Classy Shak cruises to win over McIntyre

Pitters kept it long against McIntyre. Now for bigger things

SHAKAN Pitters, the lofty former British light-heavyweight champ, is back in business.

The Birmingham talent nudged his career back on track with landslide, eight round victory over Joel McIntyre on Boxxer’s major Saturday night bill at Resorts Word Arena.

It was a no frills, functional win – 80-72 – built around Shak’s long left lead: the man has such a phenomenal reach, he could throw that jab from another county and still connect. It’s slung with precision, too.

Pitters can now climb back to the domestic game’s big time. And I’m pleased for the boxer from a fighting family: he’s a thoroughly pleasant individual, a class act inside and outside the ropes who embraces community work.

He took a gamble against McIntyre, a heavy handed former English champ from Portsmouth, and it paid off.

Joel threatened, but as in his March title loss to Ricky Summers, failed to let the punches go.

And Shakan appeared to box within himself. If McIntyre had attempted to go for broke, Pitters would’ve opened the throttle.

As it was, he didn’t need to. He was in cruise control throughout.

Manager Jon Pegg pointed out afterwards: “Why get out of second gear when you don’t have to.

“Shakan went to war with Craig Richards (a stoppage defeat in defence of his British title) and got no credit for it.”

That sums it up. Shak didn’t take chances because he didn’t need to take chances.

Against McIntyre, Pitters kept pumping out the jab, sometimes doubling and trebling the shot. As the bout wore on 33-year-old Shak began to open up more, raking right hands came into play.

In the final round, McIntyre drove his opponent to the ropes, only to be caught coming in by a lead and right hook to the body. It was classy stuff.

Joel is no slouch, yet Pitters appeared quite a few notches above him. That shows he’s still a force.

Shakan, once one of British boxing’s brightest lights, is shining again.