Brian Rose – UK Light Middleweight Champ: Canelo Alvarez & Miguel Cotto On the Radar?

By Donald C. Stewart

Shakespeare said that by any other name it would still smell as sweet. For Brian Rose 20-1-1, 5 KO’s the sweetness came when he took a split decision to take Prince Arron’s 21-4-1, 1 KO’s British Light Middleweight title from him. It was a dream come true for the Blackpool lad and though it was a split decision, it was a skillful exhibition of boxing prowess. Arron had been heavily fancied going into the fight and many predicted that Rose would come away after receiving a lesson in boxing. It was the Lion Rose who dished out the lesson live on SKY TV. Rose defended well and relied on counter punching that Arron couldn’t compete with.

In fairness Arron just seemed out of sorts and Rose’s command of the center of the ring was pivotal to the victory. Arron’s late rally wasn’t enough to obliterate the memory of Rose’s great start for at least two of the judges though for any fighter a split decision can be a mixed blessing.

It was his first outing on TV and showed that at the UK level this kid could box. It was fancied that Mathew Hall 24-6, 16 KO’s would be next but it turned out that Max Maxwell 15-11-3, 3 KO’s was next in line. Defending the title against a fighter who already had a significant number of defeats on his record may sound like a relatively straightforward task but Maxwell’s biggest win had been against … Brian Rose. His only loss, Rose had succumbed in the 6th round to a TKO just 2 years previously. It was hardly a grudge match but it was one that was highly interesting.

With another classic performance, Rose demonstrated that the time was ripe to have his name mentioned alongside bigger named fighters. There had been some criticism that he was staying at the one level in the UK but caution never caused anyone to sweat over their future. Rose simply out-boxed Maxwell. His high guard was becoming a bit of a noticeable trademark and he seemed to have added a swift and impressive uppercut to the TV repertoire as he won by a significant margin on points. Boxing from behind an effective and impressive jab, Rose was catching people’s eyes and some attention. The result was never really in doubt and Rose truly was a British champion.

His last fight and another defense of the British title was against Kris Carslaw 15-2, 3 KO’s. Carslaw had also noticed Rose’s style and he went into the fight determined to take the jab away and try and take with it the British title. Before the fight, despite Carslaw’s impressive record on paper, most people thought this was the easiest of Rose’s British title fights. It turned into a battle for 3 rounds and one, had Carslaw not suffered a severe cut in the 3rd that Rose could have lost.

It was a difficult test and a very different one but Rose passed it. He had demonstrated that, when up against it, he could still box his way out the ring with a belt strapped round his waist. It was hardly though his hardest or toughest test. That came in 2009 when his opponent, Jason Rushton 18-10, 3 KO’s collapsed after the fight in his dressing room and ended up in hospital. Rushton recovered but has not fought since. On Rose’s return to the ring, he found himself in his one loss to Maxwell. If anything was to test his love of boxing, then these two events must have been it!

A remarkable test of character passed by Rose brings us to what comes next for the likeable Blackpool fighter? Domestically Ryan Rhodes 46-6, 31 KO’s, Sam Webb 18-2, 5 KO’s and John O’Donnell 25-2, 11 KO’s are around Rose and with Joe Selkirk 9-0, 5 KO’s, Commonwealth Champion Jamie Cox 16-0, 9 KO’s and Steve O’Meara 15-2, 4 KO’s possibly the brightest of the up and coming stars; the situation domestically is pretty weak. Rose should be looking at the Commonwealth and European titles.

A fight with Jamie Cox for the Commonwealth would possibly appeal, the European title possibly even more appealing. Three names sit above British boxers in the European rankings. Two of them meet in Kiev in October this year for the WBO title. Czech fighter Lukas Konecny 48-3, 28 KO’s will fight interim WBO title holder Russian Zaurbek Baysangurov 27-1, 20 KO’s. It leaves the unbeaten European champion, Belarusian, Sergey Rabchenko 21-0, 16 KO’s who comprehensively beat Ryan Rhodes in June this year.

When the World titles are held by people who go by the name of Alvarez, Cotto and Bundrage the step towards a world title may be a little way off just now but the way in which this 26 year old has captured the attention of the British Boxing scene means that perhaps in 2013 or 2014 you guys in the States might just see our next great Light Middleweight hope in the ring against the best the division has to offer.