Slugger Cox now ready to box his way into a world title fight

FRANK WARREN’S SCRAPBOOK

I suggested here last week that the days when foreign fighters ventured into Germany knowing they had to knock ’em out to get a draw against home-grown opposition were no more. It seems I spoke too soon.

Russia’s Fedor Chudinov can rightly claim he was the victim of distinctly dodgy arithmetic when losing his WBA super-middleweight title to German veteran Felix Sturm in Oberhausen last Saturday night.

Ok, so it wasn’t the most outrageous decision you’ve ever seen but it was very much literally an ill-judged one.

For my money the previously undefeated Chudinov clearly won the fight, and I am sure the vast majority of BoxNation viewers will agree, as did all the studio pundits, including Britain’s unbeaten Jamie Cox who has his eyes firmly fixed on his own deserved world title opportunity.

Even though he did not box quite as well as he did when upsetting favourite Sturm to take the vacant title in Frankfurt nine months ago Chudinov was always the more composed, clinical puncher of the two.

The first half was pretty even but the square-on Russian did most of the forcing, and scoring, in the latter stages.

The surprise majority decision in favour of Sturm – one judge had it a draw at 114-114, while the other two perplexing scored it 115-113 to the home fighter – was virtually a reversal of that when they first met.

Understandably Chudinov and his promoters are more than a tad peeved, and have filed an official protest to the WBA. Good luck with that one.

The 37-year-old Sturm, an immensely popular figure in Germany, broadly hints that he may now retire having achieved his goal of becoming a five-times world champion, saying it would be ‘a nice way’ to sign off a great career.

If that’s the case our man Cox should be paired with Chudinov for the vacant title; it’s a natural match-up and one which we will try and make happen.

Alternatively the southpaw slugger from Swindon would be happy to go Germany to fight Sturm as his next challenger. Fear of foreign parts is not in Jamie’s psyche, for he believes he has sufficient dynamite in his fists to put the result against Sturm, Chudinov or any of the best super-middleweights –at home or abroad – beyond question.

At 29, and having acquired Commonwealth and WBO European titles, Cox is ready, willing and eminently able to star on the world stage.

He’s proved himself a devastating, very precise puncher who I believe is now on the cusp of the big-time.

Tomorrow: More forthright views from Frank’s Scrapbook