Doncaster’s Richard Thomas (5-1) upset the odds to beat favourite Daniel Slaney (8-2-1) to become the new Central Area super-middleweight champion.
Thomas boxed clever out of the away corner to halt Slaney in the sixth round, much to everyone’s surprise having being written off by many going into the 10-round Championship contest on June 10th at Doncaster Dome on a Stefy Bull Promotions show.
It was a local derby with Slaney, 32, from Harworth and Bircotes and Thomas, 31, from Tickhill village just next door.
BBN caught up with the new Area titlist just days after his unexpected win:
Congratulations Richard, first and foremost. How was the experience of winning that shiny new belt for you?
“It were unreal! Obviously, for a split second, I thought the ref would have let it carry on, but the second I saw him stop it and turned round and saw the team running towards me, well it was one of the best moments in my life.
I always got told that hard work and determination will get you to where you want to be but I personally didn’t think I’d ever get this opportunity, so I grabbed it with both hands.”
How was the experience of being the underdog for the first time?
“To be honest, I loved it! I had no pressure to sell tickets, no pressure on me to win, so it took everything away from me and I went into that fight the calmest I’ve ever been.”
Dan Slaney has an excellent amateur pedigree and a good record in the paid ranks. What was it like against such a tough opponent?
“Going into this, I knew Daniel, known of him for years even though I never actually met him. I knew that, in my eyes, he’s a better boxer and a proper fighter.
I thought he would come to the fight and be amateurish, on his toes and in and out, but he tried to put pressure on me, which didn’t work.
I’ve never fought a southpaw before but I remember sparring a good few years back against Simeon Cover [a 76-fight veteran who fought for the English super-middleweight title] and he switched to southpaw and told me afterwards that I was awful with the southpaw stance and that I struggled with it, so that was in the back of my mind as I was going into this fight!
I sparred with Liam Cameron when he was preparing for Sam Sheedy, and he did all six rounds against me in southpaw stance so I found it alright in the end.”
Credit: Dean Woolley
With the fight being a local derby, did it make for a bigger occasion?
“It were quite intense, being a local derby.
Even though we didn’t know each other, my friends knew him, his friends knew me. The company that I work for has a relation of his in, I think either an uncle or cousin, and we only live 10 minutes from each other. And another lad I work with knew Dan and his dad, and lived just next to them.
Also, for me, I used to go to the Doncaster Dome to watch fights and always dreamed of fighting there one day, so that was big for me.
I went into his changing rooms and had a word with him afterwards, he’s a nice lad. I know he’s been boxing a long time and I saw the disappointment in his eyes and that’s not a nice feeling for me because I’m not a nasty person.”
You started your pro career with a loss, can you explain what happened there?
“Not taking anything away from Ben Fitch, we actually talk quite a bit and are friends and he actually retired after that fight, but I got a phone call two weeks before and was told that he’s got a loss already and that it was worth taking the fight away from home at such short notice.
He told me after that he had been training for 10 weeks for that fight in a training camp with Kelvin Young [former Southern Area super-middleweight champion] and I took it two weeks before and I wasn’t professionally ready.
I was two years out of the ring and weighed in at 11st 11lbs, which is lightest I’ve ever been, which was too light.
I put everything into the first round, being inexperienced, and thought I won that round, but in the second round I gassed and, not taking anything away from him as I said before, he put the pressure on and beat me.”
What’s next for you in your career?
“Next for me now, I’m going back in the gym today and going to keep on it. Normally, I have a week or two off but it’s harder to get back into the swing. It will only be light, a bit of skipping and not too hard.
When they put the belt around me they said, “That’s it now, you’re in the English title mix,” and I just thought, ‘Wow!’ [Current English super-middleweight champion is Darryl Williams who defends the title against Jahmaine Smyle next].
My manager, Joe Elfidh, is in dealings with Frank Warren now and I’ve rocketed up the rankings [Listed as 27th on the BoxRec website] so I’m just going to see where it takes me.”
To follow Ricko on Twitter visit @RickoThomas1985