Skelton has regressed / McDermott has improved since that fight. When that fight happened, we had prime Skelton vs green McDermott.
I disagree about Skelton being an unskilled clubber. He is by no means a slick cutie pie, but that doesn't mean there isn't method to his madness. He uses feints on the way in, frequently variegates his attack in the clinch between head & body punches to keep opponents' defenses constantly roaming to keep up and leaving openings somewhere or another, and the diving/mauling is part of his largely effective grinding pressure style.
McDermott was robbed blind in his first fight with Danny Williams, and that version of Danny wasn't completely shot, he was coming off his legendary simultaneous wins over Airich, Ahmet Oener and the corrupt ref. In the rematch, McDermott didn't really turn up but still looked alright and many still scored the fight to him. Then - his best win of all alongside Larry - schooling a young Tyson Fury before falling victim to a horrific 98-92 card from the referee, when it should have been the other way round. Fury won 3/4 rounds at most in that fight. Also, Larry showed in his fight with Sexton that he's not that bad, though he required an East Germany-esque doping programme just to reach that level.
I agree. But McDermott is more "traditionally" skilled, has solid fundamentals and throws decent combinations.
I'm not saying he isn't effective, or good at what he does. I'm just saying he isn't skilled in an orthodox boxing sense, unless you're a Jack Johnson fan.
Skelton is a sneakily good body puncher, and McDermott (no matter what he weighs in) has plenty of soft flab waiting to be tenderized, and didn't much care for the low-altitude clouts he received from Williams. Then again, Skelton has looked extremely vulnerable downstairs himself for some time now - stopped by Price and Pulev on body shots. So it's a crap shoot really - either could feasibly shatter the chin or body of the other. My money is on the Bedford Bear, though. :deal
I think Skelton will have some success mauling McDermott early on, but I'm not sure he has the stamina to keep it up over the distance. I think McDermott stops him late - he has decent stamina for a tubby guy.
The broadcast is from 9:30pm-11:30pm GMT on Loaded TV (Sky channel 200) That's 4:30pm-6:30pm EST. Of course, two hours is a lot of time padded around what could be over in a mere two minutes. :!:
!!! On the line for Skelton or McDermott, pride aside, is a chance to vie next for the soon-to-be-declared-vacant British HW title! :shock:
I'm not sure if he stops Skelton unless he goes hard and consistently to the body. Skelton's a little like Chong Li, weak in the gut. That's how prospects surprise him. Still has a helmet head though, and I'm not sure MaccyD has the power to take him out upstairs.