Lenny Daws Gets Payback With Win Over Barry Morrison

Boxing Scene Oli Smith19th September, 2009

The British Light Welterweight title has changed hands often over the course of the last few years, with most holders of the belt managing only one defence or less before being alleviated of it. The bout was originally scheduled for Ajose Olusegun to make his first defence of the BBBofC belt. Having found an opportunity in a WBC eliminator, Olusegun vacated; rather than taking on the tough and durable Lenny Daws. One man only too keen to take his place was Barry Morrison. Morrison, 17-3 (7KOs) fought Daws for the very same belt more than two years ago, a war which Morrison took on split decision, wresting the belt from Daws and handing him his first defeat as a professional.

Morrison since lost the title in his first defence, rather than using it as a spring board as had other notable names; such as Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter. Lenny Daws, 19-1-1 (7KOs) looked lanky at weight during the walk in, at 5'10'' he holds a three inch height and one inch reach advantage over the only man to better him in the paid ranks. So, the scene was set, the story line in place and a war eagerly anticipated. The York Hall in Bethnal Green would be the perfect venue to settle the scores. Neither man disappointed.

The first round began and both men spent the better part of half of it feeling each other out, occasionally engaging in close before breaking away and measuring up the opposition. Morrison, who hails from Scotland, opted to work the body of the taller man looking to break him down, in anticipation of a protracted battle. Daws meanwhile threw in bunches, negating his slight disadvantage in hand speed, he was able to connect more often despite not landing his shots first. Barry Morrison took an unorthodox approach and chose to lead with uppercuts and hooks in an attempt to break up the rhythm and perhaps slow the pace a touch.

Through the early rounds, both men tussled in close; Morrison took control of centre ring, forcing Daws to operate from the outside and on the ropes. Although gaining advantage at centre ring, Morrison was unable to impose himself upon his former foe and didn't use the upper hand to its fullest effect. The rounds remained close however, as the action ebbed and flowed between the two and the pace refused to let up. Neither fighter has one punch power at their disposal, each having stopped seven men in all of their bouts. Whereas Morrison used clubbing single shots to batter and bully his way through the rounds, Daws relied on combination punching, launching right hands over the top and following up with volleys of body shots.

As the rounds ticked by, neither man could impose their own game plan on the other; both found success in equal measure, although Morrison had his best round in the fourth. Daws was momentarily phased by a cut above his right eye, which bled and looked worse than it really was. Once back in his corner and was cleaned up, he regained composure and got back on course. By the fifth, the pace still hadn't relented and Morrison seemed to be throwing with a bit more efficiency, having caught Daws with some good shots, it was clear that he would need to take him into the trenches. Daws meanwhile never looked troubled with the pace and although he was on the back foot, he engaged Morrison as often as possible, so as not to let the tempo slow down.

Morrison had taken this fight on relatively short notice, originally he was scheduled to appear on the undercard of this event but maintained that he was in shape and ready for a hard 12 rounds. Daws would make sure he tested these claims to the fullest. What remained most impressive in Morrison's repertoire through the middle rounds, was his subtle head movement that drew his opponent in and caused him to miss and over extend on his shots, from here Morrison counterpunched and bored his way in on the inside. For every success Morrison could muster, Daws would respond with his own. As the two foes battled on signs of weariness started to creep in, both men bounced their toes less and started to drop their hands more as shots thudded home. Morrison was the first to really show the signs of wear and tear, seemingly spitting his gum shield out twice to buy valuable seconds to recover; he began to grimace under the strain of the incoming barrage.

In the eighth round, an innocuous jab seemed to have Morrison stumble to the floor, although ruled a slip, he took an age to get back to his feet as the attrition took its toll. Once upright, and to his credit, he continued to pound away and kept the fight as close as could be. What was needed was for either man to step up through the gears, find something special and really impose his domination on the other. Lenny Daws would only have to wait until the tenth to seize his opportunity.

Having fought the bulk of the round at the frenetic pace of the previous 27 minutes, Daws battered Morrison with a one, two combination over the top, which forced a delayed reaction from his onetime conqueror, and he finally took a knee. Seemingly with the last punches of the bout, Daws had knocked every bit of resistance out of the Scot, as he did not rise for referee John Keane's count. Instead he looked at his corner, shook his head and said no more.

Daws was rightly ecstatic with his win, besting the only man to have beaten him, and retaining the British title he lost two and a half years ago. Lenny Daws made it clear that his intentions were to defend his title and take the next step whilst he still can. At 30 years old, Daws is looking at his last real chance to make a run at Commonwealth or European titles, perhaps though he has reached a plateau. Though he won in the end, and did so whilst being very entertaining, he proved far too easy to hit tonight and any Light Welterweight with dynamite in his gloves would likely have a field day. Perhaps this isn't a bad thing; there are certainly worse things to be than THE man on the domestic scene, who is never involved in a dull fight.

-->