Jay Harris Crowned as the New British Flyweight Champion in Rotherham After Back-and-Forth War with Tommy Frank

Jay Harris Crowned as the New British Flyweight Champion in Rotherham After Back-and-Forth War with Tommy Frank

By Louis Devereux

It was always going to be good, wasn’t it? Tommy Frank, from Sheffield, was coming into the fight backed by his loyal following and promising to put on a career best performance against the toughest opponent of his career. In the away corner was Jay Harris, a supremely talented boxer from Wales who had only ever lost at the top level and was looking to add the British title to his belt collection.

The fight started in electric fashion, with Frank coming straight to the centre of the ring and lighting up Harris with laser accurate straight right hands and heavy hooks to the body. The first couple of rounds continued in this fashion, with the Sheffield man having far more success than expected; Harris was landing shots of his own but was soundly outclassed in the opening six minutes.

The third round was a lot closer, but no less exciting, with both men willing to take a shot to land two and trading in the centre of the ring, much to the delight of the fans. Harris managed to force his way into the fight in the fourth, using his left hook to score the eye-catching shots that meant he won the majority of the middle rounds. The action did not slow down, though, with neither man taking a backwards step and both fighters digging deep and doing everything they could to win the rounds. Frank was doing damage with heavy hooks to the body, and Harris was getting through the fight with blistering four and five punch combinations, finding success his with his hand speed and accuracy.

As the fight developed into the later rounds, there was a noticeable change in gameplan from the away corner. Harris started boxing and moving, spinning off after landing his combinations and catching Tommy on the way in, rather than standing and trading. This was proving successful for the Welshman, who had a serious breakthrough and looked to be on the verge of stopping Frank at the end of the ninth round, and had Tommy not been so determined to make it through, it may well have been called off. The champion just about managed to hold on, stumbling back to his corner, looking exhausted.

It felt as if the writing was on the wall once the tenth round started, and after a rousing show of brave resilience from Tommy Frank, his corner threw the towel in to save their man from taking more punishment than necessary. Jay Harris had won the British title away from home in a cracking slugfest that lived up to expectation and disproved the myth, once again, that ‘flyweights are boring’.

Forget the drug cheats. Forget the big fights falling through, the arguments over purse splits, and the controversial characters who so often put boxing to shame. This was a good old fashioned domestic 50/50 British title fight, where both men put everything on the line for our entertainment; last night’s main event served as a reminder of why we love this sport, and that at its best, it’s brilliant.

The undercard included a very impressive professional debut from former amateur star Tori-Ellis Willetts. Expectations were high, and Willetts didn’t disappoint in stopping the rugged veteran and normally Claudia Ferenczi in three one-sided rounds.