By James McKnight
CAN LINDSAY WRECK SELBY'S QUEST FOR EURO GLORY?
The Odyssey arena in Belfast will welcome back Belfast born Martin Lindsay in a show that is entitled 'Unfinished Business'. Lindsay will attempt to upset the odds on February 9th in his hometown as he faces Wales' current British and Commonwealth featherweight champion Lee Selby. This fight will be a chief support act to Carl Frampton's super-bantamweight title fight against Kiko Martinez.
Let me tell you how both Lindsay and Selby worked their ways to this fight.
In September 2008, Lindsay (20-1-0, 7 KO's), stunned Liverpool's Derry Mathews in a British title eliminator bout. Lindsay had hit the canvas in the second round but went on to knock Mathews out in round 9. After Lindsay's scheduled British title fight with Scotland's Paul Appleby was cancelled, the two Men met in early 2009. Lindsay stopped the Scot in six rounds to claim the British title for the first time.
Nine months later, Lindsay defended the British title after a solid performance against Scot Jamie Arthur. The fight went the full 12 rounds but it was a resounding points victory for Lindsay. The Belfast born boxer then tasted defeat for the first time as a pro in December 2010, against Scot John Simpson. After 12 bruising rounds Simpson's hand was raised as Lindsay's head dropped in disappointment.
Selby (13-1-0, 5 KO's), first fought for the British title in September 2011. He came up against unbeaten British featherweight champion Stephen Smith. It was a fight that was fought in Smith's hometown of Liverpool, but the locals were not to see their Man triumph. Selby upset the odds after producing the goods for as long as the fight lasted. He inflicted a first loss on Smith's record by knocking him out in the eighth round.
Three months later, Selby faced John Simpson for the British title. The Welshman produced another top class performance to retain the British title as he stopped Simpson in five rounds. It was the first time the Scot had been stopped as a pro.
Selby, 26, last fought in May 2012. On that night he outclassed Ghana's Patrick Okine in five rounds. Meanwhile Lindsay, 30, bounced back from a first career loss in December 2010 to win all of his three comeback fights in 2012. Two were over six rounds with the latest an eight rounder last September.
Selby and Lindsay is a fight that has been in the works for some time now and that many were anticipating in 2012. The pair were due to meet in September last year, but unfortunately Selby had to withdraw from the fight just hours before it was to go ahead. He had been suffering from illness, so now that it is going ahead this weekend, many fans will feel relieved.
Selby is dreaming of European glory and is a 2/7 odds on favourite at most bookmakers. Lindsay is the underdog and you can get around 3/1 on him to win. Since this fight is in Belfast, where Lindsay is from, he is going to give it his all as the crowd will spur him on. The atmosphere is going to be electric and the two should produce their best performances.
Selby is expected to win of course as many believe he is destined for bigger things. But first things first, he must get past Lindsay and the Man from Belfast will not want to be beaten in front of his own fans.
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