Boxing: Akinwande's labour of glove: Lightweight heavyweight show as Nelson is outpointed

HEAVYWEIGHT boxing in Britain, already tarnished following Frank Bruno's one-round defeat of Jesse Ferguson and Michael Bentt's near-calamitous loss to Herbie Hide, received another blow to its reputation as Henry Akinwande laboured to a mind-numbing points decision over Johnny Nelson at the York Hall last night.

It was a contest of unrelieved tedium, Nelson using the occasion to dance and hold, Akinwande, the reigning European and Commonwealth champion, lacking the power and class to subdue an inferior rival. For the record the referee, Larry O'Connell scored it 100-951 2 in Akinwande's favour.

Nelson, making a rare appearance in a British ring, was drafted in as a late replacement following an injury to Akinwande's original opponent, Clifton Mitchell, and the British Boxing Board of Control's banning of the 41-year-old James 'Bonecrusher' Smith on medical grounds.

The Sheffield-based Nelson is the owner of the World Boxing Federation heavyweight belt, a worthless crown even in today's era of devalued titles. A string of dismal appearances, including two unsuccessful assaults on the world cruiserweight title, have earned him notoriety as one of the country's least entertaining fighters.

A solid performance against Akinwande would have enabled him to rebuild his career and restore a degree of credibility to his ailing fortunes, but there seems to be little of the warrior spirit in his psyche.

As early as the first round he was in defensive mode, backpedalling furiously as Akinwande plodded after him in laborious pursuit. It is doubtful whether Nelson landed a punch in the first two rounds, although there may have been a few points awarded in his favour for artistic impression.

Akinwande appeared perplexed by it all. Even though he had his slippery opponent down in the third from a glancing right, it was Nelson who finished the round strongly, connecting with a long right.

He soon reverted to type, the fight degenerating into an exercise in futility. 'Come on, let's get cracking,' pleaded O'Connell in the fifth, an exhortation largely ignored by both parties.

The sparsely populated York Hall, traditionally a cauldron of East End passion, was uncharacteristically muted, even the catcalls of the crowd growing less frequent the longer the affair dragged on.

A burst of activity early in the seventh briefly revived hopes, but Nelson soon negated Akinwande's clumsy hostility by smothering his opponent, a tactic which brought a warning from O'Connell.

Nelson began to tire in the latter stages and was forced to hold more as Akinwande continued his quest for the punch that would bring matters to a dramatic conclusion. The Londoner lacked the speed and the guile to achieve his objective, and while it is difficult to criticise him on this performance, it is doubtful whether he is ready to make the transition to world class.

PROFESSIONAL BOXING (York Hall, Bethnal Green): 6-rd light-heavyweight: B Scott (Hackney) bt S Osbourne (Nottingham) rsf 5th. 6-rd featherweight: M Bowers (Southampton) bt P Buckley (Birmingham) pts. 6-rd featherweight: E Parsley (Bloxwich) bt K Middleton (Downham) rsf 4th. 6-rd light heavyweight: M Wright (Stevenage) bt K Barwise (Battersea) pts. 10-rd heavyweight: H Akinwande (Walworth) bt J Nelson (Sheffield) pts. 6- rd lightweight: A Campbell (Battersea) bt A Reid (Potters Bar) pts.

James 'Bonecrusher' Smith threatened yesterday to take legal action against British boxing officials for barring him on medical grounds from fighting Akinwande.