John Simpson vs Steven Bell 5th Dec

Simpson will be far to much for Bell!

 

Tough fight Bell is a better, more complete fighter then Truscott. That said i'd never pick against John. I'm glad Bell is getting this late oppertunity but think he could have done a lot more in his career if he'd have been moved a little differently. Very Talented.

 

its bells time to shine, one of the best lads ive met, come on lad

stop fu**** about greg

 

Bell wins this.

Very tough fight but no way he's getting knocked out in 5 you plonker . Bell S/D

 

I agree with Jeff re: Bell.

What a ****ing waste!

Oh well, he got his appearance on Hollyoaks :yep

 

Greenock’s gritty and talented John Simpson defends his Commonwealth featherweight title against Manchester’s tall and capable Steve Bell on the Amir Khan-Dmitry Salita bill in Newcastle on December 5.
The 26-year-old Simpson, one of best domestic scrappers in British boxing and also one of the best ‘away’ scrappers, won the title from Middlesbrough’s lanky and previously unbeaten Paul Truscott in Middlesbrough earlier this year (cuts) and proved his right to the title with a 10-round stoppage of the same man a fight later (Truscott was down) - again in Middlesbrough. He gave Liverpool’s Derry Matthews hell in Liverpool, was robbed in Hereford against Hereford’s Dazzo Williams, hammered Londoner Ryan Barrett in London, and won the British featherweight title from “house” fighter Andy Morris in London in 2007 with a cuts stoppage (caused by a sharp combination), a title he lost on a close and controversial 12-round decision to fellow Scot Paul Appleby at Glasgow’s historic Kelvin Hall last year. Then he came back against Truscott.
To me he is cleverer and harder-hitting than Bell, who likes to think he is a puncher when he is not, although the challenger takes a good shot and can undoubtedly box. A former double ABA featherweight champion and England boxing captain at the 2002 Commonwealth Games (where he lost 18-15 to Canada’s Benoit Gaudet in the featherweight quarter-finals), Bell will need to stick to his boxing against the busy Simpson, particularly as he is tight at nine stone these days and will not enjoy fighting flat out. Believe me, Simpson would love to drag Bell into a tear-up; Bell is no spring chicken at 34 and rather one-paced, in my opinion. He lacks the ability to change gears as he showed when he bossed and even floored Femi Fehintola early in a 10-rounder for the English super-featherweight title in 2007 but allowed the Yorkshireman to outhustle him from the later rounds and to nick the verdict. It is the furthest Bell has ever travelled, by the way; Simpson has completed the 12-round course five times.
In all fairness, Fehintola is the only man to beat Bell in 19 outings and the latter, who moonlights pretty successfully as an actor (he’s appeared in Hollyoaks and Emmerdale), has reeled off six wins since to earn this shot. Despite Bell’s recent form and amateur pedigree, it is Simpson who has boxed at a higher level as a pro, in my opinion, hits more sharply and boasts the greater stamina. He is also much more comfortable at the weight; Bell has never got down to 126 pounds as a six-year pro.
I can see Simpson outworking his opponent on the way to a well-earned decision.