A mile behind on points and having been knocked down twice entering the final three minutes of a contest, there would have been some fighters who'd have meekly done enough to ensure they survived until the final bell. Not Shane McPhilbin.
Like Carl Froch had done in his defence of his WBC super-middleweight title against Jermain Taylor three years ago, the Nottingham cruiserweight stiffened the legs of his opponent, British cruiserweight champion Leon Williams, in the dying embers of the eleventh and then turned the screw in the last to force a dramatic stoppage and tear away the prestigious belt when all had seemed lost.
Yet that fairy tale ending at York Hall on Friday night [January 13] seemed like the dreams of a fantasist only six minutes previously, when the East Midlander had a point deducted by referee Marcus McDonnell for holding. That meant that at the beginning of the penultimate session Shane was, on my card at least, six points down and in search of a miracle.
That miracle arrived. Still, McPhilbin will probably tell you it wasn't divine intervention but the unwavering faith he'd kept in his locally-famed BBGs [Bulwell Big Guns] to do the job when the opportunity finally presented itself. I'm not entirely sure he was intending on leaving it that that, however.
I've long been of the opinion McPhilbin would beat the Londoner if they met - and that was re-enforced when Williams won the Lonsdale Belt with a controversial 12-round decision over another Midlander, Stourbridge southpaw Rob Norton, at the same venue ten weeks ago. Canvassed opinion of that outing saw 100 per cent of those asked adamant that the long-standing Black Country champion had been unjustly robbed of his treasured title.
So the aggressive Johnny Eames-trained puncher, now 9-4 (4), was looking to make a statement against a slimmed-down former heavyweight who'd been drafted in with three weeks to go when the original opponent, Essex's unbeaten Southern Area champion Tony Conquest, was KO'd with a bout of shingles.
And Leon, who had flattened another fighter from the city of Robin Hood - Tyrone Wright - at the Bethnal Green venue in 2010, made a bright start to his maiden title defence, decking the always-aggressive Midlander [14st 3lbs] with a right hand two minutes in. Dazed, Shane made it to his feet, saw out the ensuing attack, and quickly regrouped to take the second on work-rate alone.
His confidence continuing to grow after a shaky start, Carl Greaves-handled McPhilbin started to make his natural size and strength show as the bout went into the third. Williams' telegraphed right hands were missing the target and the challenger, who celebrated his 26th birthday three days prior to the 36-minute bout, went about punishing the blood-thirsty aggressor with both hands.
The fourth went much the same way and after being two points down after the opener, now found himself a round up on my card. Yet he conceded a close fifth and was adjudged to have been floored [harshly for me] in the sixth when his glove grazed the canvas after absorbing a solid right on the ropes from the revitalised 28-year-old champion [14st 3 1/2lbs]. In truth, Shane looked as though he tangled his own feet and lost his balance.
But it didn't get much better for the brave Bulwell-based banger - who had never been off his feet amateur or pro, including three fights with Tyson Fury in the unpaid ranks, prior to Friday night - over rounds seven, eight, nine and ten, when he had a point taken off for holding. But Williams had a point docked himself in the eleventh and after being tagged late in the round, he seemed to fall apart.
Then the fun really started. Within ten seconds of the final stanza Leon was on all fours - having shipped a right that appeared to land with a thud around the left ear and a short left as he went south. Only just beating the count and on visibly wobbly pins, he was barged backwards, hit with hooks to head and body and, with only 30 seconds gone, ate a right-left and went hurtling down on the ropes for a second time.
On the resumption 'Mr Block' wildly tore into the scramble-brained Streatham scrapper, who desperately tried to cover up and stoutly soak up the charge of the marauding challenger. He couldn't. A stream of left-rights banged into the gloves and dome of the fading champion and he sunk into the ropes, spent, just as Mr McDonnell was forcing his way between them at 1-50.
A remarkable turnaround for the iron-chinned, lion-hearted Nottinghamshire fighter, who was down 105-101 on my scorecard at the time of the intervention. In the post-fight interview on BoxNation, an emotional and adrenaline-fulled McPhilbin, now 8-2 (5), dedicated the victory to his late father
And look for the former Midlands Area boss, who has brought the British title to Bulwell for the first time since Del Bryan held it in 1995, to now grow in stature as champion. There are no shortage of future challengers for his belt - Matty Askin, the aforementioned Conquest and Jon Lewis Dickinson, to name but three - but they'll now know that they'll have to go through Hell and high water to take the title away.
Not a bad start to 2012 for for a ten-fight pro and former 19-stone amateur who only had 21 days to prepare for the biggest fight of his life and who'd, outside of Midlands circles at least, been written off as a safe first defence for the now-deposed champion.
For the record, the three judges that were rendered irrelevant by the never-say-die fists of McPhilbin were Richie Davies, Mark Green and Terry O'Connor.
Image courtesy of Andrew Milwall.
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