Beech needs to now consider his future

James Beech…stopped by a brutal body shot

JAMES Beech will, no doubt, be considering his future following his seventh round stoppage loss to Nathaniel Collins for the vacant British featherweight title.

Bloxwich’s Beech, taking part in his 19th contest (four losses), was well behind when southpaw Collins unleashed a bolo-type left hand to the body to take everything out of the 25-year-old.

The record books will state unbeaten Collins, who added the Lonsdale belt to his Commonwealth title, won by stoppage at Glasgow’s Double Tree Hilton Hotel.

In truth, Beech was done – the shot draining everything from him. Trainer, and former big hitting pro, Pete Hickenbottom entered the ring to force the referee’s hand.

I say this without malice. James – a real old-school warrior – must now consider retirement. And he can walk away with head held high, having won the Midlands title at two separate weights, twice challenged for British honours and captured an international belt.

Most fighter’s dream of that kind of CV. Beech has achieved those goals without the leveller of true, knockout power. In Glasgow, he needed the big punches to keep Collins respectful and wary. They were not in his arsenal and, as a result, he was up against it from the get-go.

James has relied on skill and reflexes. Skills and reflexes erode much more quickly than raw power.

Hickenbottom, who has been with Beech since the very beginning of his pro journey, declined to comment on his fighter’s future.

But he seemed to deliver something of an epitaph when stating: “Without doubt, James Beech is the most brave, courageous fighter I’ve worked with.”

Both he and James know it’s a long way back to where the Black Country warrior wants to be: James has publicly stated he has no appetite for small hall, Midlands area contests.

He’s boxed since the age of six. For James, boxing is a habit, not a sport – and habits are very hard to kick. Walking away will be difficult.

Interestingly, two weeks ago Chelmsley Wood prospect Nyall Berry – hungry and possessing KO power – told me he’d fight James Beech tomorrow. He would and he’d relish it.

That is the future for Beech, should he continue. That is something James – a decent, polite family man – needs to ponder.

In all honesty, at this stage in his career, I would not like to see Beech face Berry.

I was astonished the 12 rounder between Beech and Collins received so little publicity. It was a British title that slipped under the radar. Both fighters deserved better.

Contests for the Lonsdale Belt should be fought under floodlights, not relegated to tabloid footnotes.

Beech rolled the dice, knowing the odds were stacked against him, and fell short. He entered something of a Glasgow bear pit and should be applauded for that.

He was cut over the left eye in the second and by the sixth his ear was beginning to swell ominously.

Hickenbottom, as honest as the day is long, pulled no punches in his assessment of the performance.

“It was like taking a pea-shooter to a tank,” he said. “Collins was good. He does everything well – not outstanding, but everything well.

“Jim had his moments, but he doesn’t have the power at that level. I wish he had the same power as his dad (James Beech Snr had 31 fights in a career stretching from 1999 to 2008) who  could hit with the right hand.

“There were niggling injuries coming into this one, but that’s wear and tear – Jim’s been boxing since he was six.

“The plan was to box Collins for three rounds, but everything we worked on, Jim done the opposite. It happens. He was always a step in front of Jim. From the second round I knew we were up against it, there’s not a lot you can say.

“At the end of the sixth, Jim’s ear swelled up – it was black and blue – and I said I was going to pull him out at the end of the next round if he didn’t do something.

“It was a bolo type uppercut that finished it. Jim threw a right hand at the same time and Collins connected first. It crippled Jim.

“He’s philosophical about it. He said, ‘unless you roll the dice, you don’t know’.”

Hickenbottom added: “The atmosphere was intimidating – a bit of a Braveheart job, but Collins and his family were very nice people.”

Beech now needs time to think. And he should ponder one brutal truth: boxers have a lot of life to live after their fighting days are over.

The important thing is to ensure those decades are healthy and fulfilling.