Tommy vacates the Midlands title and guns for English belt

Tommy Collins with the Midlands belt. Pic: Manjit Narotra/BCB

BATTLING Blues hero Tommy “Gun” Collins has vacated the Midlands super-lightweight title less than a month after winning it in a small hall epic.

And that, says dad and trainer Dean, was always the plan. Quite simply, Collins, backed by a huge Birmingham City following, has bigger fish to fry. The 26-year-old is chasing English and British honours.

He wants – and deserves – a slot on a major televised arena show.

“I want Tommy to go up,” Dean, a coach who is passionate when discussing his son’s career,  said. “I want the English. I’m looking at the British – if we were given time to build, I’d take it straight away, I’d take it with both hands. I think he’s good enough – they sky’s the limit.”

The Midlands belt Tommy won by stopping Sajid Abid at Birmingham’s Eastside Rooms on December 20 will now be contested by James Scarrott, from Worcester, and Callum Blockley. The pair meet in Blockley’s home city of Leicester on March 1.

For Collins, unbeaten in 11, the future is dazzlingly bright. The Gun is smouldering.

He came of age in the wild shoot-out with Abid. Both men took counts in the second, both were rocked, then Tommy ended the thriller with a stream of unanswered punches in the fifth.

That was one of the best 2024 contest I’ve witnessed from ringside.

“That was a great fight for the Midlands,” Dean said. “Tommy had been out (of action) for 12 months. I wondered how he’d handle the crowd – and you can see every face in a small hall. I wondered about the weight.

“He performed brilliantly. There were a few niggles, little things, that I didn’t like, and we’ve been working to put them right, but I’m such a critic.

“I was prepared to give away the first three rounds just to pressure Abid and create the space for that bolo right hand over the top. Abid kept pivoting to the right and I told Tommy to attack the right side.”

Dean believes his son is ready for much bigger tests but stressed: “I’m not going to give it the big one. I see him in the gym and think he can make it. I’ve seen him in the gym (sparring) with higher ranked fighters, but that’s with 14oz gloves on.

“I want the English, I want him to climb up the ratings.”

Whatever the future holds, I’m surprised Collins hasn’t already caught the eye of a major London promoter such as Eddie Hearn or Frank Warren. Both are now staging shows in Birmingham and Collins puts an awful lot of bums on seats.

“I’m really begging for a big show,” Dean added. “For the Midlands title fight he sold around 340 tickets and in the last few days (before the bout) I had 10-20 people phone me for tickets. I told them to get them on the door on the night.

“I’m really begging for a big show. Tom in a 10 rounder would be great because he doesn’t really pick-up (the pace) until the fifth. After that, his energy gets better.”

Contenders are on alert. Tommy “Gun” Collins is gunning for big names in 2025.