the biggest fight I've won in my career," he said recently. "I got to the stage where I thought nothing could be done but then I kept thinking I'd never been knocked down or had headaches and was determined to fight on. It's frustrating I was prevented from fighting for so long for nothing but I'm just happy to have my license back.
"It's been incredibly stressful but I'm thankful for the people who have stuck by me."
He will find himself in an unusual position against the 6'5" Hobson - fighting someone who is taller than him. Norton towered over the likes of Corbett and Mofokeng and that, combined with his southpaw style, gave him a big advantage. This time Hobson will have the physical edge, though it remains to be seen how he copes with a slick and quick southpaw. Currently on a winning run of six, Hobson has lost only to Mark Levy, Rothmann and on a cut eye to Germany's Firat Arslan in his 24 fights. He was also cut in the Rothmann fight and there's a possiblity Norton's sharp punches could cause further facial damage.
But with the majority of the crowd behind him, Hobson, who seems to be punching harder nowadays and has always been a talented boxer, will be awfully hard to deny. The Swaby and Rothmann comparisons indicate a close fight, but styles make fights. Hobson is younger, fresher, taller, and has been more active. Norton has mileage left in him, but just one fight - a six-rounder - since February 2001 is a real sticking point. Sky-TV expert, Jim Watt, is always quick to highlight how inactivity affects stamina. Only last June we saw former British and Commonwealth cruiserweight champion Bruce Scott return from two years inactivity against Enzo Maccarinelli and, after a bright start, fade, and then get nailed. I don't think this one will end in such a spectacular knockout, either way, but I do believe the more active fighter of late, Hobson, will get on top as the fight progresses.
In the end, it could boil down to who wants it most. Norton has won a WBU title and had his day in the sun. Hobson has yet to bask there. That could make all the difference.
Hobson, the reigning Commonwealth cruiserweight champion, will also be putting that title on the line.
Hobson won the Commonwealth crown with a ridiculously easy fourth round stoppage of Uganda's Abdul Kadou in January - and will find it tougher against former WBU champ Norton, who won a long battle to regain his boxing licence after failing a brain scan two years ago. Norton has fought only once since: a six-round points win over tough Paul Bonson last November.
Hobson, ironically, also enters the fight with a lack of rounds behind him. He's blown away his last three opponents - all of them imports, including a second-round stoppage of Belarussian Muslim Biarslanov in his last fight and that fourth round stoppage of the 41-year-old Kadou, who, frankly, shouldn't have been in the same ring. Hobson's last meaningful fight is a solid 10-round decision over Lee Swaby in 2002 in in a British title eliminator. Swaby, you may recall, is the only man to have beaten current WBU cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli.
Norton also holds a decision over Swaby, in an eight-rounder in 2001, and at 31 boasts far more experience than 27-year-old Hobson. The Dudley man turned pro in 1993 and went unbeaten in his first 17 fights before Darren Corbett pipped him for the Commonwealth cruiserweight crown in Belfast - a place Corbett has knocked over many a good man in.
A couple of wins later, Norton was challenging South Africa's Jacob Mofokeng for the WBU cruiserweight title on local turf in Birmingham and boxed smartly to win a close 12-round decision.
The new champion only reigned five months when Sebastian Rothmann reclaimed the title for South Africa with an eighth round kayo following an uncharacteristically tame display from Norton, who later claimed he was suffering from glandular fever. The strong and talented Rothmann also proved too much for Hobson in a subsequent defence - winning after nine bloody rounds when Hobson was pulled out by his corner. The challenger had been down in the third.
After losing the title, Norton bounced back with three straight wins and was lined up to fight Hackney's Bruce Scott in late 2001 when he failed the routine brain scan. He successfully appealed. "Regaining my license is the biggest fight I've won in my career," he said recently. "I got to the stage where I thought nothing could be done but then I kept thinking I'd never been knocked down or had headaches and was determined to fight on. It's frustrating I was prevented from fighting for so long for nothing but I'm just happy to have my license back.
"It's been incredibly stressful but I'm thankful for the people who have stuck by me."
He will find himself in an unusual position against the 6'5" Hobson - fighting someone who is taller than him. Norton towered over the likes of Corbett and Mofokeng and that, combined with his southpaw style, gave him a big advantage. This time Hobson will have the physical edge, though it remains to be seen how he copes with a slick and quick southpaw. Currently on a winning run of six, Hobson has lost only to Mark Levy, Rothmann and on a cut eye to Germany's Firat Arslan in his 24 fights. He was also cut in the Rothmann fight and there's a possiblity Norton's sharp punches could cause further facial damage.
But with the majority of the crowd behind him, Hobson, who seems to be punching harder nowadays and has always been a talented boxer, will be awfully hard to deny. The Swaby and Rothmann comparisons indicate a close fight, but styles make fights. Hobson is younger, fresher, taller, and has been more active. Norton has mileage left in him, but just one fight - a six-rounder - since February 2001 is a real sticking point. Sky-TV expert, Jim Watt, is always quick to highlight how inactivity affects stamina. Only last June we saw former British and Commonwealth cruiserweight champion Bruce Scott return from two years inactivity against Enzo Maccarinelli and, after a bright start, fade, and then get nailed. I don't think this one will end in such a spectacular knockout, either way, but I do believe the more active fighter of late, Hobson, will get on top as the fight progresses.
In the end, it could boil down to who wants it most. Norton has won a WBU title and had his day in the sun. Hobson has yet to bask there. That could make all the difference.
