Young Dundee boxer Jamie Wilson may have failed in his bid to claim a Commonwealth belt at the weekend, but the 23-year-old has won a legion of new admirers after playing his part in one of the fights of the year.
The super-flyweight went into the lion’s den in Newcastle to take on local hero Anthony Nelson in a bout televised live on Sky Sports.
Wilson, who had only fought five times as a professional before Saturday night, stood toe to toe with his older and more experienced opponent and at times looked to have Nelson in trouble with powerful body punches and a non-stop workrate.
The bout lasted six frenetic rounds before Wilson’s corner decided that their man had given all he had, and sensibly pulled him out.
Respected former Scottish world champion Jim Watt was impressed with what he saw.
Watt said: “It was six rounds of non-stop quality action.
“If you lose a fight you want to go back to the dressing room knowing you gave every last ounce that you possess and young Jamie Wilson gave it everything.
“He just didn’t have the experience and ran out of steam. He was doing well in the early rounds but he was busting a gut to do it. But this is a young man who will come back. Wilson showed unbelievable courage. He’d used up everything he possessed.”
Another ex-world champion, Glen McCrory, said: “Jamie Wilson showed great heart, courage and stamina. He’s got some very good qualities and he’ll come again.”
Britain’s leading cruiserweight, Tony Bellew, now expects Wilson to build on this performance.
He said: “Anthony Nelson has learned how to pace himself. Jamie Wilson was better in the early rounds but he was spent.
“You can see he’s got nice moves, and he was slick but it’s all about experience at this level and knowing how to pace yourself.
“He’s a baby at 23 and hopefully we’ll see the best of him coming on.”
Also on the Newcastle bill, Commonwealth Games hero Charlie Flynn won his second professional fight and Anthony Joshua continued his remarkable start to his professional career by knocking out Jason Gavern inside three rounds in the headline bout.
The London 2012 super-heavyweight gold medallist knocked down his game, but overmatched, opponent four times en route to his 11th straight win in the paid ranks, none of which have gone beyond three rounds.
Gavern showed plenty of heart in getting up three times but never looked like causing what would have been a huge shock against Joshua, who next faces former world heavyweight title challenger Kevin Johnson next month at the O2 Arena in London.
“Jason Gavern (was a) very awkward opponent, slippy customer, he’s there to make me look bad and I think he did a good job of that,” Joshua told Sky Sports 2.
“At the end of the day, I’ve got a job to do and that’s get a win.
“Hopefully if I can start pushing to British titles, European, step by step, these fights won’t really mean anything when I’m experienced and I’m a champion.”