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Bus driver Sam Horton aims to shock golden boy DeGale


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Dudley bus driver Sam Horton aims to shock golden boy James DeGale

 

Apr 25 2010 by Ian Johnson, Sunday Mercury

 

DUDLEY’S Sam Horton comes across as a confident, careful and calculating young lad.

 

He doesn’t give the impression he is overly concerned about facing the fearsome prospect of going into the ring with the nation’s current hottest boxing talent.

 

On the other hand bus driver Horton regards his clash with super middleweight southpaw James DeGale at West Ham’s Upton Park on May 15 as his “great opportunity”.

 

Despite the fact that he has an impressive record of one defeat in 16 outings, which included picking up the Midlands title and the British Masters championship, he is very much the underdog against Beijing Olympics Gold medallist DeGale.

 

Add his opponents’ stunning stats of six successive professional victories – four of them inside the distance and all of them very impressive – and Horton should not stand a chance of beating DeGale and winning the vacant the WBA International title.

 

The “what title” you ask? I understand that the WBA have introduced this lower level championship to encourage the young pretenders – and no doubt make money!

 

It just amazes me that a boxer can be fighting for a title of any sort after just six fights – but that’s another story.

 

For Horton this fight is the chance of a lifetime.

 

He told me: “I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This is a fight I need. It is very high profile.

 

“I appreciated DeGale’s amateur record and what he has done as a professional but he needs to step up and his handlers have chosen me to take him on. I will be giving it my best shot.

 

“I intend to show him that the higher you go the harder it becomes. I am ready for this moment. This is my chance and I am confident I can beat him.

 

“He is a full-time professional boxer and that is as it should be after his achievements in Beijing. But there aren’t many who do as well as him. Most of us have to fight our way right from the bottom in a world that doesn’t pay the bills.

 

“Boxing for me at the moment has to be a sideline, or a hobby if you like. My full time job is a bus driver based in Dudley travelling to Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

 

“When I turn up the morning after a fight with a black eye the passengers all seem to think that I am a thug or a hooligan.

 

“Some of them read the local papers and find out the truth. But it’s not easy.

 

“On some occasions I have had to work on the same days and then fight at night. For this fight against DeGale I asked if I could have some time off to make sure I was at my best.

 

“Despite my plea for help I was told “no” because I was a bus driver and not a boxer.

 

“Beating DeGale would change all of that.

 

“When my trainer Errol Johnson told me about the fight I couldn’t believe it. What an opportunity for me. I knew that it was my chance and I am grateful for it.

 

“This is obviously make or break for me. But I have every faith in Errol. I have been doing a lot of sparring against southpaws and I will be ready and in great condition for the fight of my life.

 

“I will have my game plan and I will stick to it. Winning will change my life,” he added

[url]http://www.sundaymercury.net/midlands-sport/other-midlands-sport/midlands-boxing/2010/04/25/dudley-bus-driver-sam-horton-aims-to-shock-golden-boy-james-degale-66331-26309972/[/url]

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Re: Bus driver Sam Horton aims to shock golden boy DeGale

 

Add his opponents’ stunning stats of six successive professional victories – four of them inside the distance and all of them very impressive – and Horton should not stand a chance of beating DeGale and winning the vacant the WBA International title.

 

Tells me all I need to know - the author either knows nothing about boxing or has not watched the "extensive" back catalogue of de Gale's fights. "stunning stats"? "very impressive"? There are countless fighters who go 6 undefeated and de Gale is the new boo boy of British boxing.

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