14.06.08 – by James Slater: Last night, in Portsmouth, in the southeast of England, a terrific light-heavyweight battle was witnessed by a vocal crowd as Commonwealth champion Dean Francis met local hero and British champion Tony Oakey. A brutal, all-action war followed and in the end 34-year-old Francis won by sensational TKO at 2 minutes and 47 seconds of round number nine. A sweet left hook to the head sent the teak-tough Oakey down, and soon after beating the count referee Richie Davies dived in and called a halt. The loss marked the first stoppage defeat in the career of Oakey.
The fight was thrilling right from the very first round. Oakey, two years the younger man, was on the attack instantly and fought the way he always does. Never taking a backward step, the 32-year-old warrior was soon making things plenty hot for Francis. Francis, a former British super-middleweight champion, was under heavy pressure and though he cut Oakey under the left eye, his own left eye was soon cut far worse. With blood absolutely pouring down the side of his face by the 2nd round, and with a damaged nose also, things looked bad for Francis.
Another concern regarding Francis was his right shoulder. Having had three operations on it in the recent past, it was not clear how effective his right hand would be. As it turned out, Francis threw his right hand to good effect at times – but he did favour his left hand throughout the bout.
By the 3rd round, the fight had developed into a war. Oakey, refusing to alter his tactics of marching in and attempting to take Francis’ heart, looked the boss. Francis is the better boxer of the two, but no-one is tougher and more acquainted with battles of attrition than Tony Oakey. On a number of occasions it seemed Oakey might overwhelm Francis and win the fight. But no, the older man showed amazing heart himself.
There was good, two-way action in the 4th and 5th rounds, but it seemed Francis was tiring badly – his mouth hanging open. Who could have guessed that it would be he who would go on to score the stoppage? At times the blood made the Commonwealth champion’s face look a complete mess and in round 5 the referee ordered a time-out so the doctor could inspect the damage. The fight was permitted to go on. By the 8th, though the fight had largely been fought the way he wanted it to, Oakey was looking tired. A quite sensational comeback was about to be witnessed on the part of Dean Francis!
Getting his shots off to good effect and picking his punches well, Francis turned the tide of the contest in the 7th. Now out-boxing the slowly-but-surely tiring Oakey and making him pay with fast shots – mostly of the left hand variety – to both head and body, Francis was in command. His face still a mess, even more so due to a second eye cut opening, this one to the side of his right eye, Francis then shockingly ended the fight in the 9th.
With Oakey continuing to force himself on with sheer grit, Francis suddenly caught him with three hard shots upstairs. The final shot, a blistering left hook, sent Oakey crashing to the mat. He bravely beat the count, but as soon as a right uppercut/left hand to the head combo rocked his head back, referee Davies dived in to save Oakey from further punishment. There were no complaints from anyone about the timing of the stoppage.
In a British fight of the year candidate, 34-year-old Dean Francis added the British title to his Commonwealth honours at 175 pounds. The winner improved to 30-3(24). Oakey fell to 25-3-1(7).