‘River has been in a fire-fight, Thompson has not,’ says trainer

Poster for the Wilson-Bent and Thompson European tussle

WHEN Brendan Norman, trainer of River-Wilson Bent from the start, says “I’ve never seen him so confident”, you have to take notice.

The countdown has begun for River’s audacious bid to take the IBF European and WBO global titles from undefeated, heavy hitting Shakiel Thompson. The pair clash on September 27 in “Dr Steel” Shakiel’s home city of Sheffield, with the GBM promoted showdown streamed on DAZN.

On paper, it’s a daunting night’s work for the Coventry middle. He’ll start as underdog against a champ who is undefeated in 12 and has registered eight stoppages.

For the life of him, Norman can’t see why.

“He’s never fought anyone, he’s never been in a proper fight,” Norman said of 27-year-old Thompson. “And I’ve seen him put to sleep in the amateurs. Our end, we’re really confident.”

At 30 years old and with 23 bouts under his belt, River has had his share of “real” fights, more than his share.

He’s mixed it with current European middleweight champ Tyler Denny (twice), former global amateur super-star Ammo Williams and world rated banger Hamzah Sheeraz.

The calibre of opposition on his record is much better than the men Thompson has faced. That point is beyond argument.

The burning question is whether those exciting, hard title fights have blunted River’s blade. Is this a pairing of a man climbing to the top against a man gazing down the mountain?

As one very knowledgeable coach told me: “There’s a very thin line between battle-hardened and battle-weary. I’m not sure which side of that line River is on.”

River Wilson-Bent...battle-hardened. Pic: GBM Sports/Leigh Dawney

He’s battle hardened, Norman insisted – and that will prove crucial against Thompson.

“He’s lost a little bit of speed, maybe,” he said, “but has more than made up for that in experience. If you have your back against the wall, as River has, what are you going to do? Shakiel hasn’t answered that question.

“People say you’ve got to box him, but if it comes down to a fire-fight, River has been in a fire-fight, Shakiel hasn’t been in a fire-fight.

“If you stop eight of 12, you can clearly hit, but River has been with world class fighters and, apart from Sheeraz, has punched it out with them. Everyone Shakiel has been in with, River would beat.”

The camp could not have gone better, Norman insisted.

“River is the fittest guy I’ve ever had in the gym. I’ve taken his sparring down (a couple of notches) because in the last spar he was doing everything I wanted him to do. I don’t want him to look too good yet, I want him to peak in his last two sparring sessions.

“I’ve never seen him so confident. I think everyone will have a bit of a shock about the way it goes.”

Norman, a walking encyclopaedia of boxing, makes a compelling case for a River victory. And if he bags the win, a British title shot is not beyond the realms of possibility.

“He deserves it,” Norman added. “There’s not a bad bone in his body, that’s why he sells ticket. Buy a ticket for a River Wilson-Bent fight and you know you’re going to get a fight.

“He’s never turned down a fight, he’s never ducked anyone.”

“A good win here and we can start dropping (British champ) Brad Pauls’ name in the interviews. We can get his attention.”