21.08.05 – By Dino Alvarado: He’s the British, Commonwealth, and European junior-welterweight champion. With a 32-1-2 record (19 knockouts; only loss is to Zab Judah), he has an impressive resume and has won his last 17 fights. His list of wins includes victories against Lovemore N’Dou and Andreas Kotelnik this year. So why doesn’t anyone know who Junior “The Hitter” Witter is?
He’s the youngest of four brothers and a sister. Boxing has steered him away from the many troubles that beset the youth in his hometown in Bradford, England. Witter, whose parents came over to England from Jamaica in the 60’s, followed a different path from his peers after a family friend introduced him to the Bradford Police Boys Boxing Club at a young age.
He’s been a world-class fighter ever since.
The answer to the previously mentioned question is pretty simple. The WBC recently made the 30-year-old England native the #1 contender for the 140-pound belt and its champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr. The problem is, Floyd and Arturo Gatti (the #2 contender) are most likely headed for welterweight, and it seems that the rest of the division is paired off. Miguel Cotto
(someone he’d give a lot of trouble due to his quickness and fast hands) will fight Gianluca Branco next month, and Ricky Hatton is currently trying to schedule a match with Carlos Maussa.
Even if everyone was open, a fight between Witter and a champion likely wouldn’t take place because he’s an unnecessary risk; someone who’s better than the money he’d bring. Witter has been calling out quality opponents such as Cotto and Hatton for quite a long time, but it’s unfortunate that we won’t see him against top competition for a while. Currently, his only choices are to either defend his European title against Giuseppe Lauri of Italy or face Ricardo Torres in an elimination bout with a shot at Cotto at stake.
It’s a shame. He, like Felix Sturm (who faces a similar problem of being avoided by top boxers), deserves better.