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A Closer Look at Boxer Sam Sheedy

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

Just last week I was in the English steel city of Sheffield and was asked – who is famous that comes from here? I managed a few and that was not just because Kell Brook had recently fought at Brammal Lane in the city but must admit that I resorted to Google to find out more.

There are quite a few but the odyssey then took me back to that night at Sheffield United’s ground when Brook lost his world title in his fight with Errol Spence, JR. It was a heart breaking night and led unfortunately to debates about nonsense like whether a fighter should be allowed to quit when his eyesight is under threat.

On the same bill that night, as is normal in boxing, local fighters were chosen to make up the bill. One of the local guys who got the chance to show his skills was the “Wisewood Mexican”, Sam Sheedy, 18-2, 4 KO’s. His nickname is clearly due to his skills, stance and style but he also loves a sombrero or two!

Sheedy, famed for that come ahead style, has been on the periphery of our view and championship action but got his hands on the Commonwealth middleweight belt that night to bring his star more into focus and capture our attention. His presence has been blighted somewhat as he has fought for belts before, unsuccessfully, for the British title – against Tommy Langford last year, and similarly unsuccessfully against Navid Mansouri, for the English title in 2015, thus making his appearances less notable as he was in the dressing room when the interviews were being taken.

The fight at Brammal lanes pitted “Speedy” against a very tough Abolaji Rasheed, 9-3-1, 5 KO’s, of Nigeria and his win was hard fought. During the fight, his corner, clearly caught out by Rasheed’s style and relentless pressure, started to shout out instructions which confused Sheedy to such an extent that Rasheed was able to catch him twice! Just how dangerous that could have been was evident in the 8th round when Sheedy looked as though he could be gone after an uppercut caught him; he admitted afterwards he was “out”. Surviving that, thanks to some very good gym and fitness work that got him through, meant he needed to use his head and he boxed to a very decent points win. From the 8th round onwards the win was never much in doubt.

Despite having those two championship losses on his record – both of which were split decisions and hotly disputed – he has the type of record that can be deceptive if all you focus upon is those losses.

He is of course, hardly shy, the two names on his lips once he had won the Commonwealth crown were Billy Joe Saunders and Gennady Golovkin! Both of them may have to wait for a wee while but there are plenty who think the showboating middleweight has the ability to mix it at the top – the biggest noise though is Sheedy himself!

One of the reasons he has such new found confidence is that he has had that lightbulb moment when he realised that if he does not live the life, he will not enjoy the life. A former sparring partner for Kell Brook, his two life, lifestyle almost cost him the opportunity to test himself in against the best in his weight class – it woke him up.

According to Sheedy, he was a match for Brook in sparring, and it made him realise that with some decent work under his belt he could be on the way to real glory. That includes not spending any time feeling sorry for himself or thinking about the past though the loss to Langford would be one he would be keen to avenge; his focus is firmly forwards, though a rematch could be next.

After beating Sheedy, Langford was stopped by the Georgian bad boy, Avtandil Khurtsidze in an interim WBO battle that guaranteed a shot at Saunders. Now that Khurtsidze is in prison, that route to a world title has a different complexion as Saunders needs a new opponent and Langford might need to revisit some old wins to regain profile and confidence.

It is very unlikely that Saunders would contemplate taking a fight with Sheedy but a rematch with Langford for Sheedy? Boxing is a business after all and a rematch could open the door to a world title shot for either fighter.

Sheedy’s preparations have not always been smooth as he found after his English title loss to Navid Mansouri when some idiot decided to take him on in a pub and glassed him. Sheedy ended up with butterfly stitches to the side of his eye and without trying to sound like a 1950’s parent, he could have lost his eye in that. On the night I saw him win that Commonwealth title his former sparring partner Kell Brook could also have lost an eye but both now have their eyes firmly focussed on the future and for Sheedy global attention and honours may not be that far away.

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