Underrated AF: "Super" Bradley Skeete

Let me fess up first and foremost: when this kid was first coming up I used to bash him mercilessly. His style, putting it mildly, isn't the most aesthetically pleasing (think all the worst traits of, say, Cory Spinks and Carlos Molina combined), nor did he put much starch on his punches in the early stages of his career...so his bouts were usually long, drawn-out ugly spectacles of light pit-pat jab-and-grab. Many posters used to jokingly wish he would get robbed against some journeyman simply to halt all his momentum and get him off TV.

But then something happened. In late 2014, he took a gargantuan leap up in class to challenge then still very highly regarded Frankie Gavin for the Commonwealth and British welterweight titles. Funtime Gavin was still just a few months removed from his first defeat at the hands of the very capable Leonard Bundu and was still projected to maybe have legitimate world championship aspirations. Gavin, needless to say, was supposed to destroy and expose Skeete.

That didn't pan out. The gangly young man from Penge found a deep well from which to dig and put on the performance of his life to soundly outbox Gavin in what appeared to be a major upset...except that all three official judges on the night saw it (or rather didn't see, and just filled out their scorecards like idly doodling schoolchildren while tuning out and thinking about what to have for dinner), somehow, comfortably for Gavin. It was a typical Skeete fight in that his awkward negativity made it a bit nauseating to watch, but most stomach-turning of all was the decision itself. Like somebody or not, at the end of the day you must tip your hat to all their hard work in the gym paying off and giving credit when due when they execute their game plan and do everything the rules ask of you to get the W. He did just that - nudging, shoving, poking and uppercutting a flummoxed Gavin into an ineffective stupor.

Many people cruelly snickered at the result and stayed consistent with the "at least if somebody had to get robbed in this sport, thank God it was him so I don't have to watch him anymore" rhetoric...but for me there was an instant change of mind. Skeete knew he did enough to vanquish Gavin and that it was stolen from him cavalierly, on the caprice (or collusion) of three blind men at ringside. You could, to paraphrase a famous Simpsons quote, pinpoint the moment his little heart broke. He was classy about it, but was clearly, justifiably dejected.

Having your work look pretty isn't a scoring criteria. It just has to be effective. And he was. And he lost. And that's BS.

Big ups to Bradley, though, because he pulled himself up by the bootstraps, dusted himself off and went straight to work again...reapplying himself to study of the craft that has been his passion since early childhood (when he idolized Prince Naz) and racking up a hell of a run in three years since. In that span he is 8-0 (5) with no soft touches, all these matches for the WBO European, Commonwealth or British titles, juggling defenses of each alternately one after the other. With the latter, after capturing it from Sam Eggington and then defending it from both Scotch-Filipino technician John Thain and Shayne Singleton in a string of impressive outings showing a steady progression in form - he now stands on the verge of claiming the Lonsdale outright.

Standing in the way is his mandatory challenger, Welsh brawler Dale Evans, just two fights removed from causing the accidental death of his opponent, Mike Towell, following a TKO win. Evans presents a completely different style from Skeete's last few opponents and is motivated to win a title in Towell's memory. That would ordinarily make for a great story but IMO that is trumped by how inspiring a clean sweep 3rd British title defense by Skeete (who is actually eminently likable and charismatic outside the ring, during interviews etc) would be, proving all the haters wrong and indicating himself as the "real" domestic king at the weight, almost three full years after he should've deposed the previous one.

The match will air on BoxNation tomorrow. War Skeete! (or eh, not war exactly...but do you!)

 

Coverage starts at 6pm GMT/1pm EST.

 

Williams vs. Smyle II could steal the show.

 

Gavin really doesn't have a lot going on lately since he lost to Eggington...

How sweet would it be if he came groveling for a rematch as Skeete's challenger and the B-side?

 

I can't put my finger on his ethnic make-up! Can you? He definitely isn't 100% Anglo. Based on where he's from, the demographic likelihood is either somewhere in the Caribbean (the parts formerly under British rule) or somewhere like Pakistan, Somalia or Morocco. I can't find anything on his ethnicity (or even religion, for a hint). Seems he keeps his private life just that. He is good friends with Sadiq Khan, current mayor of London and former amateur boxer at the Earlsfield club, where Skeete cut his teeth (and distant relative of Amir).

 

London is one cosmopolitan town!

 

Well, if you look at what Sam Eggington had been up to recently, that is probably Skeete's best opponent faced to date (including Gavin).

I think both of them are outer-fringe world class.

Skeete was rumored to be in the Khan lottery, with Frank W. keen to push that fight on Golden Boy a few times. Apparently having a mutual friend leaves them with no qualms about facing each other. I'm not sure that Skeete wouldn't pose some problems for Khan, honestly, with his length and spoiling tactics. He could match Khan jab for jab on the outside and smother him with that slinky body up close (draping over him like a wet blanket when Khan darts in with a combo) & tire him out.

 

Just me or is he finding his power a bit too, as he goes on? Don't get me wrong, he'll never be a knockout artist but he can get your respect now with a properly timed 1-2.

 

Microcosm of his career, really. He soaks up criticisms from every direction, a bad decision going against him on the biggest night of his life, being deemed TV-unfriendly and buried on cards, and he just takes it all in, sizes up his situation calmly and keeps plugging away.