Unearthing A Champ

When promoter PJ Rowson spotted Brad Foster beating up men almost twice his size in the gym, he knew he was on to something special, writes Matt Bozeat

- Matt Bozeat

TO win the British title at 21 years old is some achievement.

To do it in only your 11th fight and with no amateur background is unheard of.

So no wonder Black Country manager PJ Rowson was in I-told-you-so mood the morning after his fighter, Brad Foster, had proved him right, and just about everyone else wrong, by winning the vacant British super-bantamweight championship in March.

“I always wanted to take someone from nothing and take them to a British title,” he said, “and now I’ve done it.”

The way Foster, from the cathedral city of Lichfield in South Staffordshire, won the title was hugely impressive.

Unknown outside the gyms and small-hall circuit, he handed veteran Josh Wale something of a boxing lesson in Barnsley, winning unanimously on the scorecards.

There was so much to like about Foster’s performance as for round after round, he out manoeuvred the more seasoned Wale, walking him into traps.

Time and again, Wale thought he had Foster where he wanted him – and then he wasn’t there and it was Foster landing clean punches.

During the eighth, Wale shrugged his shoulders in a “What can I do?” gesture after Foster had swerved his attack and countered once again.

Ahead of the fight, the Foster camp feared the sway the crowd may have over the judges, but such was his dominance, one judge only gave Wale one round.